The Hard Stuff (TIME)

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Carl Downer, Announcer At London's Victoria Station, Makes Commuters Smile (VIDEO)

The London Underground's most popular announcer will totally make your day.

For six years, Jamaica-born Carl Downer has shared Rastafarian wisdom with strangers passing through central London's Victoria Station in order to cheer them up, according to Yahoo News. His performance, which sometimes references MC Hammer, was caught on video this week.

?Chill out, kick back, no need let anybody cramp your style,? he says in the YouTube clip above. ?Rastaman driver, take these beautiful people to their destination."

In an interview with Vice Magazine, Downer explained why he does it.

I feel happy when people smile because of me. You know why? With the economy nowadays, you don't know what people are going through, and if they can take their mind off all the things going on in their personal life, in their job life, that one moment of happiness can make a big difference.

He added, "I like to see people happy, man ?- seriously."

We'd like to transport this dude to New York City.

Watch Part 2 of the video below.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/26/carl-downer_n_2768594.html

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Dominican singer can be held for year in drug case

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) ? A judge in the Dominican Republic ruled Monday that the winner of a TV talent show can be held in jail for up to a year while authorities investigate her alleged involvement in drug smuggling.

Martha Heredia, a 22-year-old Dominican singer who was a winner of the show "Latin American Idol," was arrested at a Dominican airport on Wednesday as she was about to board a flight to New York. Police allege she had 2.9 pounds (1.3 kilograms) of heroin stuffed in the heels of three pairs of platform shoes.

On Monday, Judge Deyanira Vasquez ruled that Heredia can be held for a year in jail. No charges have been filed, but the Dominican legal systems allows for lengthy preventative detention.

Heredia's lawyer, Felix Portes, said there is "no evidence" that links the singer to the suitcase where the heroin was found.

Portes tried unsuccessfully to get the court to authorize Heredia's transfer from a lockup to a medical clinic, arguing she had underwent a liposuction procedure in recent weeks and was experiencing discomfort.

Heredia had become a local star after she won the final "Latin American Idol" contest in 2009. The show, which ran for three years, was a Spanish-language version of the popular "Idols" franchise. Her subsequent musical career failed to take off.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dominican-singer-held-drug-case-000537341.html

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Health Insurance NOT the Same As Access to Health Care | Coyote ...

February 26, 2013, 8:43 am

Most of the Left wants to measure access to health care by the percentage of people who have health insurance,?implying?that those without insurance have no access to care. ?But in fact the uninsured in the US have access to better health care than most other people in the world.

And it will soon become apparent that the converse is not true either - even with insurance, in a top-down rules-driven government-controlled?health care system, one may not have access to health care. ? ?For example, one of my employees was complaining that she was having trouble with workers comp getting care for her injury. ?This is a follow-up email I?received?today from my insurance agent (redacted only for privacy issues):

I talked to [valued employee of my company, call her Jane] this morning regarding her lack of attention from [our workers comp insurer].

I then followed up immediately with [representative of workers comp insurer] working on her account, in Sacramento, CA.

It seems the problem is her injury occurred in CA and she's now in MO.? The doctors in MO don't want to see her due to the paperwork and issues required under the CA laws.?

Jane advises she gets relief from going to a chiropractor.? I told her to keep going and I would get [insurance company] to approve those visits, which [workers comp insurer rep] said she would.

So, it comes down to [our insurance company] trying to find an Orthopedic Doctor who will take her and comply with the CA requirements, which the Drs. don't like.

There is no issues on coverage, it's a political issue.

Already, Medicare and Medicaid patients have trouble finding doctors to treat them. ?Enjoy the cozy feeling of being "insured" via Obamacare. ?Let's hope that when you are sick, there is a doctor who will see you.

Tags: CA, california, Health Care, insurance, MO, Obamacare, Orthopedic Doctor, US, Workers comp, workmans comp
Category: Health Care, Regulation ?|??Comment (RSS)

Source: http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2013/02/health-insurance-not-the-same-as-access-to-health-care.html

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Guinea president picks ally to replace army chief

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 2. Matt Kuchar $1,987,000 3. Hunter Mahan $1,412,965 4. John Merrick $1,296,014 5. Phil Mickelson $1,232,760 6. Dustin Johnson $1,200,125 7. Tiger Woods $1,144,000 8. Russell Henley $1,129,080 9. Brian Gay $1,089,181 10. Charles Howell III $1,087,944 11. Jason Day $1,009,164 12. Chris Kirk $990,013 13. Steve Stricker $940,000 14. Josh Teater $870,934 15. Bill Haas $816,300 16. Jimmy Walker $812,620 17. Scott Piercy $789,592 18. Charlie Beljan $785,800 19. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/guinea-president-picks-ally-replace-army-chief-132548206--sector.html

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Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Money Cheat - Video Games ...

This Metal Gear Rising Revengeance money cheat will show you how to collect quick cash by taking advantage of an infinite money glitch in the PS3 & Xbox 360 versions of the hack ?n slash game.

Below we show you step-by-step how to get infinite BP!

Index of Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Guides:

Essentially it?s a Infinite BP Farming Cheat. Here we show you how to easily farm BP in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, which is the game?s currency. You can do this exploit at anytime in the game, but what?s shown is the best chapter to do it in.

Here is a video guide showing you how to do the Metal Gear Rising Revengeance money cheat.

Here are the steps to take for the money cheat:

Step 1: Start chapter ?File R-01: Coup D?etat?

Step 2: Once in the level, head over to the ferris wheel, then turn left, run forward and jump up the concrete building to find a BP chest on the roof.

Step 3: Next you?ll exit the chapter by pressing the Select/Back button on your controller, select Courtney and save the game. After that press the Start button to ?Restart Checkpoint?.

Step 4: As a result Raiden will be placed back into the level right in front of the same ferris wheel near the BP chest that you can now open anew!

Step 5: You can keep doing this over and over until you have enough BP spending money.

Credit for the discovery goes to Deathmule.

If you have any more Metal Gear Rising Revengeance money cheats or tips, leave a comment and we?ll add it to this guide with credit to you.

About the author

By Ferry Groenendijk: He is the founder and editor of Video Games Blogger. He loved gaming from the moment he got a Nintendo with Super Mario Bros. on his 8th birthday. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and at Google+.

Source: http://www.videogamesblogger.com/2013/02/25/metal-gear-rising-revengeance-money-cheat.htm

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Retrieve redundant radio frequency licences Communications ...

The Minister of Communications, Dr Edward Omane-Boamah, has advised the National Communications Authority (NCA) to retrieve radio frequency licences from people and institutions that are not using them and re-issue same to those interested in owning and operating radio stations in the country.

That, he said, would help reduce the number of redundant radio frequency licenses in the hands of the public while ensuring that those interested and ready to set up and operate radio stations were given the legal backing and frequencies to do so.

The minister gave the advice after paying familiarisation visit to the offices of the NCA in Accra Wednesday.

The visit was to give him first-hand information on the operation of the authority, the regulator of the local communication industry having assumed office last two weeks.

?My interaction with the management earlier showed that there are a number of redundant radio frequency licenses out there. Meanwhile, there are several people who come knocking at the doors of the NCA for licenses to operate,? the minster said in a short interaction with the staff of the authority.

His observations come in the midst of reports from the NCA that frequencies for the setting up and the operation of radio stations in the country have been exhausted, thereby making it impossible for new operational licenses to be issued to interested people and institutions.

That notwithstanding, many people and institutions, according to NCA data, continued to have radio station frequencies and licenses that they were yet to make use of.

To Dr Omane-Boamah, such a disconnect was not good for the development of the communication industry.

?If someone has acquired the license and is not using it yet someone wants a license to operate, I think it will be proper to go through the process, retrieve that license and re-license it to the one interested in operating.?

?That, I think, NCA can do and if we do that we will be helping to reduce the number of redundant licenses in the system and ensure that more radio stations are set up to educate our people,? the minister added.

On the migration from analogue to digital television, Dr Omane-Boamah said it was impressive to know that the Communications Authority had set 2014 as the deadline for Ghana to migrate compared to the international community?s mid-2015 deadline.

He later urged the staff and management of the authority to develop mutual respect for one another so as to promote a cordial working relationship among themselves.

He called on them to give up their best in a bit to improve regulatory activists in the industry.

The Director-General of the NCA, Mr Paarock VanPercy, thanked the minister for the visit and assured him of his outfit?s full backing towards the implementation of the ministry?s policies.

Source: http://www.ghanamma.com/2013/02/retrieve-redundant-radio-frequency-licences-communications-minister-tells-nca/

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Analysis: Morning in America? U.S. economy poised to accelerate

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Famed U.S. economist Milton Friedman once observed that a recovery from recession is like plucking a guitar string: The harder the economy is pushed down, the faster it snaps back.

That didn't happen when America began to exit a deep downturn in 2009. Now, though, after years of paltry growth and despite a government austerity drive that could batter the economy for months, signs are emerging that a more robust recovery is around the bend.

The main reason is an improvement in household finances, which by some measures are looking more solid than they have in decades. This is allowing consumers to ramp up purchases of homes and cars, the sort of spending that usually leads an economic rebound but that until recently had been held back by heavy debts and tight credit.

"We finally are getting something that looks more like a normal recovery," said Nigel Gault, an economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts.

This hint of normalcy suggests the slow improvements in the labor market over the past few years can now provide a bigger boost to consumer spending, which will in turn create more jobs.

Gault and others expect this increasingly self-reinforcing cycle will lead growth to pick up substantially by the end of the year, even if Washington goes forward with $85 billion in budget cuts scheduled to begin on Friday.

Economists polled by Reuters this month predicted the economy will expand at a 2.8 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, up from the 1.8 percent rate expected in the first quarter, when higher tax rates enacted in January are expected to hit growth temporarily.

If the forecasters are right, the fourth-quarter performance will mark a big improvement from the average annual rate of 2.1 percent clocked since the end of the recession. Better still, most analysts expect further acceleration in 2014.

FALSE STARTS

Of course, economists have predicted for several years that stronger growth lies just a few quarters away. As 12 million unemployed workers can attest, that hasn't panned out.

Yet there are several reasons to think this time really is different.

First, a pickup in hiring last year has helped families earn more money. Economists at Goldman Sachs estimate wages and salaries grew by almost 3 percent in the 12 months through December, even when factoring out inflation and unusual payments made to help workers avoid January's tax increase.

That's about twice the growth rates clocked in mid-2012, and might explain why higher taxes appeared to take only a small bite out of retail sales last month.

Second, families may be turning a corner in their long struggle to reduce their debt burden. A housing bubble that burst in 2006 left Americans awash in debts taken on during the boom. It also set off panic on Wall Street. Many analysts believe the bust left behind scars that made the recovery weaker than a normal rebound. Even rock-bottom interest rates didn't persuade debt-shy consumers to spend more, while banks were hesitant to lend.

But slowly, households have reduced their debts by either defaulting or taking out fewer loans as they pay off existing ones. At the same time, incomes have grown and the Federal Reserve has kept borrowing costs exceptionally low. By the third quarter of last year, U.S. household debt payments were 10.6 percent of their after-tax income, the lowest ratio since 1983 and down from a record high 14.1 percent in late 2007. A wider measure of financial obligations that includes rent has also slowly declined and stands at its lowest since the mid-1980s.

Economists at Deutsche Bank project outstanding household debt relative to income will be back in line with its long-term trend by mid-2014. That could once again make consumers more comfortable about borrowing.

BRIGHT SPOTS

Already, areas of spending that usually respond to low interest rates have become the brightest spots in the economy, a sign the recovery is assuming a more normal path.

The pace of auto sales in January would have Americans buying 15.3 million vehicles a year, just below pre-recession levels. In 2012, auto sales were the highest in five years.

The surge has led Michigan Precision Swiss Parts, which makes fuel-system components for Ford and Navistar engines, to expect its sales to climb by 8 percent to 12 percent this year.

"We're busier than hell," said Gerald Meldrum, chief executive officer of the company, which is based in St. Clair, Michigan.

Steam is also gathering in the housing market. Home builders large and small are reporting big gains in new orders as prices rise and the supply of homes on the market dwindles. In January, the inventory of existing homes fell to a 13-year low.

"We think the market has taken on a recovery," said Mark Gray, a vice president of Quadrant Homes, a builder in Bellevue, Washington.

Home building added to economic growth last year for the first time since 2005 and is seen giving a bigger boost in 2013.

"Early cycle indicators like housing now look like they typically do in the early stages of a recovery," said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank in New York. "The economy could definitely surprise to the upside this year."

The next few months could nevertheless be rough.

Executives from retail giant Wal-Mart and restaurant companies such as Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants warned last week that higher taxes have hurt customers' spending power.

The scheduled federal budget cuts already have government agencies planning to slash the workweeks of hundreds of thousands of workers. This could shave half a percentage point from economic growth in 2013, and gross domestic product is seen growing just 2 percent in the full year.

Even after the austerity shock recedes, nobody is expecting a boom. Housing remains a smaller share of the economy than it was before the bubble years, so its ability to pump up growth is smaller as well. Credit is still hard to come by, especially for the millions of Americans who defaulted on their debts during the recession. Europe's debt crisis and higher gasoline prices also pose constant threats to the recovery.

But the improvement in household finances means underlying momentum in the economy might continue to gather. Increased home construction should boost demand for materials made by factories, which are also getting help from a boom in U.S. oil and gas production.

All told, this year's austerity-bound growth should morph into a beefier rate of at least 3.3 percent in 2014, according to respected forecasting firm Macroeconomic Advisers. That would be the fastest pace in a decade.

After years in which the lingering effects of the housing bust dampened the recovery, the guitar string is starting to make a more familiar sound.

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Additional reporting by Michelle Conlin in New York and Paul Lienert in Detroit; Editing by Dan Burns and Douglas Royalty)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-morning-america-u-economy-poised-accelerate-202530154--business.html

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Joe Banner Sheds Light On Browns Philosophy Moving Forward ...

Cleveland Browns CEO Joe Banner / (Photo by Daryl Ruiter CBS Cleveland)

INDIANAPOLIS (92.3 The Fan) ? Cleveland Browns CEO Joe Banner sat down with reporters in Indianapolis Saturday morning and outlined his thoughts on the team going forward.

The team has made decisions on their own free agents including Phil Dawson and Josh Cribbs but will keep those private for competitive reasons.

?Let?s say we?re trying to sign them and I told you we want to bring them back ? that certainly wouldn?t be a very smart thing from a negotiating perspective,? Banner said. ?If we weren?t, we don?t need to tell the other teams who?s going to be free or not free any earlier than necessary.?

The No. 1 question going forward concerns quarterback Brandon Weeden.

Is he or isn?t he the guy.

They still don?t know but it appears that they will give themselves and Weeden a chance to figure it out.

Banner echoed some of what coach Rob Chudzinski said Friday ? that the coaches, who have proven in the past that they can work with young quarterbacks, feel they can work with Weeden and assist in his development.

?Well, I think we want to give him the best chance to succeed,? Banner said. ?We have a huge vested interest in him being successful. We think that we?re bringing in coaches that can maximize that. We think we have some existing benefits. I actually think the most valuable a quarterback can have is an offensive line that?s good. He?s in an unusual position of coming in as a rookie and inheriting a team that has a good offensive line. So we have a huge vested interest. It will accelerate our ability to get to where we want to if he succeeds.?

However he is also in the window ? first to second year in the league ? that the development needs to bee seen on the field.

?I think we?ll feel comfortable when we?re able to sit here and tell you we have a starter that we?re sure is a guy that can lead us to a championship,? Banner said. ?Whereas we?re hopeful and we?re going to give Brandon his best chance to succeed, I don?t think any of us say we know that yet. So until we can sit here and say that, I think we?re going to be working that position.?

Along those lines, targeting a quarterback with the 6th overall pick in April?s draft isn?t likely. Should they make a change this season, it won?t be just to plug their own guy in.

?The biggest mistake we could make is to force something because we need it,? Banner said. ?So we can?t do that, which doesn?t mean that need doesn?t matter. We?re not one of these guys that says, ?Oh, you just pick the best athlete all the time.? But you don?t bypass a guy that?s a really good player to fill a need. That said, you have to make sure whether it?s what we have or we have to get that you have a really, really strong player at that particular position. But if we picked a quarterback just ?cause we?re worried we?re not good enough there just to pick somebody who we?re not even that sure about, that would be a bad mistake.?

The Browns have evaluated all of the free agents available this offseason ? including quarterbacks but are still evaluating quarterbacks in this year?s draft.

?We?ve talked about every single possible player at every position we think could improve us,? Banner said.

The team is still finalizing their free agency plans and have plenty of salary cap room to work with and their plan is to be active and aggressive in spending but wisely.

?The fact we have cap room and other teams don?t I think will help us in the market place,? Banner said. ?I view this as a good year to be in the free agent market and to be able to get fair market value. Historically, by definition, you generally have to overpay to get free agents especially in the early part of it. I don?t think you?re going to get any bargains, but I think there is a better chance of getting fair market value in free agency.

?I would expect us to be participants in free agency. How big the names are, that will be determined as we see who?s available and who?s interested in us and who we?re interested in.?

Teams that win championships control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. It?s part of the reason Banner and the Browns elected to switch from the 4-3 to 3-4 defense this offseason. They want the defense to echo the same mantra as the offense ? aggressiveness.

?I think our offensive line is good and it could get better,? Banner said. ?I think as we switch to the 3-4 and as I said before even if we stayed in the 4-3, the defensive front [seven] needs some additions to be able to compete with the best in the league.?

Blowing up the roster like new regimes tend to do isn?t in the plans. Banner made that clear Saturday when he said that their goal is to add to what is already here.

?I?m not going to say the clich?-ish, ?We?d always listen and we will make inquiries and stuff like that,?? Banner said. ?I would not expect at this point and time that we?re going to be receptive to trading our players. We?re looking to build on the players we have and take this thing to a higher level over some period of time.?

Source: http://cleveland.cbslocal.com/2013/02/23/joe-banner-sheds-light-on-browns-philosophy-moving-forward/

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Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest''s customer support firm Zendesk hacked

Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest have been caught up in a hacking attack on a firm, which technology companies use to outsource their customer services.

Customer support tool Zendesk noted that a hacker downloaded email addresses of users who contacted those three customers for support, along with the email subject lines.

The company warned customers of the security breach in an email entitled: ?We?ve been hacked.?

According to the website Wired.com, some customers also may have had their phone numbers revealed, but no passwords were revealed.

Zendesk, which has over 25,000 clients, uses software tools to allow companies to outsource a number of their customer service functions.

In an email to affected users, Twitter wrote: ?Zendesk?s breach did not result in the exposure of information such as Twitter account passwords. It may, however, have included contact information you provided when submitting a support request such as an email, phone number, or Twitter username.?

According to the paper, Pinterest and Tumblr sent similar emails warning their potentially affected users.

Source: http://financialexpress.com/news/twitter-tumblr-pinterests-customer-support-firm-zendesk-hacked/1078638/

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What does a 'secure' border look like?

Once, the barren mesas and shrub-covered canyons that extend east of the Pacific Ocean held the most popular routes for illegal immigrants heading into the U.S. Dozens at a time sprinted to waiting cars or a trolley stop in San Diego, passing border agents who were too busy herding others to give pause.

Now, 20 years after that onslaught, crossing would mean scaling two fences (one topped with coiled razor wire), passing a phalanx of agents and eluding cameras positioned to capture every incursion.

The difference, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on a recent tour, is like "a rocket ship and a horse and buggy."

In pure numbers it is this: Where border agents made some 530,000 arrests in San Diego in fiscal year 1993, they had fewer than 30,000 in 2012.

There is no simple yardstick to measure border security. And yet, as the debate over immigration reform ramps back up, many will try.

"Secure the border first" has become not just a popular mantra whenever talk turns to reform but a litmus test for many upon which a broader overhaul is contingent.

"We need a responsible, permanent solution" to illegal immigration, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican who is working to develop a reform plan, said in his State of the Union response this month. "But first," he added, "we must follow through on the broken promises of the past to secure our borders and enforce our laws."

In fact, the 1,954-mile border with Mexico is more difficult to breach than ever. San Diego is but one example.

Two decades ago, fewer than 4,000 Border Patrol agents manned the entire Southwest border. Today there are 18,500. Some 651 miles of fence have been built, most of that since 2005.

Apprehensions, meantime, have plummeted to levels not seen since the early 1970s ? with 356,873 in FY2012. Compare that to 1.2 million apprehensions in 1993, when new strategies began bringing officers and technology to border communities in California, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Now sensors have been planted, cameras erected, and drones monitor the borderlands from above.

But for those who live and work in communities along the international boundary, "secure" means different things. In Arizona, ranchers scoff at the idea. In New Mexico, locals worry about what's heading south in addition to flowing north. And in Texas, residents firmly believe that reform itself would finally help steady the flow of people and drugs.

These places have been transformed. Sealed? No. But as one border mayor asked: "How secure is secure?"

___

SAN DIEGO: From "banzai runs" to Brooks Brothers

Don McDermott spent most of his 21 years in the Border Patrol working the San Diego sector. He remembers the "banzai runs," when hordes of immigrants would storm inspection booths at one international crossing, scattering as they ran past startled motorists.

Back then, migrants crossed with audacity ? even played soccer on U.S. soil as vendors hawked tamales and tacos. The "soccer field" was too dangerous to patrol, so agents positioned themselves a half-mile out, waiting for nightfall when groups would make a run for freedom.

"Hopefully you would catch more people that you saw going past you," said McDermott, who retired in 2008. "You caught who you could and knew they would be back before the night was over."

The tide turned when the U.S. government launched "Operation Gatekeeper" in 1994, modeled on a crackdown the previous year in El Paso, Texas. The effort brought 1,000 additional agents to San Diego. They parked their trucks against a rusting 8-foot-high fence made of Army surplus landing mats, and refused to yield an inch. They called it "marking the X."

As apprehension numbers fell, home values skyrocketed. In 2001, an outlet mall opened right along the border. It now counts Brooks Brothers, Polo Ralph Lauren and Coach as tenants.

More than manpower helped to shut down the path into San Diego. An 18-foot-high steel mesh fence extending roughly 14 miles from the Pacific Ocean was completed in 2009, with razor wire topping about half of it. A dirt road traversing an area known as "Smugglers Gulch," which border agents had to navigate slowly, was transformed into a flatter, all-weather artery at a cost of $57 million.

This past year the Border Patrol's San Diego sector, which covers 60 miles of land border, made fewer arrests than in any year since 1968. Agents averaged 11 arrests each, a change that marvels veterans. Agents today may even pursue just one crosser over several shifts.

"I'm not going to say it's impossible, but it's a lot more difficult to cross the border here," said agency spokesman Steven Pitts.

After Gatekeeper, smugglers tried new tactics. They pelted agents with rocks, hoping to create an opening for a mad dash when other agents rushed to help. Or one group would jump the fence to draw agents' attention long enough for another to try its luck.

Now, other threats have emerged. U.S. authorities identified 210 human and drug smuggling attempts at sea during FY2012, up from 45 four years earlier. A Coast Guardsman died in December when a suspected smuggling vessel struck him.

And nearly all of more than 70 drug smuggling tunnels found along the border since October 2008 have been discovered in the clay-like soil of San Diego and Tijuana, some complete with hydraulic lifts and rail cars. They've produced some of the largest marijuana seizures in U.S. history.

Still, few attempt to cross what was once the nation's busiest corridor for illegal immigration. As he waited for breakfast at a Tijuana migrant shelter, Jose de Jesus Scott nodded toward a roommate who did. He was caught within seconds and badly injured his legs jumping the fence.

Scott, who crossed the border with relative ease until 2006, said he and a cousin tried a three-day mountain trek to San Diego in January and were caught twice. Scott, 31, was tempted to return to his wife and two young daughters near Guadalajara. But, with deep roots in suburban Los Angeles and cooking jobs that pay up to $1,200 a week, he will likely try the same route a third time.

"You need a lot of smarts and a lot of luck," he said. "Mostly luck.

"It's a new world."

___

EL PASO, Texas: Steel bars still up; crossings and crime down

Burglar bars still protect many a home in the Chihuahuita neighborhood near downtown El Paso, a reminder of a time when immigrant crossers would break in looking for food or trying to duck the Border Patrol. Carmen Silva recalls those days. At 90, she tells of migrants hiding under cars and in backyards. Now, she says: "Nobody comes through anymore."

Patricia Rayjosa has lived in the same neighborhood as Silva for the past 18 years. Once, she said, migrants crossed 30, 40, 50 at a time to overwhelm agents standing watch. Others swam across the Rio Grande or waded north on tire tubes.

"One morning, as I went out to feed my dogs, I found ... wire cutters. I didn't see them but I could tell they went across my backyard," said Rayjosa, 53. But she agrees with Silva's assessment. Now, "It's not easy to cross."

In the early 1990s, El Paso ran second to San Diego in the number of illegal immigrants coming north. Then, in 1993, the Border Patrol launched "Operation Hold the Line," the first of a series of enforcement actions intended to gain "operational control" of the Southwest border.

It was a shift in strategy from apprehending migrants already in the U.S. to preventing entry in the first place, and the effect was almost immediate: Within months, illegal crossings in El Paso went from up to 10,000 a day to 500, according to a Government Accountability Office report in 1994 called "BORDER CONTROL: Revised Strategy Is Showing Some Positive Results."

Burglaries in neighborhoods like Chihuahuita decreased. Car thefts went down. And, as happened later in San Diego, apprehensions plunged: from nearly 286,000 in 1993 to about 9,700 last fiscal year in the El Paso Border Patrol sector, which encompasses 268 miles from West Texas across New Mexico. (Border Patrol staffing in the sector went from 608 agents in 1993 to more than 2,700 today.)

To El Paso Mayor John Cook, hinging reform to continued calls for a "secure border" seems absurd given the changes in his city.

"It is as secure as it has ever been. How secure is secure?" he said. "Some people who come with these ideas have no idea.

"I wish they would come down here and see."

But you don't have to drive too far into the New Mexico desert to see problems.

Marcus Martinez, the police chief in Lordsburg, N.M., recalled an incident in January where a local hotel manager stepped out to have a cigarette and saw a convoy of vehicles speeding through town. Four cars were eventually stopped ? 80 miles north of the border ? and 6 tons of marijuana were seized.

Patrick Green of the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office in Lordsburg, said northbound traffic is only part of the problem. Even as people and drugs are smuggled north, guns and money are flowing back south. He deals with constant reports by homeowners and ranchers about break-ins.

The area has seen a huge influx of Border Patrol agents, but officers like Green fear the government will always be behind the curve in dealing with sophisticated smuggling operations.

"If the Border Patrol puts more people in the ground, they will take to the mountains," Green said. "We are always playing catch up."

___

MCALLEN, Texas: In bicultural region, residents root for reform as the path to "secure"

Some 800 miles southeast of El Paso is the Rio Grande Valley, where rapid growth has overtaken sugar cane and cotton fields and sleepy hamlets are now thriving cities. More than 1.2 million people live in the two border counties on the U.S. side of this southernmost tip of Texas, and a similar number are directly across the border anchored by the sprawling cities of Matamoros and Reynosa.

Here, illegal crossers can quickly slip into communities without being forced to trek for days through wide-open spaces.

Part of the solution was the border fence, and 400 landowners ? most of them in this part of Texas ? had property seized to build it. The fence divided people from swaths of their own land, but also struck many as an offensive gesture in this bicultural, bilingual region that views itself as one community with its Mexican sister cities.

More effective, locals said, has been the influx of Border Patrol agents ? 2,546 in the Rio Grande Valley today, almost seven times more than 20 years ago.

And while some agents still patrol on horseback, others are aided now by night-vision goggles and unmanned Predator drones watching from 19,000 feet overhead with high-powered infrared cameras.

Definitions of a secure border vary here, but there's agreement that the premise should not stand in the way of immigration reform.

Tony Garza remembers watching the flow of pedestrian traffic between Brownsville and Matamoros from his father's filling station just steps from the international bridge. He recalls migrant workers crossing the fairway on the 11th hole of a golf course ? northbound in the morning, southbound in the afternoon. And during an annual celebration between the sister cities, no one was asked for their papers at the bridge. People were just expected to go home.

Garza, a Republican who served as the U.S. ambassador to Mexico from 2002 to 2009, said it's easy to become nostalgic for those times, but he reminds himself that he grew up in a border town of fewer than 50,000 people that has grown into a city of more than 200,000.

The border here is more secure for the massive investment in recent years but feels less safe because the crime has changed, he said. Some of that has to do with transnational criminal organizations in Mexico and some of it is just the crime of a larger city.

Reform, he said, "would allow you to focus your resources on those activities that truly make the border less safe today."

Monica Weisberg-Stewart was born and raised an hour upriver in McAllen. Her father ran a store downtown that she runs today, filled with socks, underwear and jewelry. She echoes Garza's assessment that things feel less safe now but says that has more to do with the area's growth than with what's happening in Mexico.

"I thought that this was definitely the best place to raise my family," she said, "and I still believe that to be true today."

Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino points out that drug, gun and human smuggling is nothing new to the border. The difference is the attention that the drug-related violence in Mexico has drawn to the region in recent years.

He insists his county, which includes McAllen, is safe. The crime rate is falling, and illegal immigrants account for small numbers in his jail. But asked if the border is "secure," Trevino doesn't hesitate. "Absolutely not."

"When you're busting human trafficking stash houses with 60 to 100 people that are stashed in a two, three-bedroom home for weeks at a time, how can you say you've secured the border?" he said.

Trevino's view, however, is that those people might not be there if they had a legal path to work in the U.S.

"Immigration reform is the first thing we have to accomplish before we can say that we have secured the border," he said.

____

NOGALES, Ariz.: In nation's busiest illegal corridor, ranchers scoff at "secure"

Everywhere he goes on his cattle ranch, Jim Chilton has a gun at the ready. He has guns at his front door, guns in his pickup truck, guns on his horse's saddle. His fear? Coming across a bandit or a smuggler on his land northwest of Nogales, Ariz.

Cattleman Gary Thrasher frequently encounters immigrants and smugglers running through his property. Some have showered in his barn. He and his family live in constant dread.

"They really have secured the towns right along the border, but what that does is it drives all the traffic out into the rural areas around here," said Thrasher, a rancher and veterinarian for more than 40 years on the border east of Douglas, Ariz. "It sends the traffic right into our backyards."

The question of border security hits close to home to those who work the land in southern Arizona. It was here, in 2010, that cattle rancher Robert Krentz was gunned down while checking water lines on his property near Douglas. Local authorities have said they believe the killer was involved in smuggling either humans or drugs.

That same year, Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was killed in a shootout near Nogales with Mexican gunmen that brought attention to the federal government's botched weapons-trafficking probe called "Fast and Furious."

"The border is not secure," said Chilton. "Period. Exclamation mark."

Defining "secure border" in Arizona is never easy. Just last week, U.S. Sen. John McCain hosted two town hall meetings on immigration reform in his home state, and was left defending a plan he's been developing.

During a heated gathering in the Phoenix suburb of Sun Lakes, one man yelled that only guns would discourage illegal immigration. Another man complained that illegal immigrants should never be able to become citizens or vote. A third man said illegal immigrants were illiterate invaders who wanted free government benefits.

McCain urged compassion. "We are a Judeo-Christian nation," he said.

The crackdowns in Texas and California in the 1990s turned Arizona's border into the busiest for human smuggling for 15 years running now.

In 2000, agents in the Tucson sector made more than 616,000 apprehensions ? a near all-time high for any Border Patrol sector. The number eventually began dipping as the agency hired more than 1,000 new agents and the economy collapsed. State crackdowns such as the "show me your papers" law ? requiring police enforcing other laws to question the immigration status of those they suspect are in the country illegally ? are also thought to have driven migrants away.

The result: the sector had 120,000 apprehensions in fiscal 2012.

But the amount of drugs seized in Arizona has soared at the same time. Agents confiscated more than 1 million pounds of marijuana in the Tucson sector last year, more than double the amount seized in 2005.

In Nogales, Sheriff Tony Estrada has a unique perspective on both border security and more comprehensive immigration reform. Born in Nogales, Mexico, Estrada grew up in Nogales, Ariz., after migrating to the U.S. with his parents. He has served as a lawman in the community since 1966.

He blames border security issues not only on the cartels but on the American demand for drugs. Until that wanes, he said, nothing will change. And securing the border, he added, must be a constant, ever-changing effort that blends security and political support ? because the effort will never end.

"The drugs are going to keep coming. The people are going to keep coming. The only thing you can do is contain it as much as possible.

"I say the border is as safe and secure as it can be, but I think people are asking for us to seal the border, and that's unrealistic," he said.

Asked why, he said simply: "That's the nature of the border."

___

Spagat reported from San Diego; Llorca from El Paso, Texas; Sherman from McAllen, Texas; and Skoloff from Phoenix. Also contributing to this report was AP writer Cristina Silva in Phoenix.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/does-secure-border-look-152824265.html

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Oil prices recover

Oil prices have recovered slightly, after two days of losses stoked by concerns that prices had outrun weak growth in demand.

New York's main contract, WTI crude for April, gained 29 cents to $US93.13 a barrel on Friday.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for April delivery finished at $114.10 a barrel up 57 cents from Thursday.

The modest rebound came after New York prices fell more that $4.50 a barrel over the past two days.

"We had a dramatic selloff this week and we are just seeing some short-covering, some profit-taking," said John Kilduff of Again Capital, adding that $93 "seems to be the new support level."

Jason Hughes, head of premium client management at IG Markets in Singapore, said it was "possible that we do have the bargain hunters looking to pick up oil at these levels".

Traders brushed off more data showing a prolonged recession in the eurozone, getting instead encouragement from a rise in German business confidence, said analysts.

"With the equity markets focused more on German business confidence than downward revisions to eurozone economic forecasts, the petroleum markets are seeing at least a limited bounce after the Wednesday-Thursday drop," said Tim Evans at Citi Futures.

"The height of the bounce - whether today or into next week - will provide an indication of whether oil market bullish sentiment is resilient or whether further urgent long liquidation is on tap."

Source: http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8615810

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Race to Colorado State football stadium slow and steady

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Source: http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20130221/NEWS01/302210058/1002/rss

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Overcome Social Anxiety By Creating a Character In Your Mind

Many of us deal with shyness and social anxiety on a daily basis. One way to be more comfortable in challenging social situations is to act out the role of an extroverted character that we create in our minds.

GloriaG at weblog Beyond Shyness and Social Anxiety highlights Daniel Tosh, who has overcome his own introversion to become a wildly successful comedian. To connect with his audience, Tosh creates an extroverted character in his head, and then imagines himself as that person when on stage. Obviously, most of us aren't accomplished actors, but that doesn't mean we can't use the same technique:

If you want to try out a personality, do it! Go to a bar or a store and act like someone totally different from yourself. This will be a unique experience, so see how it feels. You never know, you might like the rush of talking to people in a way that isn't so personal to you.

In the long run, it's probably better to break your shyness habit, rather than hide behind a mask, but this trick could be useful in a pinch if you find yourself at an uncomfortable social gathering.

Update: As many of you have pointed out, introversion is not truly a problem to overcome. It was a poor choice of words, and I apologize. I've changed the headline to more precisely reflect the post's content.

Daniel Tosh Social Anxiety Sufferer? How he uses it to to Great Effect. | Beyond Shyness and Social Anxiety

Photo by redfriday

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/ZiCDyeGmvsM/overcome-introversion-by-creating-a-character-in-your-mind

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Joe Biden Calls Colorado Democratic Lawmakers On Gun Bills, Stresses Colorado's Importance

Rep. Dickey Lee Hullingworst, center, D-Boulder, shows House Minority Leader Mark Waller, left, R-Colorado Springs and Rep. Brian DelGrosso, R-Loveland, her whistle as the debate over gun control bills goes on at the Capitol in Denver on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Rep. Bob Gardner, R-El Paso County, speaks against a bill that would limit the size of ammunition magazines at the Capitol in Denver on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. Kicking off a long, emotional debate about guns, Colorado lawmakers clashed Friday over setting limits on the size of ammunition magazines, a proposal in a package of Democratic bills responding to mass shootings at a suburban Denver movie theater and a Connecticut elementary school.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Rep. Frank McNaulty, R-Highlands Ranch, speaks against a bill that would limit the size of ammunition magazines at the Capitol in Denver on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. Kicking off a long, emotional debate about guns, Colorado lawmakers clashed Friday over setting limits on the size of ammunition magazines, a proposal in a package of Democratic bills responding to mass shootings at a suburban Denver movie theater and a Connecticut elementary school.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

House members gather in their Chamber at the Capitol in Denver on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013, where a long emotional debate about guns and bills dealing with them is expected to last the entire day. Colorado lawmakers clashed Friday over setting limits on the size of ammunition magazines, a proposal in a package of Democratic bills responding to mass shootings at a suburban Denver movie theater and a Connecticut elementary school.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Rep. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, left, talks with Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, at the Capitol in Denver on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. Fields sponsored a bill that would limit the size of ammunition magazines and Levy sponsored a bill dealing with students carrying concealed guns at the universities in the state. Both were being debated on the House floor on Friday.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Rep. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, center, talks with Rep. Joseph Salazar, left, and House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, right, D-Denver, about her bill on limiting the size of ammunition magazines at the Capitol in Denver on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. Kicking off a long, emotional debate about guns, Colorado lawmakers clashed Friday over setting limits on the size of ammunition magazines, a proposal in a package of Democratic bills responding to mass shootings at a suburban Denver movie theater and a Connecticut elementary school.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

House Minority Leader Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs, speaks against a bill that would limit the size of ammunition magazines at the Capitol in Denver on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. Kicking off a long, emotional debate about guns, Colorado lawmakers clashed Friday over setting limits on the size of ammunition magazines, a proposal in a package of Democratic bills responding to mass shootings at a suburban Denver movie theater and a Connecticut elementary school.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Rep. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, left, urges House members to pass her bill on limiting the size of ammunition magazines at the Capitol in Denver on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. House Minority Leader Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs, waits to speak against the bill. Kicking off a long, emotional debate about guns, Colorado lawmakers clashed Friday over setting limits on the size of ammunition magazines, a proposal in a package of Democratic bills responding to mass shootings at a suburban Denver movie theater and a Connecticut elementary school.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Former ATF Special Agent David Chipman delivers remarks arguing for gun control, at a hearing at which Democratic lawmakers pushed for new gun legislation measures, at the state Capitol in Denver, Tuesday Feb. 12, 2013. The bills are the latest responses to the mass shootings at an Aurora movie theater and a Connecticut elementary school, events that have heightened the national discussion on gun?control and mental illness. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

A man sits with other members of the public, many wearing stickers reading "I vote pro-gun," along with NRA pins, attending a hearing at which Democratic lawmakers pushed for new gun control legislation measures, with hundreds showing up to listen or partake in the intensifying debate over stricter gun laws, at the state Capitol in Denver, Tuesday Feb. 12, 2013. The bills are the latest responses to the mass shootings at an Aurora movie theater and a Connecticut elementary school, events that have heightened the national discussion on gun?control and mental illness. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

A man stands with other members of the public, many wearing stickers reading "I vote pro-gun," along with NRA pins, attending a hearing at which Democratic lawmakers pushed for new gun control legislation measures, with hundreds showing up to listen or partake in the intensifying debate over stricter gun laws, at the state Capitol in Denver, Tuesday Feb. 12, 2013. The bills are the latest responses to the mass shootings at an Aurora movie theater and a Connecticut elementary school, events that have heightened the national discussion on gun?control and mental illness. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Greenwood Village police chief John Jackson walks after speaking on behalf of the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police at a hearing at which Democratic lawmakers pushed for new gun control legislation measures, with hundreds showing up to listen or partake in the intensifying debate over stricter gun laws, at the state Capitol in Denver, Tuesday Feb. 12, 2013. The bills are the latest responses to the mass shootings at an Aurora movie theater and a Connecticut elementary school, events that have heightened the national discussion on gun?control and mental illness. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

David Keene, president of the National Rifle Association, speaks during an exclusive interview with Associated Press reporters in Denver on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013. He said he's confident that Congress won't approve an assault weapons ban or an ammunition limit in the wake of mass shootings in Colorado and Connecticut. David Keene called such gun control proposals "feel-good" measures that he says "won't do any good." Keene is scheduled to meet with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and other lawmakers at the Capitol later Thursday. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

State Rep. Rhonda Fields, whose son Javad Marshall-Fields, was shot and murdered in 2005, speaks at a news conference at which she and other legislators unveiled much-anticipated gun control measures, at the State Capitol, in Denver, Tuesday Feb. 5, 2013. Among the proposed measures is a new bill that would hold manufacturers, sellers, and owners of assault weapons liable and responsible for damages caused by shootings with those weapons. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Jessica Watts, whose cousin Jonathan Blunk was killed in the July, 2012 Aurora movie theatre massacre, receives a hug following a news conference at which Colorado State legislators unveiled much-anticipated gun control measures, at the State Capitol, in Denver, Tuesday Feb. 5, 2013. Among the proposed measures is a new bill that would hold manufacturers, sellers, and owners of assault weapons liable and responsible for damages caused by shootings with those weapons. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Colorado State Senate President John Morse answers questions during a news conference at which he and others unveiled much-anticipated gun control measures sponsored by Democrats, at the State Capitol, in Denver, Tuesday Feb. 5, 2013. Morse, flanked at left by Jane Dougherty, of Colorado, holding a photo of her sister Mary Sherlach, the school psychologist killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre, is the sponsor of a new bill that would hold manufacturers, sellers, and owners of assault weapons liable and responsible for damages caused by shootings with those weapons. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Bill Hoover carries a photo of his grandson AJ Boik, who was killed in the July, 2012 Aurora movie theatre massacre, during a news conference at which Colorado State legislators unveiled gun control measures, at the State Capitol, in Denver, Tuesday Feb. 5, 2013. Among the proposed measures is a new bill that would hold manufacturers, sellers, and owners of assault weapons liable and responsible for damages caused by shootings with those weapons. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Karina Sartiaguin, 18, who was shot in the back outside her high school in 2010, and is paralyzed from the waist down, participates in a gun control rally on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol, in Denver, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. Colorado's long-anticipated gun control debate is getting underway, with some Democrats planning to pursue gun control measures including expanded background checks and a possible statewide assault-weapons ban. At the same time, Republicans were arguing Monday for a bill designed to allow school employees to carry concealed weapons at work. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Protesters carry posters promoting a gun control movement during a rally on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol, in Denver, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. Colorado's long-anticipated gun control debate is getting underway, with some Democrats planning to pursue gun control measures including expanded background checks and a possible statewide assault-weapons ban. At the same time, Republicans were arguing Monday for a bill designed to allow school employees to carry concealed weapons at work. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

A woman carries a poster promoting a gun control movement during a rally on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol, in Denver, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. Colorado's long-anticipated gun control debate is getting underway, with some Democrats planning to pursue gun control measures including expanded background checks and a possible statewide assault-weapons ban. At the same time, Republicans were arguing Monday for a bill designed to allow school employees to carry concealed weapons at work. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

DENVER, CO - JANUARY 28: Elianne Sartiaguin, 9, and Karina Sartiaguin, 18, both of Aurora, Colorado listen on with other people who gathered for a 'Let Us Live' gun violence prevention rally on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol on January 28, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. Sartiaguin was paralyzed in 2010 after being shot in the back while standing amongst a group of students at Aurora Central High School. The event was organized by Together Colorado, a non-partisan, multi-racial, multi-faith community organizing group. (Photo by Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)

DENVER, CO - JANUARY 28: Jane Medina of Denver, Co. holds a sign for a 'Let Us Live' gun violence prevention rally on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol on January 28, 2013 in in Denver, Colorado. Medina is a retired school teacher and said she had a gun pointed at her numerous times by a person who had stalked her for years. The event was organized by Together Colorado, a non-partisan, multi-racial, multi-faith community organizing group. (Photo by Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)

DENVER, CO - JANUARY 28: Colorado State Representative Rhonda Fields speaks before people who gathered for a 'Let Us Live' gun violence prevention rally on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol on January 28, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The event was organized by Together Colorado, a non-partisan, multi-racial, multi-faith community organizing group. (Photo by Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)

DENVER, CO - JANUARY 28: Dave Hoover, whose nephew A.J. Boik was killed the night of the Aurora Theater shootings, speaks before people who gathered for a 'Let Us Live' gun violence prevention rally on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol on January 28, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The event was organized by Together Colorado, a non-partisan, multi-racial, multi-faith community organizing group. (Photo by Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)

DENVER, CO - JANUARY 28: People hold signs for a 'Let Us Live' gun violence prevention rally on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol on January 28, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The event was organized by Together Colorado, a non-partisan, multi-racial, multi-faith community organizing group. (Photo by Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)

DENVER, CO - JANUARY 28: Karina Sartiaguin, 18 of Aurora, Colorado speaks about her experience before people who gathered for a 'Let Us Live' gun violence prevention rally on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol on January 28, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. Sartiaguin was paralyzed in 2010 after being shot in the back while standing amongst a group of students at Aurora Central High School. The event was organized by Together Colorado, a non-partisan, multi-racial, multi-faith community organizing group. (Photo by Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)

An AR-15 style rifle is displayed at the Firing-Line indoor range and gun shop, Thursday, July 26, 2012 in Aurora, Colo. The Friday, July 20, 2012 massacre inside a crowded Colorado movie theater has prompted a sudden increase in gun sales and firearms training. Police said suspect James Holmes donned body armor and was armed with an AR-15 rifle, a shotgun and handguns during the attack. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A row of different AR-15 style rifles are displayed for sale at the Firing-Line indoor range and gun shop, Thursday, July 26, 2012 in Aurora, Colo. The Friday, July 20, 2012 massacre inside a crowded Colorado movie theater has prompted a sudden increase in gun sales and firearms training. Police said suspect James Holmes donned body armor and was armed with an AR-15 rifle, a shotgun and handguns during the attack. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

AURORA, CO - JULY 26: Civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson speaks during a news conference outside of the apartment building where accused murderer James Holmes lived July 26, 2012 in Aurora, Colorado. James Eagan Holmes, 24, is accused of killing 12 people at a screening of the new 'The Dark Knight Rises' film July 20, at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. (Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images)

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/15/joe-biden-calls-colorado-democrats-gun-debate_n_2699226.html

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Brazil troops to fight wave of attacks in the south

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Brazil map The Brazilian government has sent military reinforcements to tackle a wave of violence in the southern state of Santa Catarina.

Related Stories

Sharp jump in Sao Paulo murders
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Read more with links @ BBC News - Brazil troops to fight wave of attacks in the south

Our media gives us so little news about what is going on south of us. It's opened my eyes to be able to view some of these blogs and news sources about the region. This even includes links to the latest pictures of Chavez of Venezuela.

Source: http://www.debatepolitics.com/latin-america/151978-brazil-troops-fight-wave-attacks-south.html

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Version 1.1 Update for Pixel Film Studios' Final Cut Pro X iPad App ProCutX Coming Soon

Version 1.1 Update for Pixel Film Studios' Final Cut Pro X iPad App ProCutX Coming Soon ? (February 16, 2013)

Aliso Viejo, CA (PRWEB) February 16, 2013

Fans of ProCutx, the iPad controller for Final Cut Pro X, have a good reason to be excited. Pixel Film Studios, the creators of ProCutX, has already submitted the 1.1 update for the application to Apple, and it should be live in the app store in the next day or two.

The 1.1 version of ProCutX for Final Cut Pro X is all about the fans, said Christina Austin, CEO of Pixel Film Studios, We used the feedback that we got since last week's release to make a lot of awesome improvements.

Pixel Film Studios successfully released their iPad app, ProCutX, last week. The app was designed to allow editors to break free from menus and tabs in an effort to streamline their tasks. Using the iPad application, users have control over all of Final Cut Pro X's editing tools.

Pixel Film Studios aims to limit the number of mouse clicks and keystrokes editors need to make. With the 1.1 version of the app, editors will now be able to add In and Out points along their footage. In and Out points allow users to define a specific portion of a clip or sequence for editing, deletion, copying, and pasting.

Along with In and Out points users will now be able to select clips in the timeline. Combined with the Jog Wheel and Toolbox features, users will now be able to edit even more without having to refer back to the keyboard or mouse. After selecting their In and Out points, users can drop their clips from the Events Browser into the timeline at the tap of a button.

ProCutX users should expect to see this update hit the Apple App Store sometime in the next day or two. With this update and future updates to come, the app will be a step closer to eliminate the need for the mouse and keyboard. Fans of the Pixel Film Studios should also stay tuned for Final Cut Pro X plugins and effects to be released next week.

Established in 2006, Aliso Viejo, California-based Pixel Film Studios is an innovative developer of visual effects tools for the post-production and broadcast community. Their products are integrated with popular non-linear editing and compositing products from Apple FCPX. All Apple, the Apple logo, Mac OS X, and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013-02/final-cut-pro-x-ipad-app/prweb10439561.htm.

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Runners and riders in Europe's horsemeat scandal

LONDON (AP) ? The European Union agreed Friday to begin random DNA checks on meat products in a bid to put a lid on a spreading scandal over horsemeat, while British authorities announced traces of horse had been found in school meals, restaurant dishes and hospital food, as well as supermarket products.

A rundown on a scandal that continues to spread:

WHERE DID EUROPE'S HORSEMEAT SCANDAL BEGIN?

In mid-January, Ireland's food safety watchdog announced that it had discovered traces of horse DNA in burger products sold by major British and Irish supermarkets.

The mislabeled products came from Irish processor Silvercrest Foods, which withdrew 10 million burgers from store shelves.

Irish officials first blamed an imported powdered beef-protein additive used to pad out cheap burgers, then frozen blocks of slaughterhouse leftovers imported from Poland ? an indication of the complexity of the food-supply chain that was about to be revealed to an alarmed European public.

WHERE ELSE HAS HORSEMEAT BEEN FOUND?

Traces of horsemeat have turned up across Europe in frozen supermarket meals such as burgers and lasagna, as well as in in fresh beef pasta sauce, on restaurant menus, in school lunches and in hospital meals.

Millions of products were pulled from store shelves in Britain, Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway after the scandal broke, and supermarkets and food suppliers were told to test processed beef products for horse DNA.

On Friday, several British supermarket chains ? including Morrisons and Tesco ? said their tests had been negative so far. But Britain's Food Standards Agency said 29 of 2,501 products tested contained at least 1 percent horse DNA. All were burgers, lasagna and meat sauces sold by supermarkets and catering firms.

The scandal has also spread beyond supermarket foods. Whitbread PLC, Britain's largest hotel and restaurant company, said Friday that horse DNA had been found in lasagna and burgers on menus at its outlets including Premier Inn hotels and Brewers Fayre and Beefeater Grill restaurants. Whitbread said it was "shocked and disappointed at this failure of the processed meat supply chain."

Officials also said horsemeat was present in cottage pies delivered to 47 schools in Lancashire county, northern England, and in hospital meals in Northern Ireland.

Tests are continuing, and officials say this is far from over.

"The more people have looked for horsemeat, the more products have been found containing it," said Duncan Campbell, a senior British food inspector. "I don't think we have got to the bottom of it yet."

HOW DID THE HORSEMEAT GET THERE?

European officials say the scandal is the result of fraud, and possibly an international criminal conspiracy to pass off cheap horsemeat as more expensive beef.

The French government says the chain of fraudulent meat sales reaches across 28 firms in 13 countries.

At least some of the horsemeat originated at abattoirs in Romania, and was sent through a Cyprus-registered trader to a warehouse in the Netherlands. A French meat wholesaler, Spanghero, bought the meat from the trader, then resold it to the French frozen food processor Comigel. The resulting food was marketed in Britain and other countries under the Sweden-based Findus label as lasagna and other products containing ground beef.

French authorities blame Spanghero for the fraud, but it strongly denies wrongdoing.

"The responsibility started upstream," chief executive Barthelemy Aguerre said Friday. "We didn't want to cheat anyone."

The Romanian companies and the Dutch trader also deny fraud. They say the meat was clearly labeled as horse when they handled it.

Dutch prosecutors said Friday that food safety experts raided a meat processing plant as part of a criminal investigation into horsemeat fraud. Prosecutors said the company in North Brabant province is suspected of fraud and money laundering. The company ? which was not named, in line with Dutch privacy laws ? is believed to have processed horsemeat from the Netherlands and Ireland, and mixed it with beef before selling the mixture as "pure" beef.

Separately, British authorities have raided five businesses ? including an English slaughterhouse and a Welsh meat processor ? on suspicion of passing off horsemeat as beef in burgers and kebabs. Three men have been arrested.

IS IT DANGEROUS?

Horsemeat itself is not harmful, and is eaten in several European countries, including France, Germany and Italy. In English-speaking countries including Britain and Ireland eating horses is widely considered taboo.

British officials have said that horses slaughtered in Britain after being treated with the equine painkiller phenylbutazone, or bute, may have made their way into the human food chain in France. Bute is banned for human use because in rare cases it causes severe side effects, but veterinary experts say there is little risk from consuming small amounts in horsemeat.

ARE AUTHORITES ON TOP OF THE PROBLEM?

Europol, the European Union police agency, is coordinating a continent-wide fraud investigation, and at an emergency meeting on Friday the EU approved a plan to conduct random DNA tests to check for horsemeat, and also to check for the presence of bute.

The crisis has raised questions about food controls in the 27-nation European Union ? and highlighted how little consumers know about the complex trading operations that get food from producers to wholesalers to processers to stores and onto dinner tables.

Critics say the food supply chain is too complicated and lightly policed to be truly secure.

But the European Union's health commissioner, Tonio Borg, said French authorities' identification and suspension of Spanghero demonstrated "that traceability of food in the EU works."

"Consumers must be assured that everything will be done at the EU level to restore, as soon as possible, their confidence in the products on our markets," Borg said.

___

Associated Press writers Lori Hinnant in Paris, Don Melvin in Brussels, Mike Corder in Amsterdam and Karl Ritter in Stockholm contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/runners-riders-europes-horsemeat-scandal-172035262--finance.html

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Automotive Voice Integration: Chevy & Siri Move Closer to KITT ...

Posted by hipstomp / Rain Noe? | ?15 Feb 2013 ?|? Comments (1)

While it doesn't appear to be an outright Apple-Chevrolet partnership, Chevy has announced that their new Sonic and Spark models will offer integration with Apple's Siri. Called "Eyes Free Integration," Chevy's system will enable iPhone-toting drivers to initiate and answer phone calls, interact with their calendars, play music, hear transcriptions of incoming text messages, and compose outgoing text messages all by voice.

As per the context in which it's meant to be used, one of the system's touches purposely violates a cardinal rule of user interface design: Visual feedback. With Eyes Free, the phone avoids lighting up when interacted with, instead remaining dark to prevent your tendency to look at things that suddenly illuminate, so that you'll keep your peepers on the road.

Two Eyes-Free-compatible apps/hacks we'd like to see:

1. The KITT voice mod, which continually refers to you as "Michael" no matter what your name is.

2. An app that enables you to call out the license plate of the car in front of you that just cut you off. It automatically dials that driver's phone, and you can tell them exactly what you think of them without needing to roll the window down and yell it.

"Where did you learn to DRIVE, you #@#$%*?

Source: http://www.core77.com/blog/ux/automotive_voice_integration_chevy_siri_move_closer_to_kitt_24391.asp

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