Beyonce to finally face media in New Orleans

FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2013 file photo, President Barack Obama as Beyonce sings the national anthem at the ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington. Whether Beyonce actually sang at the inauguration is a tempest in a teapot, but dig deeper and it reveals something about American society at this moment. In small ways, we seem to be constantly learning that the things we see and experience aren't exactly what they're billed to be _ and that we may not care all that much. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, file)

FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2013 file photo, President Barack Obama as Beyonce sings the national anthem at the ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington. Whether Beyonce actually sang at the inauguration is a tempest in a teapot, but dig deeper and it reveals something about American society at this moment. In small ways, we seem to be constantly learning that the things we see and experience aren't exactly what they're billed to be _ and that we may not care all that much. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, file)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Beyonce is expected to face the media Thursday as she previews her halftime performance at the Super Bowl. But the focus will likely be on her performance at that other big event earlier this month.

The superstar hasn't spoken publicly since it was alleged that she lip-synched her rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at President Barack Obama's inauguration last week. Her critically praised performance came under scrutiny less than a day later when a representative from the U.S. Marine Band said she wasn't singing live and the band's accompanying performance was taped. Shortly after, the group backed off its initial statement and said no one could tell if she was singing live or not.

It's expected that the halftime performance will be a main focus of her afternoon press conference, even though she'd likely rather concentrate on questions about her set list for Sunday and her upcoming HBO documentary, "Life Is but a Dream." The documentary is being shown for the media just before Beyonce speaks and takes questions, as expected.

There has been plenty of speculation about Beyonce's Super Bowl performance, including reports there would be a Destiny's Child reunion with Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland (Williams has shot down such speculation). Some are also curious about whether her husband, Jay-Z, will join her onstage, as they often do for each other's shows.

Beyonce has teased photos and video of herself preparing for the show, which will perhaps be the biggest audience of her career. Last year, Madonna's halftime performance was the most-watched Super Bowl halftime performance ever, with an average of 114 million viewers. It garnered more viewers than the game itself, which was the most-watched U.S. TV event in history.

___

Follow Nekesa Mumbi Moody at http://www.twitter.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-01-31-AP-US-Super-Bowl-Beyonce/id-9f01019cac3c443f9ce4c09f181e62d6

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NASA's Cassini watches Saturn storm choke on its own tail

Jan. 31, 2013 ? Call it a Saturnian version of the Ouroboros, the mythical serpent that bites its own tail. In a new paper that provides the most detail yet about the life and death of a monstrous thunder-and-lightning storm on Saturn, scientists from NASA's Cassini mission describe how the massive storm churned around the planet until it encountered its own tail and sputtered out. It is the first time scientists have observed a storm consume itself in this way anywhere in the solar system.

"This Saturn storm behaved like a terrestrial hurricane -- but with a twist unique to Saturn," said Andrew Ingersoll, a Cassini imaging team member based at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, who is a co-author on the new paper in the journal Icarus. "Even the giant storms at Jupiter don't consume themselves like this, which goes to show that nature can play many awe-inspiring variations on a theme and surprise us again and again."

Earth's hurricanes feed off the energy of warm water and leave a cold-water wake. This storm in Saturn's northern hemisphere also feasted off warm "air" in the gas giant's atmosphere. The storm, first detected on Dec. 5, 2010, and tracked by Cassini's radio and plasma wave subsystem and imaging cameras, erupted around 33 degrees north latitude. Shortly after the bright, turbulent head of the storm emerged and started moving west, it spawned a clockwise-spinning vortex that drifted much more slowly. Within months, the storm wrapped around the planet at that latitude, stretching about 190,000 miles (300,000 kilometers) in circumference, thundering and throwing lightning along the way.

Terrestrial storms have never run into their own wakes -- they encounter topographic features like mountains first and expend themselves. But Saturn has no land to stop its hurricanes. The bright, turbulent storm head was able to chomp all the way around the planet. It was only when the head of the storm ran into the vortex in June 2011 that the massive, convective storm faded away. Why the encounter would shut down the storm is still a mystery.

By Aug. 28, after 267 days, the Saturn storm stopped thundering for good. While Cassini's infrared detectors continue to track some lingering effects in higher layers of Saturn's atmosphere, the troposphere -- which is the weather-producing layer, lower in the atmosphere -- has been quiet at that latitude.

"This thunder-and-lightning storm on Saturn was a beast," said Kunio Sayanagi, the paper's lead author and a Cassini imaging team associate at Hampton University in Virginia. "The storm maintained its intensity for an unusually long time. The storm head itself thrashed for 201 days, and its updraft erupted with an intensity that would have sucked out the entire volume of Earth's atmosphere in 150 days. And it also created the largest vortex ever observed in the troposphere of Saturn, expanding up to 7,500 miles [12,000 kilometers] across."

The vortex grew to be as large as the giant storm known as Oval BA on Jupiter. But Oval BA and Jupiter's more famous storm -- the Great Red Spot -- are not thunder-and-lightning storms. Jupiter's storms also have a quiet center, unlike the violence at the center of Saturn's storms.

"Cassini's stay in the Saturn system has enabled us to marvel at the power of this storm," said Scott Edgington, Cassini's deputy project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "We had front-row seats to a wonderful adventure movie and got to watch the whole plot from start to finish. These kinds of data help scientists compare weather patterns around our solar system and learn what sustains and extinguishes them."

This storm was the longest running of the massive storms that appear to break out in Saturn's northern hemisphere once every Saturn year (30 Earth years). The longest storm of any size ever detected on Saturn actually unfolded over 334 days in 2009 in an area known as "Storm Alley" in the southern hemisphere, but it was about 100 times smaller in area than the latest northern storm.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. JPL manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team consists of scientists from the U.S., England, France and Germany. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/cassini and http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov .

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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

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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/most_popular/~3/GcxJjn6Go80/130131145455.htm

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Clinton says she doesn't see "getting back into politics" (reuters)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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The Brand New Juki TL2200QVP Quilt Virtuoso Pro Debuts in SW Florida

(Newswire.net -- 31, January, 2013) Sarasota, FL ? The name Juki has become a recognized leader in the sewing machine industry since their original debut in 1947.? For over 60 years, Juki has brought their inspired technology to the home and industrial sewing markets.? Their award winning industrial sewing machine technology has been carefully crafted into their latest system for the long arm quilting market, the Juki TL2200QVP Quilt Virtuoso Pro.

Some of the many features of the new Juki TL2000QVP include:

• 18 x 10 Extra Large Workspace


• Automatic Thread Trimmers


• 2,200 SPM Maximum Sewing Speed


• Stitch Control for perfectly balanced stitches


• Independent Built-in Bobbin Winder


• Stitch Regulator is Built-in


• Three Stitching Modes:? Cruise, Ruler and Manual


• Large Color LCD Display Shows:

????????? Stitch Regulator Mode, LED Light Settings, Needle Speed, Stitch Length

• High Intensity Work Lighting


• Solid Steel Heavy Duty Virtuoso Frame


• Quick Response Direct Drive Motor ? No Drift

This coming Super Bowl Sunday, February 3^rd, 2013, sewing enthusiasts from all over Southwest Florida are invited to participate in a rare hands-on demonstration of this brand new offering from Juki America, Inc.? Since the new Juki TL2200QVP is not yet available to the public, this event is a fantastic opportunity to witness this long arm quilting system in action.? The event is hosted by Juki and their premier dealer in SW Florida, Tops Vacuum and Sewing of Sarasota, Florida.? Greg Bank, owner of Tops Vacuum and Sewing, is proud to be among the first to offer this new long arm quilting system to the public in the upcoming weeks.

The event will be held at the popular Cotton Patch Quilt Shop in the Lakewood Ranch area in University Park.

Cotton Patch Quilt Shop, 8480 Cooper Creek Blvd, University Park, FL 34201

For more information regarding event hours, details and directions contact Greg Bank at Tops Vacuum & Sewing at (941) 926-2699.

Tops Vacuum and Sewing
2120 Bee Ridge Road
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 926-2699

TopsVacuumandSewing.com

###

Source: http://www.emailwire.com/release/112789-The-Brand-New-Juki-TL2200QVP-Quilt-Virtuoso-Pro-Debuts-in-SW-Florida.html

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'Higher cost' of forensic closure

29 January 2013 Last updated at 19:55 ET By Paul Rincon Science editor, BBC News website

The cost of closing down the Forensic Science Service (FSS) could be more than three times the UK government's estimate, says a leading scientist.

The Home Office quotes a figure of ?95m for shutting the service, which once employed 1,600 people.

But Dr Chris Maguire said it will be between ?300m and ?350m when other expenditure, such as taking forensics work inside police forces, is included.

The FSS had been losing ?2m per month when its closure was announced in 2010.

The government said allowing it to go into administration would have endangered criminal justice.

Its plan was for private enterprise to expand into the gap left behind by the FSS.

The work by Dr Maguire, from Northumbria University Centre for Forensic Science, is one of the first independent estimates of the cost to the British taxpayer of shutting the service.

He spent 30 years as a scientist with the FSS, before taking up his academic position in 2010.

Compiled using publicly available data as well as details gathered through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, the results are outlined in the scientist's written evidence to a select committee follow-up inquiry into the closure.

Dr Maguire is preparing a full paper on the matter for submission in an academic journal.

"The actual costs of FSS closure must lie somewhere between ?300m and ?350m if all of the costs of the police in-sourcing of forensic science activities formerly delivered by [forensic science providers] are taken into account," Dr Maguire explains in his written evidence.

In-house work

"In-sourcing" describes the practice by which police forces bring forensic work in-house in order to make cost savings.

The calculation includes the ?60m cost of running a Metropolitan Police lab in Lambeth - where 120 FSS staff were transferred after the closure - over 10 years, a cost, says Dr Maguire, "that is being borne by the Met Police as opposed to anyone else".

It also factors in the cost of operating the national forensic archive for 10 years (?20m), the ?21m spent on the construction of a new laboratory in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and an ?18m loan that was written off.

"What has actually been the cost? It's not simply the cost of paying off the staff, paying off contracts to run buildings, or getting out of leases," Dr Maguire told BBC News.

He said the level of expenditure need to shut down the service could have maintained the FSS in perpetuity even if the government had pumped in ?1m per month.

In December 2011, Foreign Secretary William Hague wrote to the European Commission stating that the closure of the FSS required support of about ?100m.

In its submission to the follow-up inquiry, the Home Office estimated the final cost of closure would be around ?95m.

It explained that it had excluded a ?20m provision to cover a deficit in the accrued pension benefits for FSS staff, which the government is protecting. But the Home Office argued this liability was not a cost of closure as it reflected an existing deficit in the pension scheme.

Private providers complain that the practice of in-sourcing acts as an impediment to the expansion of the forensic market.

Private forensics firm LGC estimates that the size of this forensics market, outside the work police do themselves, fell from roughly ?155m in 2010 to ?70-80m in 2012.

In 2011, crime and security minister James Brokenshire said the external market was likely to contract to 110m, but only by 2015.

Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21251162#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Mass. gov. picks ex-aide Cowan as interim senator

BOSTON (AP) ? William "Mo" Cowan, a former top aide to Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick, was tapped by Patrick on Wednesday to serve as interim U.S. senator for Massachusetts until a special election is held to fill the seat left vacant by John Kerry's confirmation as the nation's new secretary of state.

Cowan, 43, became chief-of-staff to Patrick in 2010 after serving as chief legal counsel during the governor's first term. He stepped down as Patrick's top aide in December, though he remained on as a senior adviser through the filing last week of the governor's state budget request.

He'll serve until after the special election, scheduled for June 25. He said he humbled by the appointment.

Patrick lauded Cowan for helping manage the state through the recession and said he had earned the respect of people throughout government.

"In every step, he has brought preparation, perspective, wisdom, sound judgment and clarity of purpose," Patrick said while introducing Cowan at a Statehouse news conference.

Patrick and Lt. Governor Timothy Murray added that the friendly Cowan ? who eschewed his trademark bow tie in favor of a traditional suit and necktie for Wednesday's announcement ? also brings "cool" to the job.

Cowan grew up in North Carolina and graduated from Duke University and Northeastern University's law school. He was a partner in the prominent Boston law firm of Mintz Levin before going to work for Patrick.

Patrick had said that diversity would be an important consideration in his choice of an interim senator, and Cowan will be the state's second African-American senator. Edward Brooke, a Republican, represented Massachusetts from 1967-1979.

Cowan said his mother, who is recuperating in North Carolina after knee-replacement surgery, was a child of the segregated south who raised him and his sisters alone after his father died when Cowan was a teen.

"My mother told me that days like today are possible if you work hard and you treat people with respect," he said.

Cowan, who indicated that he would keep members of Kerry's staff during the interim period, ruled out running for public office in the future.

"This is going to be a very short political career," he joked.

The governor had promised his selection would be a person who had no intention of being a candidate in the special election, but he otherwise had given little detail about his deliberations.

The only possible candidate Patrick confirmed speaking with was former Rep. Barney Frank, and then only after Frank told reporters he'd spoken with Patrick. Michael Dukakis, the former governor and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, and Victoria Kennedy, widow of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, had also been mentioned as possible candidates for the interim post.

Cowan's appointment also signals the official start of the special election race. The winner will serve out the remainder of Kerry's term and would face another election in November 2014.

So far the only announced candidate is Democratic U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, of Malden. Fellow Democratic Congressman Stephen Lynch, of Boston, also is weighing a run and is expected to formally announce his candidacy on Thursday.

Republican officials close to Scott Brown said Tuesday that the former senator is "leaning strongly" toward running and could make an announcement early next week. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share internal discussions.

Brown, who is still popular in Massachusetts despite his unsuccessful re-election campaign last year, would be considered a front-runner with a campaign effort that could easily be revived and an ability to raise tens of millions of dollars.

Brown also has some hurdles, including his loss last year to Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

The candidates face a tight schedule to raise money and convince voters to put them in the Senate. The Democratic and Republican primary elections are scheduled for April 30.

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin said he's ready to immediately release nomination papers. Candidates will have four weeks to collect the 10,000 signatures they need to get on the ballot.

Markey has already publicly challenged all Democratic and Republican candidates who might jump into the special election to agree to keep outside groups from spending money on political ads. He said he wants a deal similar to the so-called "people's pledge" agreed to by Brown and Warren in last year's Senate race.

Kerry was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday, by a 94-3 vote, to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state. His resignation takes effect Friday at 4 p.m.

Warren, who will become the state's senior senator following Kerry's departure despite having been in the Senate for only weeks, released a statement on Wednesday praising Cowan's selection and promising to work closely with him in the months ahead.

___

Associated Press writers Steve Peoples and Steve LeBlanc contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mass-gov-picks-ex-aide-cowan-interim-senator-144613258--politics.html

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ECB: Loan demand remains weak in slack economy

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) ? The European Central Bank says demand from businesses for bank loans remains weak.

The ECB's lending survey, released Wednesday, showed a "pronounced net decline" in business loan demand in the fourth quarter. The main reason: Companies are not seeing a need to finance new fixed investment such as buildings and machinery, a key component of any recovery.

The survey also shows banks continue to tighten credit standards.

The survey of senior loan officers at 131 banks did find banks themselves reporting better access to funds from deposits and borrowing. That means the banking system is regarded as steadier.

The ECB expects the economy of the 17 European Union countries that use the euro to shrink 0.3 percent in 2013 but start recovering later in the year.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-30-Europe-Economy/id-929bd0aca1134e8aa908081b104005b2

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Dinner's on George Clooney in Germany!

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, TODAY

Dinner's on George Clooney! One group of diners at the Grill Royal restaurant in Berlin?were treated to a free meal because the actor was worried that he and his friends at a nearby table were making too much noise, Clooney's representative has confirmed to TODAY.

Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

According to English-language publication The Local, German newspaper Bild reported that Clooney and Co. weren't disturbing the others in any way.

"They had behaved in a very cultivated manner," one man in the group told the paper, "I was stunned."

According to The Local, the man never recognized Clooney, even when he stopped by the star's table to leave a business card in hopes he could repay the gesture some day.

The newspaper reported that the dinner bill was around 100 Euros, or $135 U.S.

It's far from Clooney's first generous gesture. Back in October, paparazzi captured a photo of the actor giving money to a man sitting on a New York street wearing military dog tags.

Clooney is in Germany to direct and star in "Monuments Men," an upcoming big-screen drama also starring Daniel Craig and Cate Blanchett. Based on Robert M. Edsel's book, the film is about a group of Allied art experts racing to save priceless artworks from destruction by the Nazis.

Related content:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/01/29/16757072-george-clooney-pays-diners-bill-in-germany?lite

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'30 Rock': Ending a 7-season marathon of mirth

This image released by NBC shows Tina Fey as Liz Lemon, left, and Jane Krakowski as Jenna Maroney in a scene from the series finale of "30 Rock," airing Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 on NBC. (AP Photo/NBC, Ali Goldstein)

This image released by NBC shows Tina Fey as Liz Lemon, left, and Jane Krakowski as Jenna Maroney in a scene from the series finale of "30 Rock," airing Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 on NBC. (AP Photo/NBC, Ali Goldstein)

This image released by NBC shows Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy in a scene from the series finale of "30 Rock," airing Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 on NBC. (AP Photo/NBC, Ali Goldstein)

NEW YORK (AP) ? You want resolution on the "30 Rock" finale?

You're gonna get it. Sort of. At least, the sort befitting "30 Rock," with its loopy storytelling mixed with joy in spoofing the culture of TV.

Closure, if that's what it is, comes in a two-minute postscript on this hour episode (airing Thursday at 8 p.m. EST on NBC). But maybe you should just stop reading right now, you "30 Rock" purists who don't want to know what happens or might seem to happen, however wacked-out and ironic it may be.

Which, among other things, includes this sly touch: a reference to the snowglobe revelation with which the medical drama "St. Elsewhere" famously concluded a quarter-century ago.

But there's more. Just before the final fade-out, NBC President Kenneth the former Page (Jack McBrayer) is pitched a new comedy series taking place right there at network headquarters, 30 Rock.

Hmmm. This is no ending. It's a Mobius strip.

The comic coda suggests where many of the characters might be a year from now. But that's not the point of the finale, which mostly wants to have fun. And does.

This last yahoo of "30 Rock" after seven brilliant seasons takes delight in tracking the unraveling of its characters as the show-within-the-show, "TGS," comes to an end with its own final broadcast. After that, of course, its producer, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey), its stars, Jenna Moroney and Tracy Jordan (Jane Krakowski and Tracy Morgan) and other members of the "TGS" staff will have to leave the cozy, kooky nest of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The prospect of doing that terrifies them all.

Meanwhile, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), the newly minted CEO of NBC parent Kabletown, is battling his own existential crisis.

He has gotten the top job he wanted all his life. And as the ultimate Republican capitalist, he has even scored a lash-out from a treasured enemy, House Republican Leader Nancy Pelosi.

"Jack Donaghy is an economic war criminal," Pelosi is seen declaring on a cable news network. "If the Democratic Party controls Congress, I will see to it that he is punished in the worst way possible: by having to come down here and listen to us."

Even with total victory under his belt, Jack still feels unfulfilled. What else can he do? He resigns from the company and begins a journey to discover what might truly make him happy.

Jack's despair includes the fear that he's lost Liz as a friend.

"I don't have that many people in my life," he sobs to Jenna. "I spend Christmas alone in the Hamptons drinking Scotch and throwing firecrackers at Billy Joel's dog."

Out of a job, Liz is miserable as a stay-at-home mom of adopted twins. Conversely, her husband, Criss (played by guest star James Marsden), hates steady employment.

"It's OK to want to work," he consoles Liz. "One of us has to. We just got it backwards: You're the dad."

"I do like ignoring your questions while I try to watch TV," Liz agrees.

(Interestingly, a year hence Liz is seen back at work producing a dumb sitcom with her children in tow. Where is hubby Criss?)

During the finale, "30 Rock" doesn't hesitate to snack on its own past.

Liz and Tracy have an awkward heart-to-heart at the strip club where Tracy lured her on their first encounter on the series' premiere.

And a high point of the episode comes when Jenna revisits the project she starred in years ago, a film with the lips-scrunching title "Rural Juror" (which inevitably comes out sounding something like "ruhr juhr").

On the farewell "TGS," Jenna performs the theme from her new musical adaptation of "Rural Juror," with, inevitably, almost nothing she sings recognizable as English.

It serves as a reminder: "30 Rock" wasn't just a brilliant comedy series. It also forged a comic language of its own.

____

Online:

http://www.nbc.com

___

Frazier Moore is a national television columnist for The Associated Press. He can be reached at fmoore(at)ap.org and at http://www.twitter.com/tvfrazier

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-01-30-TV-30%20Rock-Finale/id-266dcde458f54eacb542d9b1af81440b

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a new opinion in Sports about PowaKaddy Deluxe Umbrella Holder

Product Type: PowaKaddy Golf

Newest Review:?... to keep picking up and putting down. I wouldn't be without one now and if you use a PowaKaddy then I'd say this is an essential purchas... more

I have to admit to being a bit of a fair weather golfer at times, but you can't avoid the rain all the time especially of late so the PowaKaddy umbrella holder is a great purchase.

I've used a PowaKaddy trolley for years now and am fortunate enough to play at a course whose Pro runs an authorised service centre so he always has any of the bits you might need. With dark clouds over the course I bought one of these for ?19.99 and they even fitted it for me while I went to change my shoes, fantastic service!

The holder bolts on through the handle so it feels really secure in use and can be adjusted forwards, backwards, left and right so you can always lean your brolly into the wind. This is a big plus over some other models which always struggle in the slightest breeze and look like they could snap any minute.

At 5'11'' I'm not the tallest golfer out there but I find there is plenty of head room underneath the umbrella when in the holder and I can comfortably walk along sheltered from the rain while my playing partners have to struggle with a trolley in one hand and a brolly in the other. Once I'm ready to play my next shot, I can choose my club while under the umbrella, think about my shot still under the umbrella, step out, play the shot and then straight back underneath and I've barely got wet.

This might not sound too special but it makes a huge difference. My grips stay dry, I stay dry and all the while my opponent is struggling with wet clubs and a brolly he has to keep picking up and putting down.

I wouldn't be without one now and if you use a PowaKaddy then I'd say this is an essential purchase for winter golf in the UK.

Summary: Does a great job and will save you shots in the rain

More reviews in the field of Golf

Source: http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/golf/powakaddy-deluxe-umbrella-holder/1687470/

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PETA uses Te?o hoax to peddle fake chicken

Ever since the world found out that Manti Te?o?s deceased girlfriend never actually existed, the former Notre Dame linebacker has become a national joke.

And now the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are mocking him to push their own message during the Super Bowl.

[Related: Dr. Phil lands big Manti Te'o hoaxer interview]

The group erected a billboard with Te?o?s picture and the phrase "Sometimes faking it is better," in an effort to get people to "score faux-chicken Super Bowl recipes" on the group?s website.

Fake girlfriend, fake chicken, we see what you?re doing here PETA.

Here?s part of the release from the PETA website:

?Manti Te'o may have been buffaloed by a fake girlfriend, but sometimes "fake" is actually better. That's why PETA created this billboard urging football fans to avoid unnecessary roughness to chickens on Super Bowl Sunday by intentionally grounding real chicken wings and opting for play-action fake fowl instead.
?
Those animals in PETA's "Glass Walls" video? Unlike Manti's make-believe girlfriend, their deaths are real. Birds slaughtered for their wings and other body parts are often dropped into tanks of scalding-hot water while they are still conscious and aren't covered by even the meager protections of the Humane Slaughter Act.

Honestly, PETA was the last organization I thought would use Te?o?s misfortune to promote a cause, but hey, everyone else is doing it.

The good thing is that PETA is about two weeks late to the party. Perhaps that means these pokes at Te?o and his fake/dead girlfriend will finally start to die down.

---
Want to join the conversation? Hit us up on Twitter @YahooDrSaturday and be sure to "Like" Dr. Saturday on Facebook for football conversations and stuff you won't see on the blog.

More Super Bowl coverage from Yahoo! Sports:

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
? Ravens' Brendon Ayanbadejo awaits son's heart surgery
? Yankees star Alex Rodriguez joins list of disgraced athletes
? Basketball dad makes ugly threat after son's game

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/peta-uses-manti-te-os-fake-girlfriend-peddle-183458582--ncaaf.html

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Hedge Funds Flee New York for Tax-Free Florida

Hedge fund executives are heading south, and not just for the winter.
????
The New York Post?reports high-finance firms are leaving the high-tax environment of New York City for the lower taxes of Florida.

While the Sunshine State has no state income tax, the state and local taxes in New York amount to nearly 15 percent.

Business property is also much cheaper in Florida than New York.

Meanwhile, Florida is welcoming their new residents. Palm Beach has set up an office to answer questions from New York hedge funds looking to move to the area.

Source: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/finance/2013/January/Hedge-Funds-Flee-New-York-for-Tax-Free-Florida/

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SQLite with a bit of MVVM Light in Windows Phone 8

SQLite with a bit of MVVM Light in Windows Phone 8

1/30/2013

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source: spikie.be

While SQLce is still a viable solution in Windows Phone 8 to have some form of local database we also have an official SQLite implementation available. So why use SQLite when we can just keep using SQLce? Because Windows 8 only support SQLite and if you ever want to port over your app it would be nice not to have two versions of local databases to maintain. In this post I'll explain how to implement a SQLite database into an MVVM Light Windows Phone 8 project (there is an unofficial Windows Phone 7 SQLite version as well but I have no idea how stable / buggy that is). I'll be using Tim Heuer's SQLite .net wrapper so we can use LINQ to SQLite instead of writing SQL queries manually (hooray for intellisense ). Let's kick things off by creating an empty Windows Phone 8 app.

SQLite

Before we can use SQLite, we'll need to install the SDK. Click here (official SQLite download page) to download the VSIX file and install it into Visual Studio.

NuGet fun

Before we can write any code we'll need some NuGet packages. Use these commands in the Package Manager Console.

Install-Package MvvmLight

Install-Package sqlite-net

Install-Package WPtoolkit

Install-Package Cimbalino.Phone.Toolkit

...Read more

You can also follow us on Twitter @winphonegeek

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Windowsphonegeek/~3/S0ixpilMIiA/sqlite-with-a-bit-of-mvvm-light-in-windows-phone-8

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After big rally, RIM selling off before launch

	Essential News from The Associated Press

? ?Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-01-29-CN-TEC-RIM-Mover/id-231729fb780c4ebc9b71826c6410565c

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Abigail's Alcove: Pregnancy On God's Timeline

I'm truly awed by God. I keep having this old secular idea that I want to be "prepared for pregnancy." If things were up to me, I would have moved into a new house. Had some time to unpack. Paint the house. Make some friends. Figured out homeschooling, and grocery shopping, and picked out our church. Gotten my life "squared" before being open to new life.

Instead, I got pregnant with Abigail during our month long moving process. Once I arrived, I had exactly ten days to unpack a family of six, go on my first a Carmelite retreat, and before I came down with my worse case of morning sickness yet. I pretty much spent 9 months on the couch, followed by six months of cradling a young princess who often screamed herself purple with pain from infant reflux. Everything felt horrible. My prayer life felt like me often telling God "Seriously?"

To top it off, I was living in a new home (my first ever non-rental) so many things felt uncomfortable or ugly or vague dangerous. There wasn't any money to fix things up. There wasn't any time. I just wandered around in a sleep deprived haze thinking "things are so messy. I must really be a poor housekeeper or something."

Suddenly, post-Advent--the Lord is what I call "throwing down." All kinds of these horrible, hopeless home improvement projects are getting finished in the blink of an eye. It's amazing. It is so clearly "not us."

On my birthday (Dec 31) I told Jon, instead of going out to eat, I'd like my kitchen painted. We were just going to paint the kitchen. Instead, my husband went to a new store and found vinyl flooring that was on sale for $40--for the entire floor! I went from having a black kitchen floor?with that annoying floating tiles that trap dirt in the crevices, to a clean wood-like finish. It's like something went from "poke you in the eye ugly" to beautiful.

While he was preparing the floor, Jon started tugging on this original fixture from 1950--a metal radiator. He broke it. Water started leaking out on our floor. He said in shock "I've ruined your birthday." Usually I get pretty tense at stuff like plumbing leaks, but that day I had supernatural calm. I was just sort of matter of factly said "well, it's 3:30 on New Years Eve. So if we need to call a plumber we better call soon before they are closed for New Years Day."

Long story short, these amazing HVAC people come. They turn off all the heating plumbing stuff in the house. They come at 8 AM on New Years Day to rip out the ugly heater in my kitchen so we can finish the floor. The best part is that now that my husband has watched them remove a radiator from our house--he can removed these ugly things himself.

So Jon has deleted these horrible metal fixtures from my home that I imagined were "immovable." I have more space in my dining room. I have space in my living room.

It's crazy because I would have never justified spending $300 to remove some unused heaters from my home--but it was a plumbing emergency. We had to spend Jon's precious bonus money on removing the heaters. Now, I can't believe what a difference it makes. I have tiny kids and those things just collected dust and clutter. Now it's easy to clean because my home makes "sense." It's? finally set up for my individual family.

This weekend, Jon caught "the fever." He took down an ugly iron awning from our front porch. He gave us "curb appeal." He removed this awful never "should have been there" tan pain from the doorway. Now the door columns are white and our shutters are black. I found these crazy pineapple lights on sale for 80% off at Lowes. My husband figured out how to wire electricity so he could install them on our front porch. They are incredible.

Pineapples were a sign of hospitality in Colonial America--now our little brick Cape Cod says "Welcome! Please Come In!" Twenty-eight dollars for the pair and a husband with a few hours of spare time. The results finally say "This is Abigail and Jon's first home!" I feel like a blushing newlywed!

In the end, you've got to trust Him. In my world, I would have fixed up the house first, before the fifth baby. But God keeps telling me --do it as you go! Don't think everything has to be perfect before adding onto your family tree--just add another kid and I'll help you catch up even ahead of where you dream of going.

Source: http://abigails-alcove.blogspot.com/2013/01/pregnancy-on-gods-timeline.html

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What Prevents People From Seeking Mental Health Treatment ...

Like anything worthwhile, psychotherapy takes time and effort. And often just getting through the door can be tough.

How do you find a therapist? Where?s the best place to look? Isn?t it pricey? Do you even need to go?

You probably have a slew of questions with a side of skepticism and self-doubt. In fact, many hurdles can prevent people from seeking professional treatment.

Below, you?ll find specific obstacles that might stand in your way ? and the solutions to overcome them.

Stigma

?People don?t hesitate telling acquaintances about a trip to their dentist or physician, but most stay quiet about their therapy appointment,? said Ryan Howes, Ph.D, a clinical psychologist and professor in Pasadena, Calif. That?s because even though progress has been made, he said, there?s still stigma attached to seeking therapy.

?Many people feel embarrassed or ashamed of their symptoms because our society places illogical taboos on mental health issues over physical conditions,? said clinical psychologist Nikki Massey-Hastings, PsyD.

To dispel stigma, Deborah Serani, Psy.D, a clinical psychologist who?s struggled with depression, takes a two-step approach by educating others about mental illness and leading by example.

Specifically, she teaches what mental illness is and isn?t. ?Mental illness is a combination of neurobiology and psychological influences, not a weakness in character,? said Serani, author of Living with Depression. She also shows ?how with proper diagnosis and treatment that I live with depression successfully and have a meaningful life.?

Howes underscored that choosing to tackle issues head-on is the opposite of weak or ?crazy.? It?s courageous, he said.

Severity

Many people aren?t sure what warrants a therapy session. But in reality most people wait until their symptoms are unbearable, Massey-Hastings said. For instance, many couples don?t see a therapist until their issues are deeply entrenched, she said. (Specifically, that?s usually when partners attack each other or withdraw from the relationship.)

?It is advisable to seek help when you first feel like you are ?not yourself? [or] have noticed mild to moderate symptoms that are interfering with your life [such as] difficulty sleeping, irritability [or] increased dissatisfaction with your relationship,? she said.

A therapist will assess your symptoms and determine severity, she said. They?ll verify if you have a clinical diagnosis and, if needed, conduct formal psychological testing ?to quantify and parse apart symptoms that are shared among disorders,? she said. For instance, having difficulty concentrating can be a symptom of several anxiety disorders, ADHD, depression or relationship problems, she said.

Then the therapist will talk to you about treatment options, she said. In other words, they?ll provide you with a map to work through your issues, she added.

Getting Started

Again, many are unsure how or where to start. As Howes said, ?Therapy may seem like a strange, foreign land to someone who?s never been.?

When starting your search, Massey-Hastings suggested using Google keywords such as ?find a therapist? and your zip code. You also can search Psych Central by location, and ask friends and family for recommendations.

Another option, she said, is to discuss your symptoms and next steps with your primary care physician. ?Your physician may have a group practice or therapist he [or] she frequently works with and highly recommends,? she said.

This Psych Central guide helps to demystify the therapy process. Howes also writes a valuable blog called ?In Therapy.?

Time & Energy

The last thing you probably want to do after leaving work is rehash your problems. ?Many of us are so tired from working hard and dealing with emotional stressors, there?s no energy left to talk through problems,? Howes said.

While this ? like all the obstacles ? is legitimate, with some effort, you can fine-tune your schedule, he said. ?It?s possible that therapy can actually be a source of energy, not a drain.?

Money

Therapy can be costly. But you can find affordable treatment. For instance, many therapists offer services based on a sliding scale. Community mental health centers offer therapy at little or no cost, Howes said.

(These two articles cover helpful options when you can?t afford therapy.)

Consider the potential price of neglecting your problems and well-being, Howes said. He raised these critical questions: ?How much does a lost job cost? A damaged relationship? A divorce? What price would you place on job satisfaction, achieving your potential, resolving past hurt and learning to accept yourself??

Loved Ones

Well-meaning loved ones are another deterrent. ?People suffering with symptoms may be told by well-meaning friends and family that they will get through it, that it?s just a phase, or they may provide well-meaning but deficient solutions,? according to Massey-Hastings. For instance, if you?re depressed, they might suggest exercising more, she said.

If you?d like to disclose your feelings to loved ones, pick the people you trust most and can truly talk to about these sensitive issues, she said. Also, figure out ahead of time how you?d like them to support you, she said.

?Schedule a private time with one or two of those people and try to share with them what you?ve been experiencing.? And communicate directly how they can help, she said.

?If you feel uncomfortable discussing your difficulties with family and friends, a therapist can help you figure out your boundaries around what information to share, how to communicate what you?d like to be known, and how to ask for support,? Massey-Hastings said.

Again, therapy is anything but easy. As Howes said, ?When you consider the fact that therapy invites a distressed person to reveal, discuss, and wrestle with the most difficult issues in their life, the better question might be ?why in the world would anyone choose therapy???

And there are many answers. But all of them have one key thing in common: Therapy can help you ease your pain and create a healthier and more fulfilling life.

?

Man with magnifying glass photo available from Shutterstock

Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. is an Associate Editor at Psych Central and blogs regularly about eating and self-image issues on her own blog, Weightless.

Like this author?
Catch up on other posts by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. (or subscribe to their feed).

????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 14 Jan 2013
????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Tartakovsky, M. (2013). What Prevents People From Seeking Mental Health Treatment?. Psych Central. Retrieved on January 15, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/01/14/what-prevents-people-from-seeking-mental-health-treatment/

?

Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/01/14/what-prevents-people-from-seeking-mental-health-treatment/

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CW gives up on killer-kid series "Battle Royale," talks "Carrie Diaries" nostalgia factor

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - CW president Mark Pedowitz said the network will not move forward on "Battle Royale," a drama about junior high students forced to kill each other that the network once explored developing. He also talked about the network's high hopes for a considerably cheerier series, the "Sex and the City" prequel "The Carrie Diaries," and his continued disappointment with Nielsen tracking.

Pedowitz spoke at a Television Critics Association panel Sunday, where he also said "Supernatural" has a "good shot" at returning for a ninth season. And he described the network's exploration of a "Vampire Diaries" spinoff that would focus on the original vampires.

Pedowitz was pressed on whether the network would pursue "Battle Royale," based on a "Hunger Games"-like Japanese novel and film, in light of recent mass killings. He said the network had only looked into whether the rights to the project were available, and that the project had gone no further than that.

Another "Hunger Games"-like project, however, remains in play at the network. The CW passed over "The Selection" last pilot season, but decided to continue developing it. A new version of the script was recently completed, he said.

The project, based on a planned series of young adult novels, follows a young woman who competes with others for the affections of a prince in a war-torn future.

The CW, which has targeted young women 18-34 for most of its six years, has tried to expand its audience under Pedowitz's leadership. This fall, the show increased its total viewers by about 10 percent, even as it remained roughly flat in the 18-34 demographic and the 18-49 demo most important to advertisers.

But "The Carrie Diaries," which debuts Monday, may help the network make inroads with both older and younger audiences. As Pedowitz explained, the show targets younger viewers because its protagonist, Carrie Bradshaw (AnnaSophia Robb), is 16. But it may also appeal to people who remember its 1984 setting.

The CW has long argued that its viewership isn't properly reflected in Nielsen numbers because so many viewers watch the show online. On Sunday, Pedowitz said Nielsen "needs to technologically catch up" with current viewing patterns. He also said his network continues to try to develop its own way of tracking its viewership.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cw-gives-killer-kid-series-battle-royale-talks-165822762.html

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Presidential strut is now iconic inaugural moment

FILE - This Jan. 20, 2009 file-pool, photo shows President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama waving as they walk down Pennsylvania Avenue en route to the White House from the Capitol in Washington. At some point on Inauguration Day, if all goes expected, the president?s limousine will slow to a stop on its journey down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House. A Secret Service agent will open the rear passenger door, and the newly sworn-in president will emerge from his car for a several-minute stroll. The crowd will cheer. The president will wave. In that moment, Pennsylvania Avenue is America?s red carpet. And the president is the only celebrity on it. The victory walk has become an iconic inaugural moment, one expected by the public and the press. And though the tradition dates only to President Jimmy Carter, it has already developed an air of inevitability and predictable patterns. (AP Photo/Doug Mills, File, Pool)

FILE - This Jan. 20, 2009 file-pool, photo shows President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama waving as they walk down Pennsylvania Avenue en route to the White House from the Capitol in Washington. At some point on Inauguration Day, if all goes expected, the president?s limousine will slow to a stop on its journey down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House. A Secret Service agent will open the rear passenger door, and the newly sworn-in president will emerge from his car for a several-minute stroll. The crowd will cheer. The president will wave. In that moment, Pennsylvania Avenue is America?s red carpet. And the president is the only celebrity on it. The victory walk has become an iconic inaugural moment, one expected by the public and the press. And though the tradition dates only to President Jimmy Carter, it has already developed an air of inevitability and predictable patterns. (AP Photo/Doug Mills, File, Pool)

FILE - This Jan. 20, 1977 file photo shows President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter waving as they walk down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington after Carter was sworn in as the nation's 39th president. At some point on Inauguration Day, if all goes expected, the president?s limousine will slow to a stop on its journey down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House. A Secret Service agent will open the rear passenger door, and the newly sworn-in president will emerge from his car for a several-minute stroll. The crowd will cheer. The president will wave. In that moment, Pennsylvania Avenue is America?s red carpet. And the president is the only celebrity on it. The victory walk has become an iconic inaugural moment, one expected by the public and the press. And though the tradition dates only to President Jimmy Carter, it has already developed an air of inevitability and predictable patterns. (AP Photo, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? At some point on Inauguration Day, if all goes as expected, the president's limousine will slow to a stop on its journey down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House. A Secret Service agent will open the rear passenger door, and the newly sworn-in president and the first lady will emerge from his car for a several-minute stroll. The crowd will cheer. Barack Obama will wave.

In that moment, Pennsylvania Avenue is America's red carpet. And the president and first lady are the only celebrities on it. The victory walk has become an iconic inaugural moment, one expected by the public and the press.

And though the tradition dates only to President Jimmy Carter, it has already developed an air of inevitability and predictable patterns.

Charlie Brotman, who has been the announcer for the inaugural parade for decades, says the crowd never tires of the moment. When it happens, the 85-year-old says, spectators can expect to hear him saying something like this over the loudspeakers: "Ladies and gentleman, here's what the parade is all about. The president of the United States is walking right in front of you."

Carter wasn't thinking about starting a tradition when he decided to walk the mile-plus parade route in 1977. The idea wasn't even his. Before the inauguration, a Wisconsin senator sent Carter a letter suggesting the new president walk the route to set a good example for physical fitness. Carter initially dismissed the idea as silly, but soon reconsidered. He wrote in his memoir, "Keeping Faith," that he "began to realize that the symbolism of our leaving the armored car would be more far-reaching than simply to promote exercise."

"I wanted to provide a vivid demonstration of my confidence in the people as far as security was concerned, and I felt a simple walk would be a tangible indication of some reduction in the imperial status of the president and his family," he wrote.

Carter told only a few people of his plan, including the Secret Service, and spectators were shocked when he emerged from the limo. At first, revelers seemed to think something was wrong with the car. Then, they realized what was happening.

"There were gasps of astonishment and cries of 'They're walking! They're walking!'" Carter remembered in his memoir.

No other president has again walked the entire route, a trek that took Carter 40 minutes. His successor, Ronald Reagan, is the only modern president to skip the stroll. Reagan and his wife, Nancy, stuck their heads out of their limo's sun roof during part of the drive in 1981, and Reagan didn't have a chance to walk after his second inauguration in 1985: that parade was canceled because of cold weather.

The next four presidents, two Democrats and two Republicans, have all pounded Pennsylvania Avenue pavement. They generally walk at least the last block to the White House, though the length and the timing of the strolls have varied. Once the president and his wife emerge, however, the script is similar. Waving, thumbs-up-giving and hand-holding are standard, and the first lady always seems to make the trek in heels. Even rain or cold don't seem to dissuade presidents. George W. Bush braved wet weather and temperatures in the 30s to walk with his wife, Laura, in 2001.

Whether children accompany their parents is hard to predict. Amy Carter, then 9, jumped and danced down the street with her parents. Chelsea Clinton joined her parents in 1997 when she was 16.

More predictable is a heavy Secret Service presence. Former agents say the parade can be a security challenge, mainly because everyone knows the route, and the street is less secure than the limo. But agents also understand the president wants to get out and be seen, says former agent Joseph Petro, who wrote a book about his years protecting presidents. Agents take a host of precautions, including leaving the limo doors open, just in case the president has to get back inside quickly.

During his last inauguration, the Obamas walked about six blocks. The president and first lady left their limo near the National Archives and Records Administration building, where the original Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence are displayed. After walking several blocks, Michelle Obama in green heels, they returned to the car briefly. They re-emerged for the last stretch to the White House, to a second round of wild cheers.

___

Follow Jessica Gresko at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-01-15-Inauguration-The%20Walk/id-54cdd110e7264cdab53febb2bd128db8

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'Washington Week' moderator, Travel Channel president headline Cronkite speaker series

Posted: January 14, 2013

The moderator of PBS?s ?Washington Week,? the president of the Travel Channel, a documentary filmmaker and a bureau chief for Dow Jones Newswires are among those headlining a speaker series this spring at Arizona State University.

The events are part of the ?Must See Mondays? series, which brings prominent media and communication professionals to ASU?s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The series kicks off tonight with FOX 10 anchor John Hook speaking about interviewing President Obama.

Following Hook are speakers including Gwen Ifill, moderator and managing editor of ?Washington Week?; Laureen Ong, president of the Travel Channel; Peter Byck, director and producer of the documentary ?Carbon Nation?; Angel Gonzalez, Houston bureau chief for Dow Jones Newswires; Discovery Studios producer and Cronkite alumnus Rob Hammersley; and Poynter Institute faculty member Sara Quinn. They will speak on topics ranging from digital media and community journalism to travel writing and political reporting.

The talks, which are free and open to the public, take place from 7 to 8 p.m. each Monday of the semester in the school?s First Amendment Forum on ASU?s Downtown Phoenix campus. Attendees can blog about the events and share insights on the school?s blog, Cronkite Conversations, at http://cronkiteconversations.asu.edu/. Videos of past speakers can be viewed online at http://cronkite.asu.edu/node/866.

The Cronkite School also hosts ?Cronkite Night at the Movies,? a journalism-themed film series, at 7 p.m., Wednesdays, in the First Amendment Forum. Cronkite faculty and staff introduce the movies and then lead discussions after the showings.

In addition, on Jan. 17, the Cronkite School and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will host ?Thinking Past the Present,? a national event at which the 2013 Knight News Challenge mobile winners will be announced. There were more than 2,500 entries for the mobile news challenge, part of the Knight Foundation?s program to encourage breakthrough ideas in news and information. Winners will receive a share of $5 million in funding and support from the Knight network.

Spring 2013 ?Must See Mondays? Schedule:

Jan. 14, ?Interviewing the President?
John Hook, anchor, FOX 10, KSAZ-TV, Phoenix

Jan. 22 (special Tuesday presentation), ?The Making of a Documentary?
Peter Byck, director and producer, ?Carbon Nation?

Jan. 28, ?The Future of What It Means to Be Human ? and The Prevail Project?
Joel Garreau, Lincoln Professor of Law, Culture and Values, ASU Sandra Day O?Connor College of Law and director, The Prevail Project

Feb. 4, ?Journalism and the American Underclass?
Leon Dash, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and University of Illinois professor

Feb. 11, ?Adventures in Community Journalism?
Mark Zusman, editor, Willamette Week

Feb. 18, ?Evolution of Cause Marketing?
Scott Pansky, co-founder and senior partner, Allison+Partners

Feb. 25, ?Becoming a Global Journalist?
Angel Gonzalez, Houston bureau chief, Dow Jones Newswires

March 4, ?Covering the Olympics?
Featuring a panel of Cronkite student reporters

March 18, ?Real-life TV?
Rob Hammersley, producer, Discovery Studios

March 25, ?Visual Storytelling?
Sara Quinn, faculty member, The Poynter Institute

April 1, ?Diversity and Inclusion in the News?
Gwen Ifill, managing editor and moderator, ?Washington Week?
This presentation is part of ASU?s Diversity Scholar Series.

April 8, ?Bricks & Bytes: Political Activism in the Social Media Age?
Merlyna Lim, Distinguished Scholar of Technology and Public Engagement and director, Participatory Media Lab, Arizona State University

April 15, ?Build It, Fix It, Reimagine It ? Your Business and Your Career?
Laureen Ong, president, Travel Channel

April 22, ?Canada and Puerto Rico: Reporting Abroad?
Featuring a panel of Cronkite depth reporting students

Spring 2013 ?Cronkite Night at the Movies? Schedule:

Jan. 16, ?Cronkite:? Legend and Legacy?
Hosted by Melanie Alvarez, executive producer of Cronkite NewsWatch, and Jim Jacoby, Cronkite NewsWatch television production manager

Jan. 30, ?Almost Famous?
Hosted by Andrew Leckey, Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism

Feb. 20, ?Nothing But the Truth?
Hosted by Sue Green, assistant news director and broadcast director, Cronkite News Service

March 20, ?The Newsroom?
Hosted by Marianne Barrett, senior associate dean and Solheim Professor

April 24, Student Showcase
Hosted by Mark Lodato, assistant dean and news director

For a full schedule of events, visit Cronkite Events at http://cronkite.asu.edu/events/all.

Source: https://asunews.asu.edu/20130114_mustseemondays

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Maria Waltherr-Willard Pedophobia: Ohio Teacher Sues School District For Discriminating Against Her Fear Of Children

Retired Ohio teacher Maria Waltherr-Willard is suing her school district, claiming it discriminated against her because of her disability -- a debilitating phobia of young children.

Waltherr-Willard, 61, claims in her lawsuit against the Mariemont school district that for 35 years, she taught Spanish and French to high school students in the system. But when she helped fight the district's decision to cut French class in favor of an online course, officials retaliated by reassigning her to younger students at a middle school in 2009, ignoring her hypertension, specific phobia and general anxiety disorder, Waltherr-Willard says, according to Cincinnati.com.

She claims that district officials were previously sympathetic and aware of her medically diagnosed pedophobia.

While the public and a number of commentators have taken to ridicule the teacher and her lawsuit, Dr. Caleb Adler, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati, says it's a serious phobia, as the illness causes Walterr-Willard to experience stress, anxiety, chest pains, vomiting, nightmares and high blood pressure when she's near young children.

"It's a tough phobia. You can't really get away from [children] when you're outside," Adler told Cincinnati.com. "When you're a teacher, it may not be an issue with older students."

Working with younger children at the middle school "adversely affected [Waltherr-Willard's] health, due to her disability," the lawsuit claims, according to ABC News. Although she reportedly helped the younger students succeed in their foreign language endeavors, the move still increased her blood pressure to levels that placed her at risk for a stroke.

When the district denied her request to transfer back to the high school for the 2010-2011 academic year, Waltherr-Willard was forced into early retirement at the age of 59, the suit claims.

A federal judge has dismissed three of Walterr-Willard's claims in the suit, arguing that the district violated an implied contract to keep her away from young students. The three remaining discrimination claims are awaiting district response, and a tentative trial date is set for February 2014.

Walterr-Willard seeks past and future pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorneys' fees.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/14/maria-waltherr-willard-pe_n_2475122.html

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Top porn producer sues to overturn Los Angeles condom law

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A top adult film producer sued Los Angeles County on Friday over a voter-approved measure requiring porn actors to wear condoms, saying the law infringes on their First Amendment rights and was driving the industry out of southern California.

Vivid Entertainment, which was joined in the lawsuit by porn stars Kayden Kross and Logan Pierce, claims the mandate is both an unconstitutional prior restraint on freedom of expression and a financial burden that studios could not bear.

"You don't have to win an Oscar to be protected by the First Amendment," the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, Paul Cambria, told Reuters after filing the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

The complaint also alleges that the ballot initiative known as Measure B, which was approved by 56 percent of county voters in November, treads into an area regulated by the state.

The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction that would block implementation of Measure B, which requires porn actors filming in Los Angeles County - the heart of the massive U.S. adult film industry - to wear condoms during sex scenes.

Representatives for Los Angeles County, its chief public health official Kenneth Fielding, and District Attorney Jackie Lacey, who were also named as defendants, declined to comment on the legal action on Friday afternoon.

But an attorney for AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which sponsored the measure, predicted that the lawsuit would fail.

"Despite what the adult industry's lawyers are claiming in this lawsuit, Measure B is not directed at speech and as such their First Amendment claims will likely ring hollow with the court," the group's general counsel, Tom Myers, said in a written statement.

The law also orders producers of adult films to pay a fee to the county's Department of Public Health and obtain a permit that requires all principals and management-level employees to undergo blood-borne pathogen training.

"They're telling the production house that in order to produce legally protected expression, you have to first get government approval and you have to agree to shoot it in particular way, namely with condoms," Cambria said.

Cambria said the industry already had a system of testing for sexually transmitted diseases that worked well and that the new condom law was prompting adult film studios to leave southern California, heading overseas or to Mexico.

"I can tell you they are leaving L.A. County in droves," he said. "It's a multi-billion dollar industry that employs thousands of people, and ever since this all started they have been leaving and filming in places other than L.A. County."

Cambria said that if studios leave Los Angeles County because of the law then adult film workers would have less protection, not more, because "what you're doing is taking it to a place where there will be no rules."

He said it was not economically feasible to digitally remove the condoms in post-production because the studios were competing with rivals elsewhere who had no such restrictions.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Philip Barbara and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/top-porn-producer-sues-overturn-los-angeles-condom-010315012.html

bridge to nowhere

Syria rebels form their own secret police

By Mariam Karouny, Reuters

BEIRUT -- Just the mention of the word would send shivers down the spine of Syrians: "mukhabarat," or secret police.

Abuses by President Bashar Assad's feared security units were among the reasons Syrians took to the streets in March 2011, leading to an uprising that has become a civil war.

But now some of the rebels fighting Assad say they have set up a mukhabarat of their own to "protect the revolution," monitor sensitive military sites and gather military information to help rebels plan attacks against government forces.

"We formally formed the unit in November. It provides all kind of information to (opposition) politicians and fighters. We are independent and just serve the revolution," said a rebel intelligence officer who goes under the name Haji.

Str / AP

Anti-government clashes continue as Western and Arab nations launch a diplomatic offensive to halt the violence.

Rebel commanders had put Reuters in touch with Haji, who is based in Syria, via Skype on condition he not be identified.

Haji said most of the rebel mukhabarat's members were army defectors and former intelligence officers, and that the information they gathered was distributed to all anti-Assad factions and rebel brigades without discrimination.

However, the organization appears to operate independently from the main opposition Syrian National Coalition and the Free Syrian Army, effectively answering to itself.

The new rebel body has operated secretly for months, Haji said, helping fighters carry out attacks on government targets.
Haji declined to disclose details of the rebel agency, but said it operated across Syria, including in Aleppo and Idlib in the north, Deir al-Zor in the east and the capital Damascus, adding: "We have our spies among the regime who are providing us with information that we need, including military information."

Syrians have long exchanged horror stories of the dungeons of the intelligence branches where dissidents were incarcerated, often tortured and sometimes killed. Opposition activists insist their own mukhabarat will be nothing like those Assad inherited from his father, the late President Hafez al-Assad.

"The word security should mean the security of the people," said an opposition activist using the name Abu Hisham in Aleppo.

'Nothing will be ignored'
In the Arab world's many past or present police states, Syria's mukhabarat has had a reputation as one of the most ruthless. It consists of at least five powerful agencies which spy on each other, tap phones of dissidents and vie for power.

Corruption, personal interests and a lack of communication among its branches might appear to offer avenues for rebels to infiltrate Assad's mukhabarat, but the security services are dominated by the Syrian leader's tight-knit Alawite minority.

The Alawites, who make up about 12 percent of Syria's 23 million people, have rallied behind Assad, fearing revenge by the mostly Sunni Muslim rebels if he is toppled.

Other minorities, which include Druze, Christians and Shiites, fear for their freedoms if the armed revolt brings Sunni Islamist hardliners to power.

Such fears deepened after documented abuses by some rebels accused of torturing and summarily executing their opponents, as well as of looting state and private property during nearly 22 months of conflict that has cost at least 60,000 lives.

Haji said his intelligence agents were documenting such violations so that the perpetrators could be held to account.

"We are watching everybody. We have gathered information about every violation that happened in the revolt," he said.

"Those we cannot punish now will be punished after toppling Assad. Nothing will be ignored. We have our members among all the working brigades. They are not known to be intelligence and they operate quietly."

His agents, Haji said, worked undercover as activists, citizen journalists or fighters.

While welcoming the formation of the rebel intelligence service, one insurgent commander voiced concern it might change its agenda to serve a group or a political party later on, just as Assad's mukhabarat had focused on protecting his rule.

"After toppling Assad all of this will be reshaped -- it is a temporary unit but there is fear that this unit will remain secretive the way it is now and starts executing unwanted agendas," said the commander, known as Obeida.

"We fear that later it will become political and serve a political agenda as if all our sacrifices never happened."

Related stories:
Syria rebels trade 48 Iranian hostages for 2,000 imprisoned civilians
Richard Engel and NBC News team freed from captors in Syria
PhotoBlog: Destruction and resistance: Window into war-torn Aleppo

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/10/16447788-we-are-watching-everybody-syrias-rebels-form-own-secret-police?lite

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