Microsoft's new Kinect is official: larger field of view, HD camera, wake with voice

Microsoft's introducing a new Kinect motion-sensing camera to go alongside its new Xbox One game console. The camera peripheral is getting some major improvements in its second iteration, and it's expected to ship with every new console at launch. One of the most impressive features is the ability to wake the console with just a voice command. Simply say "Xbox on," and you're ready to get gaming. In fact, you can shout all sorts of things at your new Kinect, such as "watch TV" or (wait for it...) "snap Internet Explorer." That's right, there is true multitasking built into Xbox One and you can move windows around or switch between tasks, with just a voice command. Of course, you can also navigate the various panels and screens with the usual hand waves and air pinches, should you feel a bit silly talking to your console.

On the inside is a 1080p camera -- a huge step up from the VGA sensor on the original Kinect. The new motion controller processes a stunning 2Gb of data per second to accurately read your environment. Everything about this second iteration of the Kinect is more accurate, in fact, from the number of reference points on your skeleton it monitors down to its ability to read your heartbeat. And it's powerful enough to bring that increased fidelity to not just one, but six skeletons simultaneously (should you have enough room in your pad for that many players). It even has the ability to talk to the standard Xbox controller for some Move-like functionality. Lift the remote and you'll lift your shield in the game, for example. For Microsoft, the Kinect is what ties the Xbox One experience together.

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, HD, Microsoft

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/21/microsofts-new-kinect-is-official/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

holy thursday chris stewart evo 4g lte marlins new stadium arnold palmer augusta national blake griffin

The mammoth's lament: UC research shows how cosmic impact sparked devastating climate change

The mammoth's lament: UC research shows how cosmic impact sparked devastating climate change

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Herds of wooly mammoths once shook the earth beneath their feet, sending humans scurrying across the landscape of prehistoric Ohio. But then something much larger shook the Earth itself, and at that point these mega mammals' days were numbered.

Something ? global-scale combustion caused by a comet scraping our planet's atmosphere or a meteorite slamming into its surface ? scorched the air, melted bedrock and altered the course of Earth's history. Exactly what it was is unclear, but this event jump-started what Kenneth Tankersley, an assistant professor of anthropology and geology at the University of Cincinnati, calls the last gasp of the last ice age.

"Imagine living in a time when you look outside and there are elephants walking around in Cincinnati," Tankersley says. "But by the time you're at the end of your years, there are no more elephants. It happens within your lifetime."

Tankersley explains what he and a team of international researchers found may have caused this catastrophic event in Earth's history in their research, "Evidence for Deposition of 10 Million Tonnes of Impact Spherules Across Four Continents 12,800 Years Ago," which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The prestigious journal was established in 1914 and publishes innovative research reports from a broad range of scientific disciplines. Tankersley's research also was included in the History Channel series "The Universe: When Space Changed History" and will be featured in an upcoming film for The Weather Channel.

This research might indicate that it wasn't the cosmic collision that extinguished the mammoths and other species, Tankersley says, but the drastic change to their environment.

"The climate changed rapidly and profoundly. And coinciding with this very rapid global climate change was mass extinctions."

PUTTING A FINGER ON THE END OF THE ICE AGE

Tankersley is an archaeological geologist. He uses geological techniques, in the field and laboratory, to solve archaeological questions. He's found a treasure trove of answers to some of those questions in Sheriden Cave in Wyandot County, Ohio. It's in that spot, 100 feet below the surface, where Tankersley has been studying geological layers that date to the Younger Dryas time period, about 13,000 years ago.

About 12,000 years before the Younger Dryas, the Earth was at the Last Glacial Maximum ? the peak of the Ice Age. Millennia passed, and the climate began to warm. Then something happened that caused temperatures to suddenly reverse course, bringing about a century's worth of near-glacial climate that marked the start of the geologically brief Younger Dryas.

There are only about 20 archaeological sites in the world that date to this time period and only 12 in the United States ? including Sheriden Cave.

"There aren't many places on the planet where you can actually put your finger on the end of the last ice age, and Sheriden Cave is one of those rare places where you can do that," Tankersley says.

ROCK-SOLID EVIDENCE OF COSMIC CALAMITY

In studying this layer, Tankersley found ample evidence to support the theory that something came close enough to Earth to melt rock and produce other interesting geological phenomena. Foremost among the findings were carbon spherules. These tiny bits of carbon are formed when substances are burned at very high temperatures. The spherules exhibit characteristics that indicate their origin, whether that's from burning coal, lightning strikes, forest fires or something more extreme. Tankersley says the ones in his study could only have been formed from the combustion of rock.

The spherules also were found at 17 other sites across four continents ? an estimated 10 million metric tons' worth ? further supporting the idea that whatever changed Earth did so on a massive scale. It's unlikely that a wildfire or thunderstorm would leave a geological calling card that immense ? covering about 50 million square kilometers.

"We know something came close enough to Earth and it was hot enough that it melted rock ? that's what these carbon spherules are. In order to create this type of evidence that we see around the world, it was big," Tankersley says, contrasting the effects of an event so massive with the 1883 volcanic explosion on Krakatoa in Indonesia. "When Krakatoa blew its stack, Cincinnati had no summer. Imagine winter all year-round. That's just one little volcano blowing its top."

Other important findings include:

• Micrometeorites: smaller pieces of meteorites or particles of cosmic dust that have made contact with the Earth's surface.

• Nanodiamonds: microscopic diamonds formed when a carbon source is subjected to an extreme impact, often found in meteorite craters.

• Lonsdaleite: a rare type of diamond, also called a hexagonal diamond, only found in non-terrestrial areas such as meteorite craters.

THREE CHOICES AT THE CROSSROADS OF OBLIVION

Tankersley says while the cosmic strike had an immediate and deadly effect, the long-term side effects were far more devastating ? similar to Krakatoa's aftermath but many times worse ? making it unique in modern human history.

In the cataclysm's wake, toxic gas poisoned the air and clouded the sky, causing temperatures to plummet. The roiling climate challenged the existence of plant and animal populations, and it produced what Tankersley has classified as "winners" and "losers" of the Younger Dryas. He says inhabitants of this time period had three choices: relocate to another environment where they could make a similar living; downsize or adjust their way of living to fit the current surroundings; or swiftly go extinct. "Winners" chose one of the first two options while "losers," such as the wooly mammoth, took the last.

"Whatever this was, it did not cause the extinctions," Tankersley says. "Rather, this likely caused climate change. And climate change forced this scenario: You can move, downsize or you can go extinct."

Humans at the time were just as resourceful and intelligent as we are today. If you transported a teenager from 13,000 years ago into the 21st century and gave her jeans, a T-shirt and a Facebook account, she'd blend right in on any college campus. Back in the Younger Dryas, with mammoth off the dinner table, humans were forced to adapt ? which they did to great success.

WEATHER REPORT: CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF EXTINCTION

That lesson in survivability is one that Tankersley applies to humankind today.

"Whether we want to admit it or not, we're living right now in a period of very rapid and profound global climate change. We're also living in a time of mass extinction," Tankersley says. "So I would argue that a lot of the lessons for surviving climate change are actually in the past."

He says it's important to consider a sustainable livelihood. Humans of the Younger Dryas were hunter-gatherers. When catastrophe struck, these humans found news ways and new places to hunt game and gather wild plants. Evidence found in Sheriden Cave shows that most of the plants and animals living there also endured. Of the 70 species known to have lived there before the Younger Dryas, 68 were found there afterward. The two that didn't make it were the giant beaver and the flat-headed peccary, a sharp-toothed pig the size of a black bear.

Tankersley also cautions that the possibility of another massive cosmic event should not be ignored. Like earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes, these types of natural disasters do happen, and as history has shown, it can be to devastating effect.

"One additional catastrophic change that we often fail to think about ? and it's beyond our control ? is something from outer space," Tankersley says. "It's a reminder of how fragile we are. Imagine an explosion that happened today that went across four continents. The human species would go on. But it would be different. It would be a game changer."

BREAKING BARRIERS AND WORKING TOGETHER TOWARD REAL CHANGE

Tankersley is a member of UC's Quaternary and Anthropocene Research Group (QARG), an interdisciplinary conglomeration of researchers dedicated to undergraduate, graduate and professional education, experience-based learning and research in Quaternary science and study of the Anthropocene. He's proud to be working with his students on projects that, when he was in their shoes, were considered science fiction.

Collaborative efforts such as QARG help break down long-held barriers between disciplines and further position UC as one of the nation's top public research universities.

"What's exciting about UC and why our university is producing so much, is we have scientists who are working together and it's this area of overlap that is so interesting," Tankersley says. "There's a real synergy about innovative, transformative, transdisciplinary science and education here. These are the things that really make people take notice. It causes real change in our world."

###

University of Cincinnati: http://www.uc.edu/news

Thanks to University of Cincinnati for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 39 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128330/The_mammoth_s_lament__UC_research_shows_how_cosmic_impact_sparked_devastating_climate_change

Anna Burns Welker Martin Luther King, Jr. Mlk Quotes Elder Scrolls Online joe biden michelle obama lupe fiasco

ESPN cutting workforce, 'smartly managing costs'

NEW YORK (AP) ? ESPN is cutting its workforce, the latest Disney division to reduce staff.

"We are implementing changes across the company to enhance our continued growth while smartly managing costs," the sports media giant said in a statement Tuesday. "While difficult, we are confident that it will make us more competitive, innovative and productive."

The company would not say how many jobs are being eliminated, but they include unfilled positions. ESPN has about 7,000 employees worldwide, with about 4,000 at its headquarters in Bristol, Conn. The vast majority work behind the scenes.

In April, Disney laid off about 150 people at LucasArts, the video-game making division of Lucasfilm, four months after acquiring the company behind "Star Wars" for $4.06 billion. Disney also laid off about the same number at the movie studio in April to cope with the decline in DVD sales as consumer habits shift to digital forms of home entertainment.

Still, Disney has been on a roll financially, beating or matching earnings per share estimates for the last eight quarters. After it reported a 32 percent gain in net income for its fiscal second-quarter earnings two weeks ago, more than a dozen Wall Street analysts raised their price targets on Disney stock to an average of nearly $72. Shares of The Walt Disney Co. were down 2 cents at $66.10 in midday trading Tuesday.

Fees from distributors for ESPN grew faster than expected in the latest quarter, while ad growth came in below expectations because of smaller audience numbers.

ESPN also has seen costs increase with skyrocketing prices for the broadcasting rights to live sports. For instance, the 12-year deal announced in November to televise the new college football playoff system will be worth about $470 million annually. The current four-year contract to air the Sugar, Orange and Fiesta bowls along with the BCS title game is worth about $125 million per year.

Live sports have become increasingly valuable in an age of fractured audiences and DVRs. That drives up rights fees, but also makes the programming more appealing to advertisers and allows ESPN to try to charge more from cable and satellite operators.

While announcing cuts Tuesday, ESPN will still be expanding in other areas. Earlier this month, it revealed that it was forming a network with the Southeastern Conference. The new network will launch in August 2014 under a 20-year agreement.

In August 2011, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced that ESPN would receive millions of dollars in state tax breaks with the construction of a digital technology building and the addition of at least 200 jobs over five years.

ESPN received a 10-year, $17.5 million state loan to build the digital center.

Network spokesman Mike Soltys said the construction project was not affected by Tuesday's cuts.

"Notwithstanding these changes, we remain on track to reach the increase in jobs that are set out in the goals in the 'First Five' program," he said.

Andrew Doba, a spokesman for the governor's office, confirmed that ESPN was on track to meet its hiring goals.

"The state does have claw-back measures in place if a company fails to meet its target, but we have no reason to believe that they will be needed in this case," he said.

___

Associated Press Writer Pat Eaton-Robb and AP Business Writer Stephen Singer in Hartford, Conn., and AP Business Writer Ryan Nakashima in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/espn-cutting-workforce-smartly-managing-costs-165708821.html

heartbreak hotel don cornelius whitney houston i will always love you breaking news whitney houston carmen whitney houston last performance cpac straw poll

Immigration bill clears key Senate panel

By Rachelle Younglai and Caren Bohan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Senate panel on Tuesday approved legislation to give millions of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, setting up a spirited debate next month in the full Senate over the biggest changes in immigration policy in a generation.

President Barack Obama, who has made enactment of an immigration bill one of his top priorities for this year, praised the Senate Judiciary Committee's action, saying the bill was consistent with the goals he has expressed.

"I encourage the full Senate to bring this bipartisan bill to the floor at the earliest possible opportunity and remain hopeful that the amendment process will lead to further improvements," Obama said in a statement released by the White House.

By a vote of 13-5, the Senate panel approved the bill that would put 11 million illegal residents on a 13-year path to citizenship while further strengthening security along the southwestern border with Mexico, long a sieve for illegal crossings into the United States.

The vote followed the committee's decision to embrace a Republican move to ease restrictions on high-tech U.S. companies that want to hire more skilled workers from countries like India and China.

In a dramatic move before the vote, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, withdrew an amendment to give people the right to sponsor same-sex partners who are foreigners for permanent legal status.

Leahy's colleagues on the committee - Republicans and Democrats - warned that the amendment would kill the legislation in Congress. Democrats generally favor providing equal treatment for heterosexual and homosexual couples, while many Republicans oppose doing so.

"I'm committed to ending that discrimination," Leahy said before withdrawing the amendment.

"Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for not defending LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) families against the scapegoating of their Republican colleagues," said Rachel Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality, a gay rights group.

Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah said the changes made to visa rules governing high-skilled workers, which he had demanded on behalf of the U.S. technology industry, were the price of his support for the bill when the committee voted. Hatch voted for the bill.

In another encouraging sign for the legislation, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he will not block the measure from coming to the floor for a full debate.

McConnell of Kentucky did not say how he ultimately would vote on the bill, but he told reporters that the bipartisan measure "made a substantial contribution to moving the issue forward."

All of the core elements of the legislation have been maintained after five long work sessions by the committee. Furthermore, some border security provisions critical to conservatives and border-state members of Congress have been strengthened.

Frank Sharry, executive director of the pro-immigration reform group America's Voice, said the bill was now "battle-tested" and was emerging with more Republican support than when the Senate panel began work on it this month.

"It's remarkable. You have a dysfunctional Congress, where both parties have been at war with each other, working together on a bipartisan basis on a controversial issue and making tremendous progress," Sharry told Reuters.

That bipartisanship may have been fostered, at least in part, by the November 6 presidential election in which Obama vowed to get an immigration bill through Congress as his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, urged undocumented immigrants to simply "self-deport."

Romney won less than 30 percent of the Hispanic-American vote, spurring Republican party leaders to quickly pivot and call for passing comprehensive immigration legislation.

SHARP EXCHANGES

Some of the most conservative Republicans on the Senate panel, however, persisted in their attempts to significantly change the bill ahead of Tuesday's vote.

One of the sharpest exchanges came when Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas offered amendments to kill the pathway to citizenship for the 11 million and to permanently deny some of them federal benefits aimed at low-income people.

The path, Cruz argued, "will serve only to encourage yet more illegal immigration. It will not solve the problem."

Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, noting the Texan's amendments would deny education, nutrition and health benefits for low-income people who are winning legal status and ultimately citizenship, said Cruz's message to undocumented immigrants was, "We don't want you. You can't be part of the future of this nation."

"What kind of America are you thinking of here, Senator Cruz?" Durbin asked.

Meanwhile, Hatch warned that even with his victory on visa rules for high-tech foreign workers, his ultimate support for the bill would hinge on a set of controversial amendments that he would propose during the full Senate debate.

Those are thought to be aimed mostly at preventing illegal immigrants who move to legal status from getting certain government programs, including Social Security retirement benefits and tax credits for children and families with low incomes. Republicans also want to prevent newly-legalized residents from getting government healthcare benefits.

Denying healthcare benefits under "Obamacare," the president's sweeping 2010 healthcare restructuring, is a major sticking point in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where a bipartisan group of eight lawmakers were meeting on Tuesday to cobble together their own immigration bill.

HIGH-TECH NEGOTIATIONS

The immigration bill currently requires all companies that hire employees on H-1B visas for specialized workers to advertise job openings on a government website and offer them first to any qualified Americans.

One of Hatch's proposals, worked out in a deal with New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer, would require only companies defined as "H-1B dependent" to give Americans the first shot at jobs. It was strongly opposed by the AFL-CIO labor organization.

The Schumer-Hatch deal also changes the definition of an H-1B-dependent company, which currently is any firm where more than 15 percent of the workforce are on high-skilled work visas. Under the amendment, it would apply only where more than 15 percent of workers in a specific occupation within the company are using the H-1B visa.

Steve Case, the co-founder and former chairman and CEO of AOL, called the deal a major breakthrough. A coalition of tech groups that had been lobbying for the changes promptly issued a letter in support of the bill. One source said tech groups agreed that they would enthusiastically support the bill if the changes were made.

But AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called the changes "unambiguous attacks on American workers." He added, "American corporations could fire American workers in order to bring in H-1B visa holders at lower wages."

(Additional reporting by Sarah McBride; Writing by Richard Cowan; Editing by Xavier Briand, Fred Barbash and Paul Simao)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-panel-approves-sweeping-immigration-bill-000043749.html

tenacious d steve smith zou bisou bisou tim tebow press conference tebow press conference trina rob dyrdek

Chips Ahoy With Reese's Now Available In 3 Different Varieties

#1: Trader Joe's Highbrow Chocolate Chip Cookies (Highly Recommended)

<b>Comments:</b> "The best! I would believe these are homemade." "So buttery." "Taste like the homemade cookies from my childhood." "I like the caramel notes and the crunch." "I could eat a lot of these. So buttery!" "Salty but really good." "Do you want anything more from a cookie than this?" <strong>2 cookies = 140 calories, 7g fat, 12g sugars</strong> <b>Ingredients:</b> Semi-sweet chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, milk fat, soy lecithin [emulsifier], vanilla, natural flavor), unbleached flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, malted barley flour), butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, baking soda, salt, vanilla extract, water.

#2: Pepperidge Farm Nantucket Dark Chocolate Crispy (Recommended)

<b>Comments:</b> "Great chocolate presence, but a little on the dry side." "I appreciate the chocolate chunks but the cookie tastes like nothing." "Good, but a little on the chalky side." "The texture is off but the chocolate flavor is amazing." 1 cookie = 130 calories, 6g fat, 8g sugars <b>Ingredients:</b> Unbleached enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate [vitamin B1], riboflavin [vitamin B2], folic acid), semi sweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, dextrose, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), sugar, vegetable oils (palm and/or interesterified and hydrogenated soybean and/or hydrogenated cottonseed), butter (milk), brown sugar (sugar, invert sugar, molasses), dehydrated eggs, contains 2 percent or less of: leavening (baking soda, cream of tartar, ammonium bicarbonate), salt, cornstarch and natural flavors.

#3: Trader Joe's Charmingly Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Recommended)

<b>Comments:</b> "Better than average." "Love the chewiness." "I can taste sugar granules -- love it." "Nice chocolate-to-cookie ratio." <strong>2 cookies = 130 calories, 5g fat, 8g sugars</strong> <b>Ingredients:</b> Unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, anhydrous dextrose, soy lecithin [an emulsifier], salt, vanilla extract), for added freshness (grape juice, rice dextrin), expeller pressed canola oil, sugar, date paste, natural vanilla flavor with other natural flavors, whole eggs, cane juice syrup, baking soda, salt.

#4: Back To Nature Chocolate Chunk Cookies

<b>Comments:</b> "Too hard and cracker-like for me." "Not too sweet -- I like this." "Very dry and crispy." "Way too crunchy and a bit too salty." "A wonderful chocolate flavor." <strong>2 cookies = 130 calories, 6g fat, 9g sugars</strong> <b>Ingredients:</b> Unbleached wheat flour, semisweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate, dextrose, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), evaporated cane juice, safflower oil, brown rice syrup, baking soda, sea salt.

#5: Trader Joe's Chocolate Chip Cookies

<b>Comments:</b> "These don't taste homemade, but they're passable." "Soft, but tastes a little stale." "A slightly gritty texture." "Almost tastes like a real bakery cookie." "Decent chocolate flavor." <strong>1 cookie = 140 calories, 6g fat, 10g sugars</strong> <b>Ingredients:</b> Unbleached wheat flour, chocolate chips (chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin [an emulsifier], vanilla), sugar, butter (milk), eggs, molasses, canola oil, invert sugar, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt.

#6: Keebler Chips Deluxe Original

<b>Comments:</b> "Good flavor and crunch, but not enough chocolate." "The chocolate chips are too small." "Too crumbly." "A good candidate for dunking into milk." "Too sandy. It's like eating the beach." "Great crunch and good flavor." "Average." <strong>2 cookies = 160 calories, 8g fat, 9g sugars</strong> <b>Ingredients:</b> Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate [vitamin B1], riboflavin [vitamin B2], folic acid), semisweet chocolate (chocolate, sugar, dextrose, soy lecithin, artificial flavor), vegetable oil (soybean and palm oil with TBHQ for freshness), sugar, contains two percent or less of high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, molasses, salt, eggs, baking soda, artificial flavor, whey protein concentrate.

#7: Keebler Soft Batch

<b>Comments:</b> "Bland and oddly soft." "Nice soft texture but the flavor is off." "A nice chewy texture that's far superior to the other chewy cookies." "This has got to be dairy-free or something. It has a carob taste." <strong>2 cookies = 150 calories, 7g fat, 12g sugars</strong> <b>Ingredients:</b> Bleached and enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate [vitamin B1], riboflavin [vitamin B2], folic acid), high fructose corn syrup, vegetable oil (soybean and palm oil with TBHQ for freshness), sugar, semisweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, dextrose, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavor, salt), chocolate flavored drops (sugar, partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, cocoa cocoa processed with alkali, dextrose, soy lecithin), contains two percent or less of modified corn starch, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), natural flavor (contains milk), soy lecithin, salt, cornstarch, caramel color, eggs, yellow #6.

#8: Chips Ahoy! Original

<b>Comments:</b> "Stale!" "Weird aftertaste." "Okay texture but an off chocolate flavor." "Almost the perfect store-bought cookie." "Mostly butter." <strong>3 cookies = 160 calories, 8g fat, 11g sugars</strong> <b>Ingredients:</b> Unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate [vitamin B1], riboflavin [vitamin B2], folic acid), semisweet chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, dextrose, soy lecithin), sugar, soybean oil, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, high fructose coryn syrup, leavening (baking soda and/or ammonium phosphate), salt, whey (from milk), natural and artificial flavor, caramel color.

#9: Pepperidge Farm Soft Baked Nantucket Dark Chocolate

<b>Comments:</b> "Eating these is like having gum in my teeth." "I don't like the artificial flavor." "Spongey. Yuck." "Cloyingly sweet." <strong>1 cookies = 100 calories, 4.5g fat, 8g sugars</strong> <b>Ingredients:</b> Semi sweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, dextrose, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), unbleached enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate [vitamin B1], riboflavin [vitamin B2], folic acid), fructose, butter (milk), brown sugar (sugar, invert sugar, molasses), sugar, corn syrup solids, vegetable oils (palm and/or interesterified and hydrogenated soybean and/or hydrogenated cottonseed), contains 2 percent or less of: cornstarch, eggs, natural flavors, leavening (baking soda, ammonium bicarbonate, cream of tartar), and salt.

#10: Entenmann's Original Recipe Chocolate Chip Cookies

<b>Comments:</b> "Tastes like Play-Doh." "Tastes like childhood." "Mushy, with no chocolate flavor." "A little too sweet, and a little too vanilla." <strong>3 cookies = 140 calories, 6g fat, 10g sugars</strong> <b>Ingredients:</b> Sugar, chocolate chips [sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, dextrose, chocolate liquor (processed with alkali), soy lecithin, vanillin, vanilla extract], bleached wheat flour, palm oil, wheat flour, high fructose corn syrup, wheat starch, water, eggs, soybean oil, molasses, modified cornstarch, salt, whey (milk), artificial flavor, baking soda, guar gum, carob bean gum, caramel color.

#11: Brent & Sam's Gourmet Cookies

<b>Comments:</b> "Pleasant chocolate flavor." "Too crumbly." "Tastes more like a sugar cookie." "Good use of chips but too sweet." "Crisp but soft at the same time." "Not quite chocolatey enough." <strong>2 cookies = 110 calories, 6g fat, 10g sugar </strong> <b>Ingredients:</b> Semi-sweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, dextrose, soy lecithin, salt, artificial flavor,), enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, brown sugar, palm oil, whole eggs, soybean oil, coconut, whey, pure vanilla extract with other natural flavors, baking soda, salt, vegetable monoglycerides, soy lecithin, natural butter flavor, citric acid, beta carotene, vitamin A palmitate.

#12: Newman's Own Organics Family Recipe Cookies

<b>Comments:</b> "A great homemade flavor is ruined by how hard these are." "Tastes like eggs." "Great homemade taste." "Too eggy, but good chocolate flavor." <strong>5 cookies = 150 calories, 7g fat, 11g sugars</strong> <b>Ingredients:</b> Organic unbleached wheat flour, organic sugar, chocolate chips (unsweetened chocolate, sugar, dextrose, soy lecithin, vanilla) organic palm fruit oil, egg whites, oats, natural flavor, salt sodium bicarbonate (leavening).

#13: WhoNu? Crispy

<b>Comments:</b> "Tastes like Cookie Crisp cereal and malt. Too sweet." "Good for dunking in milk, but not on its own." "Tastes okay but plasticky." "Overwhelming vanilla and sugar." "Dry and flavorless." <b>3 cookies = 160 calories, 7g fat, 10g sugars</b> <b>Ingredients:</b> Wheat flour, semi-sweet chocolate chips [sugar, chocolate, dextrose, cocoa butter, soy lecithin], soybean oil with mono and diglycerides, sugar, polydextrose, natural and artificial flavors, soy lecithin, calcium acid pyrophosphate, calcium sulfate, salt.

#14: Chips Ahoy! Chewy

<b>Comments:</b> "It's like biting into a gritty sponge." "Nice softness but no taste." "Spongey and salty." "Is this supposed to be a chocolate chip cookie?" "Too soft; tastes cheap." <strong>2 cookies = 120 calories, 5g fat, 10g sugars</strong> <b>Ingredients:</b> Unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate {vitamin B}, riboflavin {vitamin B2}, folic acid), semisweet chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, dextrose, soy lecithin, milk), palm oil, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, dextrose, cornstarch, salt, baking soda, molasses, caramel color, annato extract (vegetable color), natural and artificial flavor.

#15: Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Bite Size Cookies

<b>Comments:</b> "Lots of chocolate in here, but they taste very boxed." "Tastes like raw cookie dough." "Tastes strictly artificial." "Too much sugar." <strong>4 cookies = 150 calories, 7g fat, 9g sugars</strong> <b>Ingredients:</b> Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate [vitamin B1], riboflavin [vitamin B2], folic acid), semisweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, natural flavor), sugar, vegetable oil (soybean, palm, and palm kernel oil with TBHQ for freshness), contains two percent or less of molasses, salt, eggs, baking soda, natural and artificial flavor, whey, whey protein concentrate.

#16: WhoNu? Soft & Chewy

<b>Comments:</b> "So, so bad. Yellow and off-putting." "Terrible and piney." "Awful mushy texture." "If the bright orange color doesn't deter you, the off-putting tastes surely will." "Too soft for my taste." <strong>3 cookies = 150 calories, 5g fat, 11g sugars</strong> <b>Ingredients:</b> Wheat flour, enriched bleached wheat flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), semi-sweet chocolate chips [sugar, chocolate, dextrose, cocoa butter, soy lecithin], high fructose coryn syrup, soybean oil with mono and diglycerides, polydextrose, sugar, corn syrup, corn starch, glycerin, artificial flavors, baking soda, soy lecithin, molasses, salt, annatto.

#17: 365 Organic Chocolate Chip Cookies

<b>Comments:</b> "So ugly to look at, and even worse to eat." "Doesn't really taste like a cookie -- more like a biscuit." "Powdery -- it's like eating breadcrumbs." "This is the saddest excuse for a cookie." <strong>2 cookies = 150 calories, 7g fat, 9g sugars</strong> <b>Ingredients:</b> Organic enriched wheat flour (organic wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), organic cane sugar, organic expeller pressed palm oil, organic chocolate chips (organic sugar, organic chocolate liquor, organic cocoa butter, organic soy lecithin [emulsifier], organic invert sugar, sea salt, leavening (sodium bicarbonate), organic vanilla extract, natural flavor, leavening (ammonium bicarbonate).

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/21/chips-ahoy-reeses_n_3308680.html

watergate pregnant man outside lands 2012 lineup beloved ufc results water for elephants old school

US based HTC One unlocked and Developer editions getting small update

Small update with system enhancements, still based on Android 4.1.2

HTC One phones that were sold unlocked via HTC, including the developer editions, in the U.S.A. are getting a small over-the-air update today. As you can see it's a 17MB file containing "important enhancements and bug fixes". Without seeing the actual change log, we're going to guess this is an update you'll probably want to take.

When all said and done, you're at Software Number 1.29.1540.16,  Android version 4.1.2 and HTC Sense 5.0. The usual warnings about root and custom recovery apply, so be sure to have that RUU handy, or wait for a flashable version.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/HeNKp811g20/story01.htm

duke university whale shark whale shark platypus platypus overboard east of eden

'Whodunnit' of Irish potato famine solved

May 21, 2013 ? An international team of scientists reveals that a unique strain of potato blight they call HERB-1 triggered the Irish potato famine of the mid-nineteenth century.

It is the first time scientists have decoded the genome of a plant pathogen and its plant host from dried herbarium samples. This opens up a new area of research to understand how pathogens evolve and how human activity impacts the spread of plant disease.

Phytophthora infestans changed the course of history. Even today, the Irish population has still not recovered to pre-famine levels. "We have finally discovered the identity of the exact strain that caused all this havoc," says Hern?n Burbano from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology.

For research to be published in eLife, a team of molecular biologists from Europe and the US reconstructed the spread of the potato blight pathogen from dried plants. Although these were 170 to 120 years old, they were found to have many intact pieces of DNA.

"Herbaria represent a rich and untapped source from which we can learn a tremendous amount about the historical distribution of plants and their pests -- and also about the history of the people who grew these plants," according to Kentaro Yoshida from The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich.

The researchers examined the historical spread of the fungus-like oomycete Phytophthora infestans, known as the Irish potato famine pathogen. A strain called US-1 was long thought to have been the cause of the fatal outbreak. The current study concludes that a strain new to science was responsible. While more closely related to the US-1 strain than to other modern strains, it is unique. "Both strains seem to have separated from each other only years before the first major outbreak in Europe," says Burbano.

The researchers compared the historic samples with modern strains from Europe, Africa and the Americas as well as two closely related Phytophthora species. The scientists were able to estimate with confidence when the various Phytophthora strains diverged from each other during evolutionary time. The HERB-1 strain of Phytophthora infestans likely emerged in the early 1800s and continued its global conquest throughout the 19^th century. Only in the twentieth century, after new potato varieties were introduced, was HERB-1 replaced by another Phytophthora infestans strain, US-1.

The scientists found several connections with historic events. The first contact between Europeans and Americans in Mexico in the sixteenth century coincides with a remarkable increase in the genetic diversity of Phytophthora. The social upheaval during that time may have led to a spread of the pathogen from its center of origin in Toluca Valley, Mexico. This in turn would have accelerated its evolution.

The international team came to these conclusions after deciphering the entire genomes of 11 historical samples of Phytophthora infestans from potato leaves collected over more than 50 years. These came from Ireland, the UK, Europe and North America and had been preserved in the herbaria of the Botanical State Collection Munich and the Kew Gardens in London.

"Both herbaria placed a great deal of confidence in our abilities and were very generous in providing the dried plants," said Marco Thines from the Senckenberg Museum and Goethe University in Frankfurt, one of the co-authors of this study. "The degree of DNA preservation in the herbarium samples really surprised us," adds Johannes Krause from the University of T?bingen, another co-author. Because of the remarkable DNA quality and quantity in the herbarium samples, the research team could evaluate the entire genome of Phytophthora infestans and its host, the potato, within just a few weeks.

Crop breeding methods may impact on the evolution of pathogens. This study directly documents the effect of plant breeding on the genetic makeup of a pathogen. "Perhaps this strain became extinct when the first resistant potato varieties were bred at the beginning of the twentieth century," speculates Yoshida. "What is for certain is that these findings will greatly help us to understand the dynamics of emerging pathogens. This type of work paves the way for the discovery of many more treasures of knowledge hidden in herbaria."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/J78d43qPtQA/130521011232.htm

Iron Man 3 Trailer Super Bowl 2013 Ray Rice sodastream dan marino godaddy did the groundhog see his shadow

Are These The Most Intimate Self Portraits Ever?

Photography often produces incredibly intimate results, but these self portraits by Erno-Erik Raitanen offer a different take?showing off his bacteria in fine detail.

The pictures weren't created using a camera, but his own bacteria, cultivated on the gelatin surface of film negatives. He explains:

?I have gathered the bacteria samples from my own body. The bacteria consumed the film surface producing photographic images that are entirely created by a chance. I have been removed from the process but, at the same time, the images are a product of my body; self-portraits.?

In reality, these aren't microscopic views of bacteria, but records of their activity on the surface of the film. The results are certainly bright, bold and colorful?but do you think they count as self portraiture? [Erno-Erik Raitanen via Photo JoJo via Peta Pixel]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/are-these-the-most-intimate-self-portraits-ever-509013766

palestine Zig Ziglar alabama football sean taylor Lisa Robin Kelly Nexus 4 Girl Meets World

The Favorite Boozy Beverage of Classic Movie Characters, In One Chart

The Big Lebowski's The Dude? White Russians. Silence of the Lambs' Hannibal Lecter? Chianti. This awesome cocktail chart maps the drinks of choice for characters in classic books and movies.

On an 18-inch by 24-inch print you'll see a catalog of 49 different drinks from classic literature and film?everything from The Great Gatsby and Casablanca to Groundhog Day and Fletch. It costs $27, and though it will beef up your boozy movie knowledge, recipes are not included. [PopChartLab]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-favorite-boozy-beverage-of-classic-movie-characters-508930183

ibogaine jamie moyer bone cancer hossa the cell dickclark gavin degraw

Hangout Festival: Eight Lessons Learned On Instagram

MTV News rounds up the best of the beachy festival from the cyber world.
By MTV Staff

2013 Hangout Music Festival
Photo:

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1707645/hangout-music-festival-instagrams-lessons.jhtml

vanessa bryant vanessa bryant Prince Harry naked Prince Harry Vegas Melky Cabrera Mayim Bialik Rich Kids of Instagram

Crazy Indian Wedding : Mission Marriage: Product Review: Everyuth ...

Its been quite a while since I have written any product review, I guess I have gotten pretty lazy after marriage and havn't really been taking care of myself. After Esha's article on the blog about being Not just a perfect Mrs. but a perfect YOU?, it got be back on my skincare?regime.?

On a visit back home I was quite surprised with my sisters skin, it was glowing! the way skins do in movies!

Her?secret?: she had been using 'Everyuth Golden Glow peel off mask' every week for just a month!?

A MUST for all Brides-to-be!!?

I used it after her advice and it showed results in the first use!!

?Its my pre-party basic now!?

(PS : Works on Boy's skins too..... *looks sheepish* )

How to Use
Wash face, pat skin dry. Apply evenly over your face avoiding eyes and mouth ( do not?apply?a very thin layer ). Let it dry for 15 - 20 minutes. Peel off from forehead in a downward direction towards chin and wash off. For best results, use atleast once a week.

Price
Rs. 60 -80 (not sure, but that range)

CIB Warning : Do not apply a thin layer! it hurts too much to remove, apply a nice thick layer.

Source: http://www.crazyindianwedding.com/2013/05/product-review-everyuth-golden-glow.html

Texas A Texas A&m cotton bowl Fiscal cliff deal kathy griffin jadeveon clowney orange bowl

Syn Mun Kong Insurance - The Nation

Kasikorn Securities
May 20, 2013 11:46 am

Syn Mun Kong Insurance Plc (SMK)

Action and recommendation

- Maintain "Outperform" with a new 2013 fair value of Bt670.0/share. Our new fair value implies PERs of 11.2x, 10.9x and 10.3x in 2013-15, which makes SMK inexpensive and implies an attractive upside gain of 37.8percent from the latest closing price. Given its impressive 1Q13 results, we maintain our positive view on SMK and maintain it as our top pick among the three non-life insurance companies we cover. With many of the non-life insurance companies reporting surprisingly good 1Q13 results, we believe it will create a short-term trading catalyst and lead to a re-rating story for non-life insurance stocks, which are still undervalued.

Key investment points

- Impressive 1Q13 results. SMK reported impressive 1Q13 earnings of Bt256.8mn, up 56.9% YoY and 124.1% QoQ, and above our forecast by 53.6%. We attribute this strong growth to a large gain from the sale of securities (our upside risk) and interest and dividend income, which increased significantly by 102.1% YoY and 99.2% QoQ. Meanwhile, profit from the underwriting business was in line with our forecast, down a slight 17.1% YoY but up substantially by 978.9% QoQ. However, in 1Q13 SMK's loss ratio was still higher than the average level of 50.0%-55.0%, due to the large level of claims from commercial car insurance. SMK expects all these policies will expire within 3Q13. As a result, we expect its profitability will gradually improve, coinciding with the expiration of the commercial car insurance polices.

- Motor and miscellaneous insurance were still key drivers. In 1Q13, SMK's motor insurance premiums totaled Bt1,830.1mn, up a nice 17.7% YoY and 3.3% QoQ. Miscellaneous insurance also performed well, growing 17.3% YoY and 8.0%. This improvement was clearly supported by the significant increase in the number of cars in the system following robust car sales in 2012. However, as we have mentioned earlier, SMK normally focuses on the second-year insurance of a new car instead of the first year. We thus expect SMK's premium growth will accelerate from 2H13.

- 2013-15 earnings revised up by 25.2%, 10.6% and 8.4%. We revise up our 2013 earnings estimates by 25.2% to reflect the higher-than-expected 1Q13 net profit. However, we still maintain our conservative view on the gain from the sale of securities by leaving it as upside potential. We also raise our 2014-15 earnings forecasts by 10.6% and 8.4%, respectively. This markup is to reflect the gradual improvement (decrease) in its loss ratio as well as the higher-than-expected growth of miscellaneous insurance.

- 2013 fair value raised to Bt670.0. As a result of our earnings revision, our 2013 fair value rises to Bt670.0/share. Nevertheless, our new assumption does not include either the upside or downside risk from investment gains. Given the promising outlook for the insurance industry, the sector's remarkable operating performance as well as its inexpensive valuations, we maintain our bullish view on non-life insurers, with SMK our top pick.

Price catalysts

- Re-rating of non-life insurance stocks.

- Strong earnings growth in 2H13

Latest stories in this category

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Syn-Mun-Kong-Insurance-30206527.html

jet crash in virginia beach john tortorella nicki minaj beez in the trap video food network f/a 18 f 18 crash virginia tenebrae

Car bombs in Baghdad Shiite districts kill 16

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Iraqi officials say five car bombs have gone off in Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad, killing 16 people and wounding 75.

Police officials say the blasts struck bus stations and outdoor markets on Monday morning. Hospital officials confirmed the casualty tolls. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.

Earlier in the day, two car bombings in the southern city of Basra killed at least 10 people and wounded 27.

Iraq has seen a spike of attacks, including bombings hitting both Sunni and Shiite civilian targets over the last week.

The bloodshed has raised fears of a return to the widespread sectarian violence of 2006-2007 that brought the country to the edge of civil war.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/car-bombs-baghdad-shiite-districts-kill-16-071622662.html

augusta national blake griffin pau gasol marlins park marbury v. madison 2013 lincoln mkz burger king mary j blige

Karzai seeks Indian military aid amid Pakistan row

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? Afghan President Hamid Karzai will seek increased military aid from India during a three-day visit starting Monday and will discuss recent cross-border clashes with Pakistan, India's archrival, an aide said.

The comments follow a weekend report by the Times of India that said Afghanistan's ambassador to India had said the country needs India's help with "equipment and weapons to fight." The Press Trust of India later quoted a spokesman for New Delhi's Foreign Ministry as saying the country is ready to meet any such request.

"Yes, we will ask for assistance for the strengthening of our security forces," Karzai spokesman Aimal Faizi said in a briefing ahead of the trip. He did not comment on the Indian reports.

Karzai's visit could irk Pakistan, especially if any arms deal materializes. Pakistan considers Afghanistan its own backyard and suspects rival India of seeking greater influence there as a strategy to hem in the country from both sides. Pakistan and India have fought three wars since they were divided into two countries when they gained independence from Britain in 1947.

Afghanistan and India signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2011 that has included Indian military training of Afghan security forces. Faizi indicated in Saturday's briefing that Karzai would seek to expand that cooperation. "Whatever our Afghan security forces would need for assistance and help, India would help us," he said.

Afghan analyst Wadir Safi, a political science professor at Kabul University, says the timing of Karzai's India trip is likely related to recent border skirmishes with Pakistan.

Each side has been accusing the other of firing across the mountainous border region for months, including a skirmish earlier this month that killed an Afghan border policeman. Both countries have also accused each other of providing shelter for insurgents fighting on the other side of the border.

Afghan accusations that Pakistan is allegedly trying to torpedo efforts to start peace talks with the Taliban have also contributed to deteriorating relations. Pakistan is considered crucial to nudging Taliban leaders, many of which are in hiding in Pakistan, to the table ? a key goal of the United States and its allies ahead of the final pullout of foreign combat forces by the end of next year.

Karzai has long been deeply suspicious of the motives of Pakistan's government and military, which backed the Taliban regime before it was toppled in the 2001 U.S.-led intervention and has since seemed unable or unwilling to go after militant leaders taking refuge inside its borders. The killing of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in Pakistan only strengthened Afghan wariness of his neighbor.

Any increased military cooperation with India would likely only contribute to tensions, Safi warned. Afghanistan had been a proxy battleground for Pakistan and India during the war between the Pakistani-backed Taliban regime and the India-supported Northern Alliance.

Another Afghan analyst, Hamidullah Farooqi, said he thinks the reports of India supplying weapons are simply brinkmanship and, at most, India might agree to help Afghanistan upgrade old Soviet-era weaponry.

"An arms deal with India would not be helpful for regional stability or for the balance that Afghanistan needs between India and Pakistan," Farooqi said. "This is just a political game. I don't think there will be an arms deal."

Aside from regional strategic rivalries, Karzai is expected to discuss economic issues and will visit an engineering university where he will receive an honorary degree, Faizi said.

India has invested more than $2 billion in Afghan infrastructure, including highways and hospitals and rural electricity projects. New Delhi is hoping to gain some influence in the country after 2014, when Afghan forces become responsible for the entire country's security.

Karzai, who earned his college degree in India, has visited New Delhi more than a half dozen times in the past few years, most recently in November 2012.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/karzai-seeks-indian-military-aid-amid-pakistan-row-103234707.html

Happy new year fiscal cliff Pitbull Hannah Storm fergie new years looper

Earl Ofari Hutchinson: Why the Public Should Yawn Over Alleged Obama Scandals

The mostly media driven scandal talk involving President Obama has so far stirred barely a yawn among the public. There are good reasons. The four alleged scandals, Benghazi, the IRS, the AP leaks, and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius supposed shakedown of corporations to help implement the health care act don't come close to passing the smell test for a public fogging of the president. There is absolutely no clear-cut evidence or testimony that Obama had any knowledge of or hand in the missteps. And the comparison to Watergate, or Nixon, is a joke and an insult.

Nixon orchestrated the long train of Watergate criminal abuses. He and a slew of administration officials resigned, retired, or were indicted for their criminal conduct. The IRS alleged scandal is the one that does have the potential to generate some public outrage, mostly because of the inherent public fear and animosity toward the IRS. But the best or worst that can be said about this is that some IRS operatives dissected the Tea Party and other political groups because some do blatantly engage in political activities that IRS rules forbid after they get a tax exemption. These officials went too far with their over intrusive scrutiny of these groups. But this is a far cry from the blatant and direct misuse of the IRS by past presidents from Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson to Republican Nixon too whipsaw political groups they considered enemies.

Then there's the almost ritual expectation by the public that second term presidents will be dogged by some scandal. This was the case with Eisenhower, Nixon, of course, Reagan, Clinton and George W. Bush. This shouldn't surprise. They've been in office a long time. They run a big sprawling government with thousands of appointees and personnel. This is simply beyond the pale of one person to control every facet and decision their appointees and personnel make.

These are mere trifles though, when stacked up against the major reason that the media's sensationalized missteps of the Obama administration have barely registered a blip on the public chart. The reason is the GOP. It has stepped up its very publicly avowed bitter, protracted and divisive war to stymie Obama's second term presidency. It has virtually declared a boycott of his judicial nominees. GOP senators have subjected his top cabinet picks to a free-wheeling public attack, smear, and vilification campaign. GOP House Republicans have voted 37 times to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act. Both House and Senate Republicans have made it equally clear they will not even consider trying to do a deal with Obama on fiscal and debt reduction measures.

The GOP has made no secret that it will continue to use its two formidable weapons to further hammer Obama. One is its power to say no in Congress. The hoped for payoff for the GOP is that forcing Obama into a prolonged war with it will result in the White House getting little or none of its legislative agenda through Congress and this will sour public opinion on the White House. This has been the bane of other presidents during their second term and has marred their legacy.

Then there's the power of money. Since many well-heeled GOP corporate bankrolled candidates went down to defeat in the presidential election, some saw this as a grand rejection of the corporate, banking and wealthy ultra-conservative bankrollers ability to buy their way into office with their handpicked conservative candidates. This is a wrong read. Money will continue to be a potent weapon at the GOP's disposal. The astronomical cost of winning an office virtually assures that. The difference is that in future elections the GOP will be more selective and prudent about the conservatives that its campaign financiers bankroll.

The GOP's greatest weapon is the frozen political divide in the country. Nearly 50 percent of the nation's voters not only did not support Obama, but expressed total contempt for his policies and his administration. The GOP banks that it can swivel this divisiveness into sustained opposition to those policies, and that it can buy enough time with that until the 2014 midterm elections and further boost its numbers in the House and especially the Senate. This is where the real and manufactured Obama scandals fit in. By blitzing the White House and the media with a score of hearings on alleged Obama administration scandals, the GOP hopes to stir up enough dirt, public doubt, and dissension to further cripple Obama and, in a dream case, cripple Hillary Clinton or any other Democratic presidential contender for 2016. So far, the ploy hasn't worked. The alleged Obama scandals have not ignited public outrage. But this in no way sates the GOP's thirst to pull out all stops to try and make sure they do.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His new ebook is How the NRA Terrorizes Congress--The NRA's Subversion of the Gun Control Debate (Amazon). He is an associate editor of New America Media. He is a weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on American Urban Radio Network. He is the host of the weekly Hutchinson Report on KTYM 1460 AM Radio Los Angeles and KPFK-Radio and the Pacifica Network.

?

Follow Earl Ofari Hutchinson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/earlhutchinson

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/earl-ofari-hutchinson/why-the-public-should-yaw_b_3300263.html

oscars red carpet jennifer lopez wardrobe malfunction hugo hugo nfl combine 84th annual academy awards beginners

Graying China taps rural elderly to care for those even older

By Li Hui and Maxim Duncan

QIANTUN, China (Reuters) - Two years short of 70, Zhang Guosheng spends his days caring for an 81-year-old fellow villager - washing his clothes, bringing meals to his bed, and keeping him company - a routine he'll keep up until he himself needs the type of care he is now giving.

"Living here is better than staying at home alone. We help each other and have a common language," said the spritely Zhang, an enthusiastic dancer. "We are very happy here."

With younger villagers who would traditionally have looked after their parents and grandparents flocking to the booming cities to seek work as part of Beijing's urbanization drive, Qiantun village in northern China's Hebei province has had to pioneer a new model - the old looking after the even older.

Surrounded by green wheat fields that stretch across a flat plain, Qiantun is unremarkable among countless rural Chinese communities, but its old-age care model is now a prototype cited by central government as a solution to the daunting challenge of caring for a vast and rapidly greying rural population.

One of every four Chinese will be older than 60 by 2030, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Massive rural-to-urban migration will further strain the rural areas' ability to provide care for the elderly, as personal savings and family support remain the primary pillars of old-age care.

"Migrants to urban areas are mainly young adults, leaving mostly the elderly in villages with children," said Wang Dewen, an expert with the World Bank's Beijing office. "The formal eldercare system in rural areas is very weak, and basically a blank spot in many places."

As a result, the gap between the number of elderly in rural and urban areas is expected to balloon over the next 15 years, to 11 percentage points from today's 1.24 percentage points, the ministry projects.

The costs of caring for China's rapidly expanding elderly population are likely to be too heavy a burden for the government, forcing Beijing to find cost-effective and creative ways to provide care in myriad localities. The self-help model practiced among the 1,500 residents of Qiantun offers a cheaper and streamlined alternative to a state-run system.

More than 95 percent of China's rural elderly still adhere to the traditional practice of seeking old-age care within their families, Wang said. But families are no longer able to cope, with youth and even middle-aged people heading to cities to find work, leaving the elderly behind to fend for themselves.

THE "LIGHT" OF FEIXIANG

In their search for affordable eldercare models, Beijing's leaders have turned their attention 450 km (280 miles) to the south in Hebei's Feixiang county, where Qiantun lies. The practice of old people taking care of each other posed a simple and attractive solution.

Labeled "mutual assist eldercare", the Feixiang model is set to be expanded to the rest of rural China, with 3 billion yuan ($490 million) set aside by the central government to get it started over the coming three years.

"The light of Feixiang will shine across China," Li Liguo, minister of civil affairs, declared enthusiastically during a trip to Feixiang in 2011. "Feixiang has set an example for the whole country."

But not everyone is as optimistic about the model.

"As people get older, they don't tend to get healthier. So if you have somebody in their sixties caring for somebody in their nineties, are they going to be able, and trained and strong enough themselves to care for somebody who has chronic conditions?" said Tony Buccheri, a manager with Right at Home International, a U.S.-based senior home care provider that offers services in China through a partner.

Buccheri's concern echoes that of Cai Qingyang, pioneer of the model and Qiantun's village chief.

"Old people with critical illnesses need more than the very basic care provided here, and we will have to think of other ways to care for them," said the 61 year-old former soldier Cai, watching several old villagers dancing in the yard.

"But this really is the only feasible way given the local elder care situation. The village and the government simply can't afford proper institutional care for every aged rural resident," Cai added.

In 2008, Cai sought to do something about the lack of care for rural elderly left behind as young adults sought better paying work in cities. He turned an abandoned brick house into an old-age home, where 25 elderly villagers moved into 11 rooms, keeping each other company, sharing meals, as well as farming and doing housework.

His innovation has thrived under state support and more than a dozen other provinces have replicated the model.

OLD BEFORE RICH

What separates China's ageing pattern from that in other Asian societies such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore is that the country is still relatively poor on a per capita basis. The phrase "getting old before rich" reflects the fact that even though China's economic growth remains robust, its demographics work against it.

Those in the emerging middle class have more options among at-home care providers, and public as well as private senior homes, and are more likely to find them affordable.

The rural elderly have fewer resources and fewer choices, while youth migration patterns unstitch the traditional family safety net. And despite years of efforts by China's leaders, the income gap between urban and rural residents has increased. A report published by the World Bank last year noted that rural elderly have "remained consistently poorer than the urban elderly over time".

Nor is that likely to change. Two-thirds of elderly Chinese currently live in rural areas, and although migration patterns cloud demographic estimates, many demographers believe the majority of China's elderly will remain in the countryside.

To meet the challenge, says the World Bank's Wang, China must make its urbanization an equalizer of basic social services for urban and rural residents. To do that, he adds, it must reform the household registration system that ties social services to people's registered home, to facilitate family migration to cities and receive care there.

But in the short term, rural areas such as Qiantun, which has three times as many elderly residents as young adults, can only make do with the resources they have. The government provides 600 yuan ($97.68) a year in subsidies for each of the 30 elderly Qiantun villagers at the centre. Their average age is 75.

By contrast, offering professional care at an old-age care institution would cost a minimum of ten times as much, 6,000 yuan a year, according to government estimates, offset by a mere 120 yuan annual subsidy from the government.

At the Qiantun villager centre, "old" Zhang, as he is known, talks about the future as he brings a bowl of dumplings and medicine to the bedside of his charge, bedridden by a broken thigh bone.

"He can't move around now, I help him," said a still spry Zhang. "When I can't move, someone will also care for me."

($1 = 6.1428 Chinese yuan)

(Editing by Ben Blanchard and Ian Geoghegan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/greying-china-taps-rural-elderly-care-those-even-041855642.html

www.walmart.com Macho Camacho Rise of the Guardians Pumpkin Pie Jack Taylor Apple Pie Recipe black friday

PFT: Teammate says Titus Young opened up to him

Getty Images

With all the criticism Mike Vick has absorbed during his NFL career, you?d think he?d be used to it by now.

He apparently isn?t.

Earlier this week, Vick got a little testy during an interview with Mike Missanelli of 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia on the topic of those who say he doesn?t read defenses quickly enough, and that he holds onto the ball for too long.

?I?m really tempted right now to just say no comment to that because like I said a second ago, you don?t last 12 years in the NFL not being able to read the defense,? Vick said, via Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com.? ?Those people who are talking and saying that are just ignorant, and they know nothing about football.? Unless they turn on the film and watch my game and see what goes on, then they?ll replace those comments with the right comments.?

Missanelli pointed out that critics who know football have made those claims.? ?But it?s incorrect,? Vick said.? ?Without getting sensitive about it, it?s incorrect.? So I?d rather not talk about it.?

We?d hate to hear what Vick would say if he were sensitive about it.? (Actually, we?d probably love to hear it.)

Vick attributes the perception of holding the ball too long to the West Coast offense the Eagles ran under Andy Reid.? ?We had a lot of deeper throws last year, which required more time,? Vick said.? ?It?s just a big difference.?

New coach Chip Kelly?s system will result in quicker throws; if Vick can make them, he?ll likely be the starter.? Kelly also has taught Vick something unrelated to throwing the ball ? how to run with it, without fumbling.

?The other day, I broke out in the pocket, and the first thing Chip told me was to tuck the football,? Vick said.? ?So I showed him how I was running with it, and he looked at it and he knocked the ball right out of my hands.? And he was like, ?Hold it like this.?? And what he told me felt comfortable.? I had a tighter grip on the football. That should secure that problem as long as I work on it.?

It remains to be seen whether Vick will undergo a Tiki-style transformation when it comes to ball security.? But if he can get rid of the ball when he needs to and keep possession of it when he has to, Vick could have a big year in 2013.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/18/teammate-says-titus-young-opened-up-about-issues/related/

Corvette Stingray Claire Danes Amy Poehler Australian Open Girls Hbo Golden Globes homeland

Iran's Guard warns against post-election turmoil

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Several Iranian newspapers are citing a senior Revolutionary Guard commander as warning his forces will be on watch for possible unrest after the June 14 presidential election.

Col. Rasool Sanaeirad says a "possible riot in Tehran could spread" to other regions. He claims chances for turmoil are heightened because Iran is for the first time holding both presidential and municipal balloting at the same time.

The remarks appear to be a warning to the opposition against staging protests. They were published Sunday in several papers, including the pro-reform Bahar daily.

All key policies in Iran are made by the clerics and their inner circle, including the powerful Guard.

The Guardian Council, the clerical watchdog that runs the elections, is expected Tuesday to announce a handful of candidates for the ballot.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/irans-guard-warns-against-post-election-turmoil-082436418.html

wiz khalifa taylor allderdice mixtape reggie wayne taylor allderdice vincent jackson vicki gunvalson pierre garcon brown recluse spider

New Xbox more than a game console for Microsoft

By Malathi Nayak and Bill Rigby

SAN FRANCISCO/SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is set to make a splash this week with the eagerly awaited unveiling of its new Xbox game console, eight years after the last version, as it seeks a larger share of the $65 billion a year global computer gaming industry.

But the small device faces some big competition from the PlayStation 4 by Sony Corp and the Wii U by Nintendo Co Ltd in a shifting market.

Gamers are gravitating to online play - suggesting the hey-day of console games are over - while Microsoft wants its sleek new toy to finally cross the bridge to the mainstream and become the family's entertainment center.

"Core gamers are very hungry for a new machine but the difference between 2005 and now is that the stakes are so much higher," said Ryan McCaffrey, executive editor at entertainment website IGN.com, harking back to Microsoft's last Xbox release. "The entire Xbox experiment from Microsoft was for it to be the center piece of your living room."

To that end, industry-watchers are expecting a raft of improvements from the new Xbox, when Microsoft unveils it at its Redmond, Washington, headquarters on Tuesday, from closer integration with the TV and link-ups with mobile devices to access to new and even exclusive content.

Console gaming still takes the lion's share of a growing gaming market - about 42 percent of the $65 billion world market, according to Microsoft. But playing games on smartphones and tablets, or as an offshoot to online social networks, is gaining ground fast.

Console sales have been in decline for the last four years, chiefly because of aging devices, but the first of the new generation of machines has not reignited the sector.

Nintendo's Wii U, launched in November, had sold only 3.45 million units through the end of March, well below the company's initial forecast of 5.5 million. Hopes for Sony's PS4, teased in March, are low key.

"The next wave crest isn't as high as the previous one," said Lewis Ward, research manager at International Data Corp, who calculates that about 250 million Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii units were sold between 2005 and 2012.

"I do think that consoles as a product category have peaked and the next gen devices won't match those totals," he said.

LOW MARGINS

The Xbox itself is not a key financial factor for the world's largest software maker. Its Entertainment & Devices unit is set to break $10 billion in sales for the first time this year, but that's half the sales of its Windows unit, and a lot less profitable, averaging less than 15 percent margin compared to 60 percent or higher for Windows or Office.

The company has more than 46 million members who subscribe to its online gaming and digital entertainment service Xbox Live, but that's still a fraction of the people who pay for its software.

However, the Xbox is still a key weapon in Microsoft's strategic battle with Google Inc, Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and others for a central place in consumers' lives.

"This (the new Xbox) is of massive importance to Microsoft. It is a piece of a larger war for the consumer that it is battling. They want to be fully integrated with the consumer whether it's in the living room or mobile," said P.J. McNealy, CEO and founder of Digital World Research. "Arguably the battle against both Apple and Google for dominating a consumer's time share more so than taking on Sony and Nintendo directly."

That means Microsoft will be aiming for many markets at the same time, from the core and casual gamer to the TV watcher and music fan.

To do that, industry watchers expect Microsoft to integrate the new Xbox much more closely to the TV and cable or satellite box, perhaps allowing users to change channel or buy movies with a wave of the hand through its motion-control Kinect sensor. They also expect to hear more about SmartGlass, Microsoft's app that lets you link an Xbox to a tablet or smartphone.

Users can already get Netflix through the Xbox, and Microsoft recently started its own studio to produce exclusive content, meaning the new device is a gateway to much more than games.

"I think they're going to try to have their cake and eat it too - they will try to get casual people for entertainment while keeping the hardcore gamers interested," said McCaffrey at IGN.com. "They want their console on all the time, whether it's a mom watching Amazon video, the son playing a game and the dad watching (Major League Baseball) TV on another app - that's their goal."

(Additional reporting by Edwin Chan; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/xbox-more-game-console-microsoft-140456734.html

julio jones j crew san francisco 49ers san francisco 49ers stan musial Mega 49ers