বৃহস্পতিবার, ৩১ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

2 dead, splintered debris, after storms rake South

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. (AP) ? As rain pelted down, Kandi Cash trudged through the splintered debris of her grandparents' house, hoping to salvage photos and other prized family keepsakes after a day of violent storms raked the Southeast, leaving two people dead.

The demolished home was one of many in the Georgia city of Adairsville splintered by a massive storm front that tore across several states Wednesday, unleashing tornadoes and dangerous winds that easily flipped cars and trucks and smashed homes and businesses.

On the lot where Cash's grandparents had their house also was a mobile home where her aunt lived. The property also had another small house her cousin was fixing up to move into after a planned May wedding. All three homes were demolished: toys, Christmas ornaments, children's clothing, household items and just about everything else that makes up a home were strewn about.

"I'm just picking up pictures," the 28-year-old Cash said. "I've found the most important ones, like when my cousin was born and her late daddy, the ones that matter most."

Cash, who lives in nearby Cartersville, rode out the violent weather in a neighbor's basement. Once the worst had passed, she called her family in Adairsville and was relieved to hear they'd all made it to a cinderblock storm shelter under her grandparents' home.

"I just told them that the Lord was watching after them," she said. "The houses can be rebuilt. The most important thing was that they were safe."

WSB-TV in Atlanta aired footage of an enormous funnel cloud bearing down on Adairsville. Winds flattened homes and wiped out parts of a big manufacturing plant in the city about 60 miles northwest of Atlanta. Pieces of insulation dangled from trees and power poles. A bank lost a big chunk of its roof.

Anthony Raines, 51, was killed when a tree crashed down on his mobile home, crushing him on his bed, Bartow County Coroner Joel Guyton said. Nine other people were hospitalized for minor injuries, authorities said.

Elsewhere, one other death was reported in Tennessee when an uprooted tree fell onto a storage shed where a man had taken shelter.

Near Adairsville, the storms tossed vehicles on Interstate 75 onto their roofs, forcing the route to close for a time.

"The sky was swirling," said Theresa Chitwood, who owns the Adairsville Travel Plaza.

The storm decimated a building behind the plaza. Gusting winds knocked several tractor-trailers on their sides in a parking lot.

Danny Odum and Rocky Depauw, truckers from Marion, Ill., had stopped for breakfast when the suspected tornado hit. They ran for an inner room when they saw debris flying.

"I've been stopping here for probably 40 years," Odum said. "I just stopped and had breakfast this morning, and this happened."

Afterward, Odum found his truck with a haul of diapers flipped on its side with his Boston terrier Simon scared but unscathed in the overturned vehicle. Depauw's truck, anchored by a heavy load of cat litter, was still upright.

A shelter was set up at a recreation center as temperatures plummeted to the 30s and 40s overnight and people had no heat or power. About 12,000 customers statewide had no electricity.

Around the Southeast, meanwhile, authorities were investigating several reports of twisters from the system that had raked Missouri and Arkansas on Tuesday before heading eastward. Some tornado watches remained in effect early Thursday along Virginia's coast as the storm headed off.

In Tennessee, officials confirmed that a tornado with peak winds of 115 mph touched down in Mount Juliet. No serious injuries were reported even though the path of damage was about 150 yards wide. At least six other tornadoes were reported statewide.

At a shopping center in Mount Juliet, large sheets of metal littered the parking lot and light poles were knocked down. One wall of a Dollar General store collapsed, and the roof was torn off.

A distribution center for The Tennessean newspaper also had severe damage. Rick Martin, who bags the newspapers and helps his wife deliver them, was shocked when he saw what was left. The metal frame of the building still stood, but its cinderblock walls had crumbled.

"We feel real lucky," he said Wednesday morning as he looked at the damage. "I would have hated to be in here when this happened."

The deaths ended the nation's longest break between tornado fatalities since detailed records began being kept in 1950, according to the Storm Prediction Center and National Climatic Data Center. The last one was June 24 in Florida. That was 220 days ago as of Tuesday.

The last day with multiple fatalities was June 4, when three people were killed in Missouri.

___

Associated Press writers Kristin M. Hall in Mount Juliet, Tenn., and Phillip Lucas in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/2-dead-splintered-debris-storms-rake-south-083910968.html

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Qualcomm beats street, raises guidance, shares rise

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc beat Wall Street expectations for its fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue and raised its financial targets for 2013 due to growing demand for smartphones and high-speed wireless services.

Qualcomm shares rose 6 percent in late trade on Wednesday as the outlook from the leading supplier of chips for cellphones wowed investors in contrast with sluggish demand at chip makers such as Texas Instruments and Broadcom Corp .

The company, which also announced the retirement of its chief financial officer on Wednesday, said it was seeing strong growth in emerging markets such as China and Latin America.

But outgoing CFO Bill Keitel said on the company's conference call with analysts that the outlook also reflects macro economic weakness.

"Given continued global macroeconomic uncertainties, we are continuing to maintain a cautious outlook for the year ahead," said Keitel, who will be replaced by George Davis, currently CFO of Applied Materials , in March.

San Diego-based Qualcomm is benefiting from strong demand for smartphones and a move by network operators around the world to a high-speed wireless technology known as Long Term Evolution (LTE), where Qualcomm is ahead of rivals.

"That trend is continuing to work in Qualcomm's favor. They're the only viable option for LTE right now," said MKM Partners analyst Daniel Berenbaum. "It's a very strong quarter and the guidance is very strong."

As well as supplying chips for cellphones and tablet computers, Qualcomm also receives royalty payments from any cellphone makers that do not use its chips.

"It looks like in the quarter, a little bit of the upside came from chipsets," said Berenbaum. "In the guidance, chipsets came in around expectations. It looks like royalties are the upside to guidance."

Qualcomm raised its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $23.4 billion to $24.4 billion from its previous target of $23 billion to $24 billion.

It raised its earnings per share target to a range of $4.25 to $4.45 from its previous forecast range of $4.12 to $4.32.

Qualcomm posted a profit of $1.91 billion or $1.09 per share for the quarter ended December 30, compared with a profit of $1.4 billion or 81 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding unusual items, the San Diego-based company reported earnings per share of $1.26 compared with Wall Street expectations of $1.13, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose to $6.02 billion from $4.68 billion in the year-ago quarter and compared with Wall Street expectations for $5.9 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Qualcomm shares rose to $67.40 in late trade after closing at $63.53 in the regular Nasdaq session. The last time its shares reached this level in regular Nasdaq trading was in early April 2012. Its shares reached a post-dotcom bubble high of $68.87 in late March of 2012.

(Reporting By Sinead Carew; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/qualcomm-posts-higher-quarterly-revenue-raises-2013-target-211348135--finance.html

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US economy shrinks 0.1 pct., 1st time in 3? years

In this Wed. Dec. 5, 2012, photo, containers are unloaded from cargo ships at the Port of Los Angeles. Most economists agree that the snapshot of U.S. economic growth released Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2012, is going to look dismal. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

In this Wed. Dec. 5, 2012, photo, containers are unloaded from cargo ships at the Port of Los Angeles. Most economists agree that the snapshot of U.S. economic growth released Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2012, is going to look dismal. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

(AP) ? The U.S. economy unexpectedly shrank from October through December for the first time since 2009, hurt by the biggest cut in defense spending in 40 years, fewer exports and sluggish growth in company stockpiles. The drop occurred despite stronger consumer spending and business investment.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter. That was a sharp slowdown from the 3.1 percent growth rate in the July-September quarter.

Economists said the drop in gross domestic product wasn't as bleak as it looked. The weakness was mainly the result of one-time factors. Government spending cuts and slower inventory growth, which can be volatile, subtracted a total of 2.6 percentage points from GDP.

But the fact that the economy shrank at all, combined with much lower consumer confidence reported Tuesday, may raise fears about the economy's durability in 2013. That's because deep automatic government spending cuts will cut into domestic and defense programs starting in March unless Congress reaches a deal to avert them.

And Americans are coming to grips with an increase in Social Security taxes that has begun to leave them with less take-home pay.

Still, the government spending cuts and slack inventory growth in the fourth quarter offset a 2.2 percent increase in consumer spending. And business spending on equipment and software rose after shrinking over the summer.

Consumer spending added 1.5 percentage points to GDP, and business investment added 1.1 points ? both stronger contributions than in the third quarter.

"Frankly, this is the best-looking contraction in U.S. GDP you'll ever see," Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics, said in a note to clients. "The drag from defense spending and inventories is a one-off. The rest of the report is all encouraging."

And for all of 2012, the economy expanded 2.2 percent, better than 2011's growth of 1.8 percent.

Exports fell by the most in nearly four years, a result of Europe's recession and slower growth in China and some other large developing countries.

Incomes, though, jumped last quarter as companies paid out special dividends and bonuses ahead of expected tax increases in 2013. Commerce estimated that businesses paid nearly $40 billion in early dividends. After-tax income, adjusted for inflation, rose 6.8 percent, the most in nearly four years.

Superstorm Sandy likely also dragged on growth by closing factories, disrupting shipping and shutting down retail stores. While the department did not specify its effects on GDP, it estimated that Sandy destroyed about $36 billion in buildings and other private property and $8.6 billion in government property.

Subpar growth has held back hiring. The economy has created about 150,000 jobs a month, on average, for the past two years. That's barely enough to reduce the unemployment rate, which has been 7.8 percent for the past two months.

Economists forecast that unemployment stayed at the still-high rate again this month. The government releases the January jobs report Friday.

The slower growth in stockpiles comes after a big jump in the third quarter. Companies frequently cut back on inventories if they anticipate a slowdown in sales. Slower inventory growth means factories likely produced less.

Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar, Inc. said this week that it reduced its inventories by $2 billion in the fourth quarter as global sales declined from a year earlier.

The biggest question going forward is how consumers react to the expiration of a Social Security tax cut. Congress and the White House allowed the temporary tax cut to expire in January, but reached a deal to keep income taxes from rising on most Americans.

The tax increase will lower take home pay this year by about 2 percent. That means a household earning $50,000 a year will have about $1,000 less to spend. A household with two high-paid workers will have up to $4,500 less.

Already, a key measure of consumer confidence plummeted this month after Americans noticed the reduction in their paychecks, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-30-US-Economy/id-f06f3ad8bd8b444ba03188a9ce709532

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Vietnam frees American activist after 9 months

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) ? Vietnamese authorities on Wednesday released and deported an American pro-democracy activist detained since April, a move that contrasts with the long prison terms given to Vietnamese activists who are members of the same U.S.-based dissident group.

The release of Nguyen Quoc Quan came after U.S. diplomatic pressure and removes an obvious thorn in relations between the former enemies. Both countries are trying to strengthen their ties in large part because of shared concerns over China's emerging military and economic might, but American concerns over human rights in one-party, authoritarian Vietnam are complicating this.

Vietnam's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Quan had "confessed to his crime" and asked for leniency to be reunited with his family. His wife, Huong Mai Ngo, said she doubted this was the case, suggesting that Hanoi was seeking a face-saving way of allowing him to go home.

"I don't believe it. They say that about everybody," she said via telephone from Sacramento, Calif. "If my husband was prepared to do that (confess), he could have been released nine months ago."

Given the diplomatic sensitivities around the case, most observers had expected Quan to be released and quietly deported.

Quan, an American citizen, was arrested at Ho Chi Minh City's airport in April after arriving on a flight from the United States, where he has lived since fleeing Vietnam by boat as a young man. The 59-year-old is a leading member of Viet Tan, a nonviolent pro-democracy group that Vietnamese authorities have labeled a terrorist organization. He was detained in 2007 in Vietnam for six months, also on charges relating to his pro-democracy activities, before being deported.

Authorities initially accused Quan of terrorism, but he was later charged with subversion against the state, which carries penalties ranging from 12 years in prison to death. Earlier this month, 14 Vietnamese activists associated with Viet Tan were sentenced to up to 13 years in jail.

Ngo said she had yet to speak to her husband, who was on a plane home, but that the U.S. consulate had informed her of his release.

"I can't believe it," she said. "I cried over the phone when I was told."

Asked whether she believed Quan would try to return to Vietnam again, she said: "I can't stop him, but I hope not."

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said it had no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens abroad. "It's good news that he's now been released," she said.

Quan's supporters didn't deny that he had come to Vietnam from his home in California to teach non-violent resistance to the Communist government. His lawyer and family members said earlier this month that his trial on charges of subversion was imminent, but then said it had been postponed for unknown reasons.

According to a copy of the indictment obtained by The Associated Press, Quan met with fellow Vietnamese activists in Thailand and Malaysia between 2009 and 2010 and discussed Internet security and nonviolent resistance. The indictment said he traveled to Vietnam under a passport issued under the name of Richard Nguyen in 2011, when he recruited four other members of Viet Tan.

Vietnam is routinely imprisons proponents of free speech and those who seek to undermine the Communist Party's monopoly on power. Last year, the country arrested and convicted several bloggers, part of a reaction against Internet-fuelled criticism of corruption, its human rights record and handling of the economy.

U.S. officials said last year they were delaying Washington's participation in an annual meeting on human-rights concerns because of Vietnam's lack of progress, including Quan's arrest. Such consultations have been held every year since 2006. Congress members with large Vietnamese-American constituencies have been putting pressure on the Obama administration to get tough with Vietnam.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vietnam-frees-american-activist-9-months-135626913.html

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#Scio13 Diversity Session: North Carolina offers support to LGBT students

On Thursday, January 31, 2013 I will be co-moderating a ScienceOnline Session on Diversity in the Sciences with Alberto Roca of MinorityPostdoc.org.

The audience will surely have many individuals interested in this topic as we explore many different avenues of diversity and inclusion in sciences and higher education. I pleased to share that the audience will definitely include?Justine Hollingshead Director of the?Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Center (GLBT Center)?at North Carolina State University joining us for the session.

In preparation for the session, she shares with the Science Online community the goals and aims of the North Carolina GLBT Center in this guest post.

*************************

At NC State we have seen an increase in the number of ?out? GLBT identified students in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields.? The closet door is opening and as our students are more comfortable it will be evident that career and professional interests span all disciplines.? Ironically the online world is where many #GLBT individuals feel the most comfortable and safe.? It is where individuals go for information, to stay in touch, to explore, and to express themselves.

The NCState GLBT Center uses technology and online resources every day in meeting the needs of the community.? We have a presence on Twitter and Facebook, actively use a resource called Google Talkbin allowing someone to ask an
anonymous question, encourage blogging among students, and will be going live
with an App (Apple and Android) later this spring.

I think it is easy to forget invisible communities like sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, etc. in large part because many view those as personal attributes.? However, it is very powerful when you include the whole person, helping to allow someone to feel like they really matter.? We often pigeon hole people into the notion that they cannot be ?out? and definitely not in the hard sciences.? This is simply untrue.

There seem to be more and more online resources and ways to share information.? Minority science bloggers absolutely play a role in paving the way for those that are still not at a safe or comfortable place of being out.? This also transcends to ally science bloggers.? Allies are extremely important and if they are connected within their industry it often supersedes their sexual orientation.? We all want to see or be
around someone like us.? That includes the online world.? As more and more
people feel comfortable being out, we will have a true representation of diversity within the science communities.

When it comes to mentoring, credibility is an absolute must. For me as the Director of the GLBT Center I try to vet individuals that I know are safe and that our students can reach out to, regardless of discipline.? For the GLBT community it comes down to awareness, trust, and willingness to spend the time with the individual.? As for encouraging students in the STEM fields, it is important to encourage them not to walk away from a challenge and to not always attribute a difficulty to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

The biggest challenges I see on campus NC State and in other arenas is getting the word out AND having the time to do it.? To be a truly successful blogger or social
media enthusiast, in any discipline, are people that are doing it daily and have
amassed a following that count on information.? I think it is also important to be diverse in your content in an intentional way.

I am looking forward to spending time with people in person and virtually over the coming week.? It is a unique opportunity for me personally and professionally as a baby boomer who never touched a computer until 1988, typing college papers on a Brother 3 typewriter, and handwriting in a paper journal.? I have realized in my role with the NC State GLBT Center that I need to meet the needs of all constituency groups and one amazing tool is social media!

You can follow me on Twitter @jholli99 or the Center @GLBTCenter.

Look for Justine at #scio13

Justine Hollingshead has twenty-five years of
success working as an administrator in Higher Education on various college campuses across the country, in addition to the business sector as well.

She offers particular expertise in diversity education, training, leadership, supervision, programming, event planning, and administration, with an in-depth working knowledge and
passion regarding the issues facing the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender
(GLBT) community.? Justine earned her Bachelor?s degree from Slippery Rock
University in Communication, her Master?s degree in Higher Education Student
Personnel Administration from the University of Maryland, College Park and has
completed a ten-week comprehensive business training program with the Council
for Entrepreneurial Development in North Carolina.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=3b8e1a9f7bd1318c974c5df04eabf628

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Fuel of the future: Cheap hydrogen from water one step closer

Jan. 30, 2013 ? Hydro?gen has tremen?dous poten?tial as an eco-friendly fuel, but it is expen?sive to pro?duce. Now researchers at Prince?ton Uni?ver?sity and Rut?gers Uni?ver?sity have moved a step closer to har?ness?ing nature to pro?duce hydro?gen for us.

The team, led by Prince?ton chem?istry pro?fes?sor Annabella Sel?l?oni, takes inspi?ra?tion from bac?te?ria that make hydro?gen from water using enzymes called di-iron hydro?ge?nases. Selloni's team uses com?puter mod?els to fig?ure out how to incor?po?rate the magic of these enzymes into the design of prac?ti?cal syn?thetic cat?a?lysts that humans can use to pro?duce hydro?gen from water.

In this lat?est paper, Sel?l?oni and co-authors present a solu?tion to an issue that has dogged the field: the cat?a?lysts designed so far are sus?cep?ti?ble to poi?son?ing by the oxy?gen present dur?ing the reac?tion. By mak?ing changes to the cat?a?lyst to improve the sta?bil?ity of the struc?ture in water, the researchers found that they had also cre?ated a cat?a?lyst that is tol?er?ant to oxy?gen with?out sac?ri?fic?ing effi?ciency. What is more, their arti?fi?cial cat?a?lyst could be made from abun?dant and cheap com?po?nents, such as iron, indi?cat?ing that the cat?a?lyst could be a cost-effective way of pro?duc?ing hydrogen.

Sel?l?oni and her team con?ducted their research in sil?ico -- that is, using com?puter mod?el?ing. The goal is to learn enough about how these cat?a?lysts work to some?day cre?ate work?ing cat?a?lysts that can make vast quan?ti?ties of inex?pen?sive hydro?gen for use in vehi?cles and elec?tric?ity production.

The team included Patrick Hoi-Land Sit, an asso?ciate research scholar in chem?istry at Prince?ton; Roberto Car, Princeton's Ralph W. *31 Dornte Pro?fes?sor in Chem?istry, and Mor?rel H. Cohen, a Senior Chemist at Prince?ton and Mem?ber of the Grad?u?ate Fac?ulty of Rut?gers Uni?ver?sity. Sel?l?oni is Princeton's David B. Jones Pro?fes?sor of Chemistry.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Princeton University. The original article was written by Cather?ine Zan?donella.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. P. H.- L. Sit, R. Car, M. H. Cohen, A. Selloni. Oxygen tolerance of an in silico-designed bioinspired hydrogen-evolving catalyst in water. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1215149110

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/kTUyiY5Vwdg/130130184414.htm

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বুধবার, ৩০ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

'Raising Sextuplets' mom welcomes baby No. 7

By Josh Grossberg, E! Online

Joe Toreno / WE tv

Jenny McClendon, formerly Jenny Masche, of "Raising Sextuplets."

Jenny McClendon sure is giving Octomom a run for her money. The erstwhile star of WE's "Raising Sextuplets" celebrated the birth on Monday of her seventh child, a son named Cash Allen McClendon.?

"An Unbelievable gift...Beyond words!!!!" McClendon wrote on Facebook (via People). "Thank you Lord for the miracle of life!!"

Here's a look at some other famous families?

Jenny, who announced she was pregnant back in November, revealed that her little bundle of joy entered the world at 12:28 p.m. and weighed in at 8 pounds, 0 ounces, measuring 20.75 inches.?

McClendon, nee Masche, tied the knot with Levi McClendon last March after divorcing her former hubby Bryan Masche, with whom she appeared in the reality series along with their now 5-year-old sextuplets: Savannah, Bailey, Grant, Cole, Molli and Blake.

Cash is Levi's third child, as he has two children from a previous relationship.?

Related content:

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Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2013/01/29/16756304-raising-sextuplets-mom-jenny-mcclendon-welcomes-baby-no-7?lite

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ZTE's 5.7-inch, 8mm-thick Grand Memo teased ahead of MWC launch, we go hands-on

ZTE's 57inch, 8mmthick Grand Memo teased ahead of MWC, we go handson

Huawei may have its 6.1-inch Ascend Mate for the convenience of hiding your face, but ZTE's also prepping its very own tabletphone to go head to head with its main rival. Dubbed the Grand Memo (V9815), this 5.7-inch 720p device made a surprise appearance at a ZTE event in Hong Kong today, and we got to snap some photos of it. The device looks identical to the P945 leaked earlier this month but packs some slightly different specs: 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro (same as the more premium Grand S), 13-megapixel camera, 8mm-thick body and Android 4.1.2.

While the specs aren't too shabby, our colleague Stone Ip said the choice of finish on the body didn't feel as nice as the Grand S', and the silver bezel made the Grand Memo look worse, but in ZTE's defense it was a prototype and the design may improve in the retail version. On a more positive note, the new phone does include a microSD slot despite its slimness, and it comes with a "one-hand" T9 keyboard that can stick to either side of the screen for better single-handed typing, just too bad we were asked not to take a video of the device at the time. That said, the Grand Memo will be officially unveiled at MWC next month, so stay tuned for more.

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Chuck Hagel: A Precocious Choice

Yahoo News asked military service members, veterans and military families to react to the nomination of Chuck Hagel to the defense secretary post and what changes they'd like to see at the department. Here's one perspective.

COMMENTARY | Amid both criticism and elation, President Obama made a bold and surprising move by nominating Chuck Hagel, a Republican, as the new defense secretary. Having served in the U.S. Army from 1983 to 1989 as a sergeant, I have a different view than most politicians. I applaud the president's strategic appointment. Perhaps this is exactly what the nation needs at this point in history, an innovative approach to uniting our government.

If Hagel is appointed, I hope to see an extensive change in our foreign policy. Especially when it comes to limiting the use of U.S. troops in the middle-east. Chuck Hagel is well-known for his criticism of the Bush administration's foreign policy, as well as its Iraq policy. Since he had served as a non-commissioned officer during the Vietnam War, he understood well the tell-tale signs of a lost conflict.

Despite being labeled unpatriotic by many Republicans, he was not afraid of speaking his mind. He said: "To question your government is not unpatriotic -- to not question your government is unpatriotic." He also openly criticized the Republican Party's use of rhetorical tactics that divided the nation. I believe that his ability to understand the importance of supporting our constitution over our president is exactly what this nation needs.

As a veteran, I believe that for the nation to recover completely it must first unite. Never has the country stood so divided. Therefore, it is only logical that the best place to start is with our country's leaders. I am hopeful that Chuck Hagel's appointment will be the catalyst for unification and true recovery. Perhaps it will serve as an example for all Americans to work together.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chuck-hagel-precocious-choice-151400929.html

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City to start repaying in earnest its bond debt from new City Hall

The city has paid about $3.7 million toward the bonds in each year since 2008, but much of that has been for interest, Finance Director Mike Kier said. Only $600,000 total has been for principal, or the amount it actually borrowed.

The increase to $4.7 million this year is due to a scheduled deadline to begin repaying the principal, Kier said.

To level out the annual payment totals, the city set its interest payments to decrease after the capital payment grace period, he said.

The increase is further softened by recent success in renting unused space at City Hall and by a decision to refinance of some of the bonds.

The bonds - issued to purchase the 15-story One Technology Center at 100 S. Cincinnati Ave., demolish vacated city structures, and fund relocation and security - were financially dependent on the city's ability to lease space it didn't need in the building.

The city struggled to find tenants for much of the five-year grace period on capital payments, but the building's occupancy rate jumped to about 93 percent after a recent agreement with Magellan Midstream Partners LP, which will rent the ninth floor.

City Hall's five tenants now pay the city's Public Facilities Authority $4.7 million a year, with some of that going to help repay the bonds and some going to building operating costs.

Without revenue from a fully-rented City Hall to offset expenses, officials previously estimated that the city would have to pay $8.9 million out of its own pocket for building expenses after 10 years.

That was envisioned as a possibility in 2010, when City Hall's vacancy rate remained unchanged from 2008 at nearly 20 percent under one method for calculating the figure. Officials had estimated that the building would be fully occupied by then.

Although a more fully-occupied City Hall has recently kept the city's out-of-pocket expenses down, any loss in tenants would force the city to pay more directly for operating expenses, Kier said.

Partly as insurance for such a loss, the city hopes to rent fairly soon its remaining unused space - about 48,000 square feet on its 14th floor, he said.

"That additional floor would be pretty important from a city standpoint," Kier said. "In the short term, it might allow us to pay maybe a little less, but that would be a policy decision."

That extra money could also be saved for other purposes, such as starting a fund to prepare for any future renovations, he said.

"The attraction of tenants and whatnot is a bigger job than I might have thought," Kier said. "Since we've been through some ups and downs - maybe more downs on the rental business - I might be a little more inclined to make sure that we'd be able to cover it if we had a tenant move out at some point."

The bonds were authorized at up to $76 million. That was based on an assumption that the city would use some of the money to create a debt reserve - a method of assuring the bond holder that the bond would be repaid if there was insufficient revenue, Kier said.

Instead, the city bought an insurance policy for the bonds because it was cheaper, he said.

Original Print Headline: City to start repaying its bond debt in earnest


Zack Stoycoff 918-581-8486
zack.stoycoff@tulsaworld.com

Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/articlepath.aspx?articleid=20130130_16_A1_Paymen461467&rss_lnk=1

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Under pressure, Boy Scouts may ease no-gays policy

NEW YORK (AP) ? Facing diverse and ceaseless protests, the Boy Scouts of America is signaling its readiness to end the nationwide exclusion of gays as scouts or leaders and give the sponsors of local troops the freedom to decide the matter for themselves.

If approved by the Scouts' national executive board, possibly as soon as next week, the change would be another momentous milestone for America's gay-rights movement, following a surge of support for same-sex marriage and the ending of the ban on gays serving opening in military.

"The pulse of equality is strong in America, and today it beats a bit faster with news that the Boy Scouts may finally put an end to its long history of discrimination," said Chad Griffin of the Human Rights Campaign, a major gay-rights group.

Under the proposed change, which was outlined Monday by the Scouts, the different religious and civic groups that sponsor Scout units would be able to decide for themselves how to address the issue ? either maintaining an exclusion of gays, as is now required of all units, or opening up their membership.

Southern Baptist leaders ? who consider homosexuality a sin ? were furious about the possible change and said its approval might encourage Southern Baptist churches to support other boys' organizations instead of the BSA. The Southern Baptists are among the largest sponsors of Scout units, along with the Roman Catholic, Mormon and United Methodist churches.

Under the proposed change, said BSA spokesman Deron Smith, "the Boy Scouts would not, under any circumstances, dictate a position to units, members, or parents."

The Irving, Texas-based BSA, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010, has long excluded both gays and atheists. Smith said that a change in the policy toward atheists was not being considered and that the BSA continued to view "Duty to God" as one of its basic principles.

Protests over the no-gays policy gained momentum in 2000, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the BSA's right to exclude gays. Scout units lost sponsorships by public schools and other entities that adhered to nondiscrimination policies, and several local Scout councils made public their displeasure with the policy.

More recently, pressure surfaced on the Scouts' own national executive board. Two high-powered members ? Ernst & Young CEO James Turley and AT&T Inc. CEO Randall Stephenson ? indicated they would try to work from within to change the membership policy, which stood in contrast to their own companies' non-discrimination policies.

Amid petition campaigns by Change.org, shipping giant UPS Inc. and drug-manufacturer Merck & Co. announced that they were halting donations from their charitable foundations to the Boy Scouts as long as the no-gays policy was in force.

Also, local Scout officials drew widespread criticism last year for ousting Jennifer Tyrrell, a lesbian mom, as a den leader of her son's Cub Scout pack in Ohio and for refusing to approve an Eagle Scout application by Ryan Andresen, a California teen who came out as gay last fall.

Tyrrell said she was thrilled for parents and their children who've been excluded from scouting and "for those who are in Scouts and hiding who they are."

"For me it's not just about the Boy Scouts of America, it's about equality," she told The Associated Press. "This is a step toward equality in all aspects."

Many of the protest campaigns, including one seeking Tyrrell's reinstatement, had been waged with help from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

"The Boy Scouts of America have heard from Scouts, corporations and millions of Americans that discriminating against gay scouts and scout leaders is wrong," said Herndon Graddick, GLAAD's president. "Scouting is a valuable institution, and this change will only strengthen its core principles of fairness and respect."

The Scouts had reaffirmed the no-gays policy as recently as last year and appeared to have strong backing from the conservative religious denominations that sponsor large numbers of Scout units. Under the proposed change, they could continue excluding gays.

Before Monday's announcement, the BSA conferred with some leaders of these religious groups, including the Rev. Frank Page, who leads the Southern Baptist Executive Committee.

According to Roger S. Oldham, a spokesman for the executive committee, Page then wrote to the Scouts "expressing his tremendous dismay at the decision."

"They had been working for months on this proposal and just days before they informed us," Oldham said in a telephone interview. "We would anticipate that there would be a very significant backlash to this as churches re-evaluate whether scouting comports with."

If the Scouts proceed with the change, Oldham said, SBC leaders were likely to issue a statement "expressing disappointed and encouraging our churches to support alternative boys organizations."

Neither the Catholic Church nor the Mormons' Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued official statements as to how they would respond.

Said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, "The bishops hope the Boy Scouts will continue to work under the Judeo-Christian principles upon which they were founded and under which they have served youth well."

Were the change adopted, said BSA spokesman Smith, "there would no longer be any national policy regarding sexual orientation."

"BSA members and parents would be able to choose a local unit that best meets the needs of their families," he said. "Under this proposed policy, the BSA would not require any chartered organization to act in ways inconsistent with that organization's mission, principles, or religious beliefs."

The announcement came shortly after new data showed that membership in the Cub Scouts ? the BSA's biggest division ? dropped sharply last year and was down nearly 30 percent over the past 14 years.

According to figures provided by the organization, Cub Scout ranks dwindled by 3.4 percent, from 1,583,166 in 2011 to 1,528,673 in 2012. That's down from 2.17 million in 1998.

The BSA's overall "traditional youth membership" ? Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Venturers ? totaled 2,658,794 in 2012, compared to more than 4 million in peak years of the past.

The Boy Scouts attribute the decline largely to broad social changes, including the allure of video games and the proliferation of youth sports leagues and other options for after-school activities.

However, critics of the Scouts suggest that its recruitment efforts have been hampered by high-profile controversies ? notably the court-ordered release of files dealing with sex abuse allegations and persistent protests over the no-gays policy.

The Scouts have been buffeted in recent years by multiple court cases related to past allegations of sexual abuse by Scout leaders, including those chronicled in long-confidential records that are widely known as the "perversion files."

Through various cases, the Scouts have been forced to reveal files dating from the 1960s to 1991. They detailed numerous cases where abuse claims were made and Boy Scout officials never alerted authorities and sometimes actively sought to protect the accused.

The BSA has apologized for past lapses and cover-ups and has stressed the steps taken to improve youth protection policy. Since 2010, for example, it has mandated that any suspected abuse be reported to police.

___

Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, and Rachel Zoll in New York contributed to this report.

___

Boy Scouts: http://www.scouting.org/

___

David Crary can be reached at http://twitter.com/CraryAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/under-pressure-boy-scouts-may-ease-no-gays-075125406.html

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Two of the Most Powerful Ways to Market Your Copywriting Services

I want to share with you the two most powerful marketing methods I?ve found for the copywriter. And they are (drum roll please)?direct mail and? networking!
In my coaching program I have my students go through an intensive 24-session web/mail marketing program that gets them the high quality leads they need for financial and professional [...]

The article starts below...

Written on January 28th, 2013
Read more articles on Copywriting.

I want to share with you the two most powerful marketing methods I?ve found for the copywriter. And they are (drum roll please)?direct mail and? networking!

In my coaching program I have my students go through an intensive 24-session web/mail marketing program that gets them the high quality leads they need for financial and professional success.

However, as one of my previous students recently reminded me, networking is also a very strong marketing tool.

In fact, it was networking that got me my first clients, and it was direct mail that got me the right clients during the second phase of my freelance career.

Here?s what you need to know about networking?

Rule number one: Avoid the Chamber of Commerce!

Almost every copywriter I know (including me), automatically puts the Chamber of Commerce on the short list of good places to network. And almost every copywriter (myself included), is disappointed with the results.

Now I?m not saying the local Chamber is always a losing proposition; I have one past student who said Chamber networking paid off for him, but 99 percent of the copywriters I talk with agree the businesses found there are just too small (and usually clueless about direct marketing).

What?s more, the Chamber is comprised of many types of business, so niching is not possible.

It is much better to go to events and meetings that focus on marketing, like those of a local Direct Marketing Association and American Marketing Association. This is where you?ll find marketing directors, direct marketers, and marketing-related vendors likely to have a high interest in copywriting services.

When I first started my freelance career I joined the Oregon Direct Marketing Association and took every opportunity I could to get my name known.

I wrote the newsletter (and placed a free ad in the classifieds); I wrote the press releases and I accepted responsibilities for putting on the yearly conference. I even gave a speech on the proper elements of a good sales letter. And I put myself on the board.

All of this led to my first freelance clients: mini-cataloger and manufacturer Stash Tea, LawnPro, a small landscape maintenance firm, and an ad agency that locked me in a tiny room on site, as though to prevent me from making a personal call on their dime. Not the best clients, but it gave me my start.

Over the years, technology has made niche marketing the smart way to go, and for that reason I also highly recommend that you seek groups, organizations, trade shows, and associations that pertain to your niche.

Another one of my current students is niching into a very specialized area of the alternative health field. Within her unique niche she?s found huge trade shows she can attend, and is now making calls to vendors to introduce herself and let them know she?ll be stopping by their booth. The positive response she?s been getting has us both very excited!

Many copywriters find it difficult to network simply because they live remotely. For them, I like to point out online alternatives.

For instance, as a specialist in software who lives in California?s remote Palm Desert (near Palm Springs), I must seek online opportunities to network.

To this end I?ve participated in marketing forums on SoftwareCEO, a popular site for software execs. And I?ve also written articles for its newsletter.

I can report that networking on SoftwareCEO has paid off nicely, as a large chunk of last year?s income came from a client who saw my name there.

Online networking has another plus, and that?s that it?s an especially attractive route to take if you?re shy and have a difficult time of meeting people.

With online networking, all you have to do is answer a question, provide an opinion, or share a resource. It takes just a few minutes, you don?t have to dress up, or travel anywhere, and it doesn?t cost a thing!

In summary, there are many ways for copywriters to market themselves. Public speaking, writing articles, cold calling, running ads, and so on.

But most copywriters have neither the time nor the finances for multiple marketing efforts; most pick one or two methods that appeal to them, and work hard at making them effective.

One thing is sure: I wouldn?t be where I am now without networking. I found my copywriting mentor via networking and he taught me everything he knew.

With networking I made the connections that got me an agency job that changed the course of my career?and my life.

Reflecting on what networking has done for my career, I must wholeheartedly encourage my ambitious freelance friends to take advantage of its benefits.

I?ve often thought that in any business, it?s the people who make things happen. With networking, you can capitalize on this truism. You can develop relationships that last a lifetime?gain experiences that greatly impact your career?and enjoy rewards far beyond your initial imagination.

I encourage you to find networking opportunities, both online and off. Network consistently and I guarantee that when you?re ?fat and happy,? you?ll attribute some of your success to networking.

About the Author

Master copywriter and coach Chris Marlow publishes a free ezine for copywriters who want to quickly build a profitable business. Visit: FreelancersBusinessBulletin

Written on January 28th, 2013
Read more articles on Copywriting.

Source: http://www.copywritinghelp.net/copywriting/two-of-the-most-powerful-ways-to-market-your-copywriting-services-10/

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The Simppl Life - The Barre Legacy | 1.2

The next installation of the Barre legacy, the very first family to play through The Board Game Challenge!

Last time with the Barre legacy, our founder Chocolate was hastily married to Skullduggery Jones while on the rebound from her broken engagement with Joshua. Chocolate and Skullduggery immediately dashed off on their honeymoon to Takemizuu, consummated their marriage, and enjoyed a vast amount of pseudo-Asian culture. We left them just as they were returning home.


The lovely souvenirs from their visit to Takemizuu. Though actually, the Maneki Neko cat is one of the things Chocolate initially dug up when looking for a treasure chest. I let her keep it because it was so darn cute. XD Just lucky for me it fit in so well later!


First thing we make Skullduggery do upon coming back home? LEVEL UP HIS COOKING SKILL. I'm not taking any more chances at him burning down the house. :| He was alone only four hours last time before he had the whole kitchen flooded from the sprinkler trying to put out all the flames.


*sigh* I SUPPOSE it's an improvement. The fire sprinkler didn't go off this time, anyway.


What?? What is this? I'm no more pleased to hear from you than Chocolate is, Joshua. You can't just say all those nasty things and dump her, then call her a week later expecting everything to be alright. She's moved on, and you are a nasty little fellow. :P


Doesn't mean Chocolate can't brag about her awesome honeymoon to you though. >_> TELL HIM ABOUT ALL THE THINGS HE MISSED OUT ON, CHOCOLATE. He's a butthead and deserves to feel regret.


Chocolate: *pop* "Oh my god, sweetie! I think... I think I'm pregnant!"
Skullduggery: "Eww... does that mean this puddle is YOURS, and not Klondike's?"
Chocolate: ":| No. No it does not. I'm PREGNANT, not in labor. My water isn't going to break for like, 6 more months. And you would still be on puddle-duty even if it was mine."
Skullduggery: ":( That's not fair."
Chocolate: "I know. :)"


@_@ Such a cute little growing familyyy~~~ It's made a little less cute by the fact that they're all playing around a TOILET, but perhaps Bathtub Sailor Chocolate makes up for that. :3


Aww, poor dear. Pregnancy is so hard on them, isn't it? Though it isn't exactly easy on us, either.


*bouncey bouncey bounce* I am so excited for the first spawn!! I am also really loving my new default PJs. So comfy and slouchy looking. And CUTE. <3


Cuddles. <333 Skullduggery has been a very supportive husband and expecting father; making almost all the meals, and cleaning up the house as best he can. And providing lots and lots of cuddles. :3 All ladies need lots of cuddle, but pregnant ones especially, IMO.


Whoop! It's go-time!! *pats self on back for not having the first birth of the family be in a bathroom*


Chocolate: *births child*
Skullduggery: *yawn* "Hey hon, what you doing up? It's like the middle of the night. Man, I had the weirdest dream. You were being eaten by zombies or something, just screaming and screaming, like you were in the most intense pain EVER."
Chocolate: "NO WAY. No idea why you would have imagined me screaming in agony, nope, none at all. Not because I just gave birth to your first-born or anything. Nothing like that."
Skullduggery: "...what? *turns around* OH SHIT. BABY."


Baby, indeed. Girl baby! This is KitKat Barre, with all of her daddy's genetics, so far as we can tell. I don't mind too much, her dad has awesome genetics!


Always comforting when they're a good parent right off the bat. I always worry about them tripping over their baby for the whole next week if the first thing they do is set it on the floor. :| If they feed it first, they just tend to fare better as parents. So I approve, Chocolate, I definitely approve.


As per this generation's rules, after the birth of each child you've got to decrease how much spending money your family has by $1000 via cheats or buying useless deco items, and I chose useless deco items! So meet Maya and Nayam, everybody, our front door guardians, who both rang in at $505 each.


Ouch. They definitely put a dent in our budget, didn't they?

Also, I know it appears that Chocolate is not so old after all, and I know I put a lot of stress on the fact that she needed to get married and make babies RIGHT AWAY because she'd already been around two weeks, and THAT is because I am using an aging hack for this family. I noticed at the end of the Pokemons that my babies tended to become toddlers and then children in the blink of an eye, so I decided that perhaps extending everyone's lives would help me avoid that. So adults have about 39 days instead of 28, babies and toddlers have a few extra days, and I think children have about an extra week. I don't teens have too much more, since their age span lasted EONS already. :P


Chocolate: "Puddles!! :D :D *splashes happily*"
Klondike: "I get scolded when *I* play in puddles. You called them filthy. This so unfair."
Chocolate: "Puddles!! :D :D *continues to splash*"
Klondike: :|


Well, we're bringing in more money now, but alas no new uniform yet. *dreams of the day*


I figured it was about time for a maid. With all the turkeys Skullduggery keeps making and let rot on the counter, and all the baby bottles souring on the floor, their house was REALLY getting nasty. Chocolate is constantly busy with work, getting the friends and skills she needs to keep getting promoted, and then actually GOING to work the rest of the time. Skullduggery is always busy taking care of KitKat, and it just hasn't left a lot of time to clean. And as a bonus, the maid looks AWESOME.


Birthday for KitKat! Woo! Things happened between her birth and next birthday. I feel pretty accomplished.


~suspense~


EEE! SO CUTES. I love her hair choice. A little edgy for a toddler, but that just makes her all the more badass. I am a little sad she didn't get her mom's ears, but she really is too darn cute for me to hold it against her. <33


Aww. <3 First thing she wanted to do was give Klondike hugs. She appears to know just how to win me over. *suspicious*


Hahaha! Well, being cute with Klondike is bound to win ME over, yes, but I don't think Klondike is going to be too fond of you if you keep stealing his bed.


Skullduggery and Chocolate are very proper parents, and give KitKat all the love and attention she needs, and evenly split teaching the tasks she needs to grow up nice and fulfilled. Skullduggery took walking and nursery rhyme, while Chocolate took talking and potty-training.


Which is either evidenced here, or is just a picture of Chocolate checking out her husband's cute little heinie. You decide.


*sigh* Another promotion, and yet another day stuck in that horrible, borked outfit.


Skullduggery still does some tidying up around the house, even though there is a maid doing the majority of it nowadays, and KitKat.. tries to help? I'm sure she's just emptying the bowl out so her daddy can clean it out. Yup, totally what she's doing.


KitKat: "Kibble confwetti!!"

orrr.. not.


But she's still darn cute, no matter what she does. I seriously can not get enough of her CUTE LITTLE FACE. AUGH. I haven't liked a toddler this much in ages. Probably because I didn't really get to see them very long before I had this aging hack. XD


Chocolate is still being super-career-mommy, networking every night to meet her friend requirements, skilling up when needed, and being VERY enthusiastic about going to work each morning. I know I certainly don't happy-hover MY way to class/work each day. :P


I have NO idea why Skullduggery makes so many goddam turkeys. All the time, turkeys. It's definitely filling, and makes a lot of plates, but...


There are only two people who eat solid food in the house right now. We don't need to be cooking an ENTIRE TURKEY, EVERY DAY. Sometimes it's twice a day!! They just rot, man. So gross and so wasteful. Depleting my fridge so quickly. D:


In other news, everyone loves KitKat and she is still beyond adorable.


:O But what is this?? Possible competition on the way? AWESOME. :3


HALLELUJAH. A DIFFERENT WORK OUTFIT. asdfghjk so excited to have her proper skintone back.

Oh, and she reached the top of her career, too. Neat.


Hello again, Pochi. You haven't been here in a while. I suppose you heard there's another baby on the way? I know the master wolves like to hang around babies/toddlers and pregnant ladies. Kind of alarming, actually. But he's being pretty nice and peaceful for the moment, just sniffing Klondike a bit and getting to know him.


N'aww. I wish the master wolves were adoptable. Pochi would fit right in with everyone. <3


See?? He KNEW there was a baby in there.


But there will be one less toddler around the house pretty soon, because KitKat is growing up fast! But not nearly as fast as my toddlers used to. :3 I really do love my new aging lengths, guys. So much nicer for my playing style. I like to play on speed 3 and 2 a lot, and only pause for exciting things. >_>;;


~suspense~


And of course, she first thing she sets to doing is playing with Klondike. She was just too excited that she could do more than cuddle him now. XD


Goodness. I guess Klondike is going to be one of the few people/animals she's nice to, then. She has only 2 nice points, less than either of her parents, so I have NO idea where that came from. Her personality is actually not the same as either of her parents on ANY of the traits. She's certainly her own person.


Chocolate: "My belly is getting so much bigger! It's so exciting, Skullduggery. :3"
Skullduggery: "Mmm.. my belly is getting bigger, too. So much turkey. Man I love turkey."

We know, Skullduggery, really we do. But the person who knows the most is whoever ends up taking out the garbage, because MY GOODNESS we end up throwing a lot of that stuff away. Even with saving half of it in the fridge as leftovers. I can't get all of them, you make too many! STOP IT.

Skullduggery: "Turkey~~ :3"

Source: http://simppl-life.livejournal.com/20101.html

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