Pebbly rocks testify to old streambed on Mars

May 30, 2013 ? Detailed analysis and review have borne out researchers' initial interpretation of pebble-containing slabs that NASA's Mars rover Curiosity investigated last year: They are part of an ancient streambed.

The rocks are the first ever found on Mars that contain streambed gravels. The sizes and shapes of the gravels embedded in these conglomerate rocks -- from the size of sand particles to the size of golf balls -- enabled researchers to calculate the depth and speed of the water that once flowed at this location.

"We completed more rigorous quantification of the outcrops to characterize the size distribution and roundness of the pebbles and sand that make up these conglomerates," said Rebecca Williams of the Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Ariz., lead author of a report about them in the journal Science this week. "We ended up with a calculation in the same range as our initial estimate last fall. At a minimum, the stream was flowing at a speed equivalent to a walking pace -- a meter, or three feet, per second -- and it was ankle-deep to hip-deep."

Three pavement-like rocks examined with the telephoto capability of Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam) during the rover's first 40 days on Mars are the basis for the new report. One, "Goulburn," is immediately adjacent to the rover's "Bradbury Landing" touchdown site. The other two, "Link" and "Hottah," are about 165 and 330 feet (50 and 100 meters) to the southeast. Researchers also used the rover's laser-shooting Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument to investigate the Link rock.

"These conglomerates look amazingly like streambed deposits on Earth," Williams said. "Most people are familiar with rounded river pebbles. Maybe you've picked up a smoothed, round rock to skip across the water. Seeing something so familiar on another world is exciting and also gratifying."

The larger pebbles are not distributed evenly in the conglomerate rocks. In Hottah, researchers detected alternating pebble-rich layers and sand layers. This is common in streambed deposits on Earth and provides additional evidence for stream flow on Mars. In addition, many of the pebbles are touching each other, a sign that they rolled along the bed of a stream.

"Our analysis of the amount of rounding of the pebbles provided further information," said Sanjeev Gupta of Imperial College, London, a co-author of the new report. "The rounding indicates sustained flow. It occurs as pebbles hit each other multiple times. This wasn't a one-off flow. It was sustained, certainly more than weeks or months, though we can't say exactly how long."

The stream carried the gravels at least a few miles, or kilometers, the researchers estimated.

The atmosphere of modern Mars is too thin to make a sustained stream flow of water possible, though the planet holds large quantities of water ice. Several types of evidence have indicated that ancient Mars had diverse environments with liquid water. However, none but these rocks found by Curiosity could provide the type of stream flow information published this week. Curiosity's images of conglomerate rocks indicate that atmospheric conditions at Gale Crater once enabled the flow of liquid water on the Martian surface.

During a two-year prime mission, researchers are using Curiosity's 10 science instruments to assess the environmental history in Gale Crater on Mars, where the rover has found evidence of ancient environmental conditions favorable for microbial life.

More information about Curiosity is online at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl , http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/ .

You can follow the mission on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity .

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/VpzCbd8C5Ps/130530150547.htm

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OSU president Gee jabs at 'those damn Catholics'

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) ? The president of Ohio State University said Notre Dame was never invited to join the Big Ten because the university's priests are not good partners, joking that "those damn Catholics" can't be trusted, according to a recording of a meeting he attended late last year.

Gordon Gee also took shots at schools in the Southeastern Conference and the University of Louisville, according to the recording of the December meeting of the school's Athletic Council that The Associated Press obtained under a public records request.

The university called the statements inappropriate and said Gee is undergoing a "remediation plan" because of the remarks.

Gee apologized in a statement released to the AP.

"The comments I made were just plain wrong, and in no way do they reflect what the university stands for," he said. "They were a poor attempt at humor and entirely inappropriate. There is no excuse for this and I am deeply sorry."

Gee, who has taken heat previously for uncouth remarks, told members of the council that he negotiated with Notre Dame officials during his first term at Ohio State, which began more than two decades ago.

"The fathers are holy on Sunday, and they're holy hell on the rest of the week," Gee said to laughter at the Dec. 5 meeting attended by Athletic Director Gene Smith and several other athletic department members, along with professors and students.

"You just can't trust those damn Catholics on a Thursday or a Friday, and so, literally, I can say that," said Gee, a Mormon.

The Big Ten had for years courted Notre Dame, but the school resisted as it sought to retain its independent status in college football. In September, the school announced that it would join the Atlantic Coast Conference in all sports except football. It also agreed to play five football games each year against ACC teams.

In the recording, Gee referred specifically to dealing with the Rev. Ned Joyce, Notre Dame's longtime executive vice president, who died in 2004.

"Father Joyce was one of those people who ran the university for many, many years," Gee said.

Gee said the Atlantic Coast Conference added Notre Dame at a time when it was feeling vulnerable.

"Notre Dame wanted to have its cake and eat it, too," Gee said, according to the recording and a copy of the meeting's minutes.

Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Brown called the remarks regrettable, especially the reference to Joyce, "who served Notre Dame and collegiate athletics so well and for so long."

Gee contacted Notre Dame's president, the Rev. John Jenkins, to offer an apology that was accepted, Brown said Thursday in an email.

The Athletic Council meets monthly during the fall, winter and spring and makes recommendations on athletic policy including ticket prices. December's meeting was at Ohio Stadium.

Gee was introduced by Athletic Council then-chairman Charlie Wilson, and Gee's name and introduction are included in written minutes of the meeting. Gee's comments drew laughter, at times loud, occasionally nervous, but no rebukes, according to the audio.

Ohio State trustees learned of "certain offensive statements" by Gee in January, met with the president at length and created the remediation plan for Gee to "address his behavior," board president Robert Schottenstein said in a statement.

Comments by a university leader about "particular groups, classes of people or individuals are wholly unacceptable," Schottenstein said. "These statements were inappropriate, were not presidential in nature and do not comport with the core values of the university."

Gee has gotten in trouble before for offhand remarks, most recently during a memorabilia-for-cash and tattoos scandal that cost football coach Jim Tressel his job. Tressel had known about allegations that players were trading game paraphernalia for money and tattoos but didn't tell the university.

Gee was asked in March 2011 whether he had considered firing Tressel. He responded: "No, are you kidding? Let me just be very clear: I'm just hopeful the coach doesn't dismiss me." Tressel stepped down three months later.

In November 2010, Gee boasted that Ohio State's football schedule didn't include teams on par with the "Little Sisters of the Poor." An apologetic Gee later sent a personal check to the real Little Sisters of the Poor in northwest Ohio and followed up with a visit to the nuns months later.

Last year, Gee apologized for comparing the problem of coordinating the school's many divisions to the Polish army, an off-the-cuff remark that a Polish-American group called a "slanderous" display of bigotry and ignorance.

In 1992, in a moment of frustration over higher education funding, Gee told a student newspaper reporter, "the governor's a damn dummy." Then-Gov. George Voinovich laughed it off and the two became allies in the push for more education dollars.

Gee has one of the highest-profile resumes of any college president in recent history. He has held the top job at West Virginia University, the University of Colorado, Brown University and Vanderbilt University. He was Ohio State president from 1990 to 1997, and returned in 2007. He earns about $1.9 million annually in base pay, deferred and performance compensation and retirement benefits.

He is a prolific fundraiser and is leading a $2.5 billion campaign at Ohio State. He is omnipresent on campus, attending everything from faculty awards events to dormitory pizza parties. He is known for his bow ties ? he has hundreds ? and his horn-rimmed glasses.

During his comments to the Athletic Council, Gee also questioned the academic integrity of schools in the Southeastern Conference, and the University of Louisville.

The top goal of Big Ten presidents is to "make certain that we have institutions of like-minded academic integrity," Gee said. "So you won't see us adding Louisville," a member of the Big East conference that is also joining the ACC.

After a pause followed by laughter from the audience, Gee added that the Big Ten wouldn't add the University of Kentucky, either.

During the meeting, Gee also said he thought it was a mistake not to include Missouri and Kansas in earlier Big Ten expansion plans. Missouri has since joined the SEC.

"You tell the SEC when they can learn to read and write, then they can figure out what we're doing," Gee said, when asked by a questioner how to respond to SEC fans who say the Big Ten can't count because it now has 14 members.

Gee noted he was chairman of the SEC during his time as Vanderbilt University chancellor. He also told his audience that speculation about the SEC "remains right here," according to the recording.

Gee took a swipe at Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, one of the most powerful leaders in college athletics, when he answered a question about preserving Ohio State's financial interests in light of Big Ten revenue-sharing plans.

"No one admires Jim Delany more than I do ? I chaired the committee that brought him here," Gee said. "Jim is very aggressive, and we need to make certain he keeps his hands out of our pockets while we support him."

___

Associated Press writer John Seewer in Toledo contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/apnewsbreak-osu-head-jabs-notre-dame-catholics-163933402.html

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Report: Eric Holder feels remorse over Fox News case (Washington Post)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/308851253?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Control This Lovely Wireless Speaker By Just Putting Your Phone On It

Dismayed by the over-complicated control schemes of wireless speakers that usually result in redundant playback and volume controls, Victor Johansson, an inspiring product designer, came up with a better solution: a minimalist ceramic speaker that only cares about where you place your phone.

Instead of buttons or other physical controls, the speaker uses a set of sensors to determine where a phone has been placed on its surface. There are three distinct zones that control three different functions. Placing it one spot starts playing your tunes, placing it in another pauses the playback, and the last turns on the radio instead.

Volume, track selection, and other playback options are all left up to the device being used to minimize redundancy, while glowing indicators light up momentarily to indicate the current mode. Now how's about building a better toaster that perfectly heats my Pop Tart when placed on top?

[Victor Johansson via PSFK]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/control-this-lovely-wireless-speaker-by-just-putting-yo-510103943

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Obama, New Jersey governor to reunite Tuesday for storm tour

By Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will join New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Tuesday for a tour of the Jersey Shore damaged by Superstorm Sandy, replaying a scene from last year that some observers believe helped Obama win re-election.

Christie, a Republican, gave Obama, a Democrat, blunt praise for his response to the devastating storm that hit the U.S. East Coast just days before the November 6 election.

"I cannot thank the president enough for his personal concern and his compassion," Christie said during an October 31 tour together of the damaged areas.

Though Christie supported the Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, in the 2012 race, his compliments to the Democratic incumbent were seen as a boost to Obama.

The president could probably use the help again.

Obama has spent the last two weeks trying to get past a series of controversies over his administration's handling of the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, the targeting of journalists in leak probes, and the response to revelations that the Internal Revenue Service gave extra scrutiny to conservative-leaning groups.

This will be his second tour of a storm-battered area in as many days. On Sunday, Obama traveled to Oklahoma to view the damage from a tornado.

The president has sought to portray his administration as being quick and effective at responding to natural disasters, in contrast to his predecessor, George W. Bush, whose administration was widely criticized for its handling of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005.

The White House said Obama and Christie would view the recovery efforts from Sandy, including preparations by local businesses ahead of the important summer tourist season.

"The president ... will visit with families and business owners who have shown such resilience in the face of the destructive storm, highlight the extensive rebuilding efforts to date, and underscore his administration's ongoing commitment to stand with the impacted communities as the important work of recovery continues," the White House said.

Christie is a potential Republican candidate for president in 2016. After struggling with obesity for much of his adult life, Christie said earlier this month he underwent lap band surgery to lose weight.

Obama, a lanky exercise fanatic, cannot run for president again.

(Editing by Philip Barbara)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-jersey-governor-reunite-tuesday-storm-tour-211954751.html

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Fire breaks out aboard Royal Caribbean cruise ship

BALTIMORE (AP) ? Royal Caribbean says a fire that broke out aboard a ship has forced it to cancel the rest of the cruise and that more than 2,000 passengers will be flown back to Baltimore from the Bahamas.

The cruise line says the fire that began at 2:50 a.m. Monday was extinguished about two hours later with no injuries reported. A cause wasn't immediately known.

Royal Caribbean said in a series of tweets later Monday that executives have met with passengers aboard the ship and that the cruise line is arranging flights for all guests on Tuesday.

It said passengers will receive a full refund of their fare and a certificate for a future cruise.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fire-breaks-aboard-royal-caribbean-cruise-ship-121209870.html

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Why I started writing online | Beyond Life's Challenges

I have had an online writing presence ever since I was encouraged by an acquaintance and fellow military veteran to sign up with Associated Content with a piece I wrote on Veterans? Day nearly five years ago called ?Thank You for Your Service: My Promise to All Veterans.?? Associated Content was bought out and is now called the Yahoo! Contributor Network and I?ve seen a lot of changes in the site.

I started writing online to give myself a ?voice.?

Throughout my life, I?ve been accused of talking too much about things that should not be talked about and being too confrontational. Most saw this as ?attitude? when it was actually my personality. Consequently, I took? a lot of criticism.

?You talk too much,? ?You have diarrhea of the mouth,? ?Why must you always have an argument?? and ?Must you always ask ?why??? were comments and questions I?ve heard many times over the last 50+ years from people who simply wanted to change me.

Quiet me. Control me. Beat me verbally into submission.

I had rarely felt that others listened to what was beneath the words. I was careful not to question certain people, as ?Why?? was not well-received in my family, in the military, nor in several of the companies for which I?ve worked.

But I could not help myself. It is part of who I am at the very core.

Curious. Challenging. Wanting to learn and understand.

It was not until much later in my life that I learned that most of the time the people who were most uncomfortable with me were people who were unsure of themselves.? They did not want to be challenged because they had no answers, nor were they comfortable with being able to ?agree to disagree.?

What I also learned later in life is that I did not often speak my truth.? I was careful not to make others uncomfortable or to ask questions to make them think. I learned to ?be quiet,? even though I was still quite loquacious.

I have similar stories from my younger days where writing is concerned, graded with high marks for spelling, grammar and the like; yet, I was marked down considerably for content that did not fit the ?norm? or that was written in such a way to pose a challenge.

It was when I challenged myself and attended university in my mid-40s that I started to blossom.

Although I met some professors who did not share my beliefs and values and did not particularly care for my challenging nature and also tried to ?quiet me,? I saw a marked change in my being free to share my opinions and my questioning.? There were equally as many professors who were quite adept at returning the volley in a way that energized me.

And volley they did!

I have found that the Internet is another place where there are people who are also capable of returning the volley!? I am able to share my thoughts, opinions and much more without as much fear of the criticism

Yes, I still receive a lot of criticism. But I have been able to say what I need to say with much more confidence.? Doing so in writing has allowed me to find my ?voice,? able to talk about the things I think are important in a manner that is true to my personality. It has also helped me to develop similar skills in the way that I deliver the spoken word.

And I began to find others who think like I do. Not always in agreement with the content, but in concert with the right to say it. Friendship. Camaraderie. Like-mindedness. My cohorts.

My Tribe.

Now I am in the company of people from around the world who speak their minds.? Engage in conversation and philosophical debate. Who encourage me to do so.? Some like what I have to say and tell me. Others do not and also tell me.

I think this is a pretty good reason to continue to write online here on my blog and to find other avenues continue to speak what I think needs to be said.

From my head. From my heart.

Using my voice.

A message from the author:

To read my original ?Thank You for Your Service,? if you do a search for the title and my name, it will take you directly to the article.? From that article, you can find many other things that I have written in the early years online.? Let me know by commenting at the content that you? have stopped by.

And if you would like to speak your mind and use writing as a way to do it, I have recently been introduced to a new site that allows us to do so and get paid to do it. Each submission requires only 400 characters, not 400 words.? I have seen greater success in 5 days with 5 submissions than I have in other places I?ve written? over several months.? I encourage you to at least check the site out,? read the rules, sign up and try it out.? Bubblews ? A place you can ?Speak freely. Write your world.?

You, too, might just find YOUR voice.

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Source: http://corallevang.wordpress.com/2013/05/26/why-i-started-writing-online/

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Business ? Sony CEO says company will discuss hedge fund's sale idea

By ELAINE KURTENBACH

Business May. 23, 2013 - 06:45AM JST ( )

TOKYO ?

Sony?s CEO Kazuo Hirai said Wednesday the electronics giant?s board will discuss a proposal by U.S. hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb to spin off up to 20% of its movie, TV and music division.

Hirai was asked about the proposal at a corporate strategy presentation Wednesday.? He did not give a timetable for a decision, and would not give his own opinion about the suggestion raised by Loeb, who is CEO of hedge fund Third Point LLC.

?This will be deliberated by the board and we will come up with a response,? Hirai told reporters. ?We have only just begun to study this.?

Loeb said money from the sale could be used to shore up Sony?s ailing electronics manufacturing unit.

Hirai said Sony did not believe Loeb was proposing that Sony make its entertainment business a separate entity, but wants to make that part of the company public.

?It is an important proposal from our shareholder,? Hirai said. ?We want a constructive dialogue at all times with our shareholders.?

Sony initially responded to Loeb by saying its entertainment business was not for sale, though some analysts said the strategy might help Sony unlock value from its wealth of audio and video content. Sony has fallen behind powerful rivals such as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co in profitability and innovation.

Hirai, who took over as Sony?s president a year ago, outlined various plans for revitalizing Sony?s electronics business, focusing on mobile devices, imaging and games. The company intends to return its TV business to profitability by promoting more expensive large-screen TVs. It will focus on cameras and other imaging products that have ?value-added? technology such as image sensors and higher-powered zooms.

Sony reported its first net profit in five years for the fiscal year that ended in March. Hirai has sought to reinvigorate the once dominant electronics maker by tapping into what he calls Sony?s DNA, and ensuring all its products have ?wow.?

?Creating new markets cannot be done without taking risks,? he said. ?If we cannot change we cannot grow.?

Hirai defended Sony management?s handling of its restructuring over the past few years, noting that top executives had given up bonuses for failing to return the electronics division to profitability, and some had taken salary cuts.

Asked if Sony?s practice of having some long-serving employees move to a ?career development room? amounted to ?bullying? of rank-and-file workers, he insisted it did not.

?The career development room is not an office for getting rid of employees but providing re-employment assistance,? he said. ?We are trying to find new jobs for the employees and we will continue to do so.?

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/sony-ceo-says-company-will-discuss-hedge-funds-sale-idea

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LEGO Made A Full Scale X-Wing!

FROM MTV GEEK There are only a handful of ways to experience the world of "Star Wars" for yourself, but most of them are pretty lame. You could buy a replica lightsaber, but it won't actually work. You could go to Disney World, but that Darth Vader is someone's nephew and will probably break into [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/05/23/lego-made-a-full-scale-x-wing/

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Obama dials back drone strikes: 3 reasons why

How's this for a paradox: US drone strikes are now declining under President Obama ? the man who made drone strikes a primary element of his counterterrorism strategy.

President Obama has, in some ways, become known as the "drone president." His drone campaign started three days into the first term of his presidency. His national security policy has been defined, at least in part, by a penchant for targeted killings. And he has already authorized more than six times the number of strikes in Pakistan that President George W. Bush did in his entire presidency.

And yet, as the president prepares to make his case for drones in a Thursday address at the National Defense University in Washington, it turns out drone strikes are actually down considerably, according to an analysis in The New York Times.

RECOMMENDED: Drone warfare: top 3 reasons it could be dangerous for US

In Pakistan, drone strikes plummeted nearly 61 percent from 2010 (117 strikes) to 2012 (46 strikes), and they?re still dropping, with a relatively scant 13 strikes so far this year, according to data from Long War Journal, a website that tracks American drone strikes. In Yemen, strikes are down from 42 in 2012 to 10 in 2013. And in Somalia, no strikes have been reported in more than a year.

Why the quiet drop-off in drone strikes? Here?s three reasons:

Want your top political issues explained? Get customized DC Decoder updates.

FEWER TARGETS REMAIN

That?s right, the program?s very success in efficiently eliminating scores of Al Qaeda operatives means there are, quite simply, fewer Al Qaeda targets left to kill.

?The [Obama] administration used the drone strikes aggressively and killed the top al Qaeda leaders,? an unnamed intelligence official told Pakistani news site The News International in December 2012. ?Now that we have taken out most of these guys, the usage of the drone strikes seems decreasing.?

In Pakistan, it appears so many Al Qaeda targets have been killed, the focus has quietly shifted to Taliban fighters. Taliban targets account for more than 50 percent of targeted killings, compared with just 8 percent for Al Qaeda figures, according to national security analyst Peter Bergen.

DIPLOMATIC STRAINS

No surprise, Mr. Obama?s drone program has alienated allies abroad, largely because of the number of civilian casualties incurred as a result of the strikes. Nowhere is that more true than in Pakistan, where anti-American sentiments are already high due to US actions such as the SEAL team operation to kill Osama bin Laden.

For a president who, upon taking office, vowed to improve relations with the Muslim world, the drone program is counterproductive. A Pew Research Center survey reveals that under Bush 43, a relatively unpopular president in the Muslim world, the US generated higher approval ratings (19 percent) than it does now (12 percent), under Obama.

?Globally these operations are hated,? Micah Zenko, a scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations, told The New York Times. ?It?s the face of American foreign policy, and it?s an ugly face.?

RECRUITMENT

Al Qaeda has used the Obama administration?s drone program, and particularly its sad side effect of civilian casualties, as a central part of its recruitment propaganda. Wildly unpopular in the Muslim world, the strikes are leveraged by Al Qaeda to make a case that the US is at war with Islam and to drum up sympathy for its cause.

The drone program has also been mentioned by convicted terrorists as motivation for their crimes, as the Times points out, including ?underwear bomber? Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab who tried to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day 2009, as well as Faisal Shahzad, whose attempted Times Square car bombing was foiled in 2010.

In other words, drone strikes may be creating as many would-be terrorists as it seeks to eliminate.

RECOMMENDED: Drone warfare: top 3 reasons it could be dangerous for US

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-dials-back-drone-strikes-3-reasons-why-180437925.html

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Mich. gov, GOP lawmakers agree to budget targets

LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and leaders of the GOP majority in the Legislature reached a budget agreement Tuesday for next fiscal year that doesn't include an expansion of government health insurance for low income-adults and puts Michigan's unexpected surplus toward funding roads and K-12 education.

Lawmakers have an extra $700 million to use in finalizing a roughly $49 billion spending plan thanks to better-than-expected tax collections. Michigan could collect about $483 million more in taxes than expected in January for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 and projections for the next fiscal year are also higher than previously expected.

House Speaker Jase Bolger said the plan agreed to Tuesday reflects "a priority for K-12 education, for roads, for saving and for paying down debt." The Marshall Republican has been meeting with Senate Minority Leader Randy Richardville of Monroe and Snyder aides to complete spending targets for the budget that takes effect Oct. 1.

"We're going to continue on that path of getting a budget done quickly and efficiently in a well-balanced fashion because that's critical to the importance to help you ? our citizens, our customers ? be successful," Snyder said in a video statement.

The targets agreed to Tuesday lay a foundation, but the budget debate will continue in conference committees ? likely later this week ? where lawmakers will hammer out specifics on how the money for the various departments and programs will be distributed.

The Republicans agreed to provide an additional $350 million for the state's ailing roads and bridges. Snyder said that while lawmakers "are putting a lot of resources into roads, there is still more work that needs to be done."

Snyder had called for an additional $1.2 billion to fix the state's infrastructure system through a combination of gas tax and registration fee increases, but lawmakers haven't been able to agree on a comprehensive road funding package.

Republicans also agreed to use the unexpected surplus to put $140 million more toward K-12 education on top of the planned 2 percent increase for Michigan's schools.

House Minority Leader Tim Greimel of Auburn Hills said Democrats don't think the increase goes far enough.

"Increasing money to the School Aid Fund to the tune of $140 million is a long way away from remedying the $2 billion in education cuts over the past two years," he said in a statement. "There is an immediate financial crisis in many schools in Michigan due to Republican budget decisions, and the current Republican proposal does virtually nothing to solve it."

Snyder said Republicans also agreed to leave $75 million in the state's rainy-day account, or Budget Stabilization Fund, to "help protect" Michigan's "future." That will bring the fund's balance to $580 million, which Snyder's office says will further solidify "Michigan's strong financial position."

The Republicans also agreed to add $130 million over the next two years toward Michigan's Great Start Readiness Program, a preschool program for kids at risk of failing.

Legislators are aiming to pass the next budget by June, four months before the budget year begins. One of the biggest sticking points remains the approval of a Medicaid expansion for nearly 400,000 low-income Michigan residents under the federal health care overhaul.

Earlier Tuesday, Richardville told reporters that the budget targets will not include the expansion at this time. Snyder's original budget proposal had included accepting the federal funding to support the Medicaid expansion, which would have resulted in a reduction of state general fund spending by $206 million by next fiscal year. But Richardville said Republican lawmakers are not ready to embrace the expansion at this point.

Even though the budget agreement does not include Snyder's Medicaid proposal, Republicans are trying to push through a plan that would bring major changes to the government health insurance program, including limiting able-bodied adults to four years of coverage. That proposal is still being debated in committee and also would need the unlikely blessing of President Barack Obama's administration.

Bolger spokesman Ari Adler said if a Medicaid deal is reached, it can be dealt with in the budget at a later date.

___

Follow Alanna Durkin on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aedurkin

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mich-gov-gop-lawmakers-agree-140549552.html

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Afghanistan: Deadly 24 hours leave 14 police dead

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? A coordinated Taliban assault on checkpoints in southern Afghanistan killed four police before a counterattack drove the insurgents back, Afghan officials said Tuesday. Also, at least 10 other police died in two attacks in the country's west.

The deadly 24 hours came during a crucial season of fighting that is testing the abilities of Afghan security forces as international troops increasingly draw back, preparing for withdrawal of most foreign soldiers by the end of next year.

The fierce battle in Helmand province started two nights ago. Omar Zawak, spokesman for the provincial governor, said about 500 insurgents attacked multiple police checkpoints from several directions. A NATO official said that number was greatly overstated, and the Taliban agreed.

Fighting raged for more than a day in the hotly contested Sangin district before police reinforcements arrived from the provincial capital, Lashkar Gar. Police were finally able to beat back the insurgents by Tuesday morning, Zawak said. He said four police were killed and seven wounded, while 26 Taliban were killed, though government forces recovered only three enemy bodies.

The Taliban claimed on Monday night that they had seized six of the checkpoints. By Tuesday afternoon, insurgent spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi was no longer making that claim but said that the fighting was not yet over.

Government spokesman Zawak portrayed the successful defense as showing the strength of the Afghan forces, though both the Taliban and the U.S.-led military coalition downplayed the size of the attacking force.

The international force "is not seeing anywhere near the reported 500-1,000 insurgents," coalition spokesman Col. Thomas Collins said. "Our reporting shows there were about 10 groups of four or five fighters each doing drive-by shootings against five police checkpoints. Local Afghan security forces called for (Afghan) reinforcements, and none of the checkpoints were overrun."

The Taliban's Ahmadi said the attacking force numbered less than 100.

"Five hundred Taliban can attack all of Helmand province. We don't need 500 Taliban to attack only one district," he said by telephone Tuesday afternoon. He said the insurgents killed 10 police and lost four of their own fighters.

In recent months, the Taliban have launched a fierce offensive against the Afghan government they want to overthrow, unleashing a wave of assassinations and bombings. Insurgents have also been attacking police positions around the country, seeking to seize territory. Their aim is to weaken the government ahead of the pullout of most international troops from the country by the end of next year.

Afghan security forces have been increasingly taking the lead in fighting insurgents, and the current fighting season, called the Taliban's annual spring offensive, is seen as a crucial test of their capabilities without foreign soldiers fighting alongside them.

In the western province of Herat, a powerful roadside bomb killed six policemen Tuesday morning. Their vehicle hit the explosives buried in the road, an Afghan official said.

The explosion was so strong that the police truck was destroyed in the blast, District Police Chief Sher Agha said, and there were no survivors.

Also in the west, a gunman in Farah province opened fire Monday at another police outpost, killing four officers. Provincial government spokesman Abdul Rahman Zhwandai said a Taliban spy posing as a friend of one of the officers killed the four and wounded two others at the checkpoint in Bala Buluk district.

___

Associated Press writers Amir Shah in Kabul and Mirwais Khan in Kandahar contributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/afghanistan-deadly-24-hours-leave-14-police-dead-150739730.html

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Premature birth interrupts vital brain development processes leading to reduced cognitive abilities in infants

May 21, 2013 ? Imaging technique shows premature birth interrupts vital brain development processes, leading to reduced cognitive abilities in infants

Researchers from King's College London have for the first time used a novel form of MRI to identify crucial developmental processes in the brain that are vulnerable to the effects of premature birth. This new study, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), shows that disruption of these specific processes can have an impact on cognitive function.

The researchers say the new techniques developed here will enable them to explore how the disruption of key processes can also cause conditions such as autism, and will be used in future studies to test possible treatments to prevent brain damage.

Scientists from King's College London and Imperial College London used diffusion MRI -- a type of imaging which looks at the natural diffusion of water -- to observe the maturation of the cerebral cortex where much of the brain's computing power resides. By analysing the diffusion of water in the cerebral cortex of 55 premature infants and 10 babies born at full term they mapped the growing complexity and density of nerve cells across the whole of the cortex in the months before the normal time of birth.

They found that during this period maturation was most rapid in areas of the brain relating to social and emotional processing, decision making, working memory and visual-spatial processing. These functions are often impaired after premature birth, and the researchers found that cortical development was reduced in preterm compared to full term infants, with the greatest effect in the most premature infants. When they re-examined the infants at two years of age, the preterm infants with the slowest cortical development performed less well on neurodevelopmental testing, demonstrating the longer-term impact of prematurity on cortical maturation.

Professor David Edwards, Director of the Centre for the Developing Brain at King's College London, based at the Evelina Children's Hospital, said: "The number of babies born prematurely is increasing, so it has never been more important to improve our understanding of how preterm birth affects brain development and causes brain damage. We know that prematurity is extremely stressful for an infant, but by using a new technique we are able to track brain maturation in babies to pinpoint the exact processes that might be affected by premature birth. Here we have used innovative ways to understand how the development of the cerebral cortex is affected.

"These findings highlight a key stage of brain development where the neurons branch out to create a complex, mature structure. We can now see that this happens in the latter stages of development that would usually take place in healthy babies when they are still in the womb. This suggests that premature birth can interrupt this vital developmental process. It may explain why we sometimes see adverse effects on brain development in those born only slightly prematurely as we now know that this process is happening right up to the normal time of birth. With this study we found that the earlier a baby is born, the less mature the cortex structure. The weeks a baby loses in the womb really matter.

"These new techniques we've developed to identify these crucial processes will allow us to examine how disruption caused by premature birth can lead to conditions such as autism and learning difficulties. We will also use the technique in future studies to test new treatments to prevent brain damage. It's an extremely exciting step forward."

The study was funded by: the Medical Research Council; the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council; the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation trust and King's College London; and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Imperial College London. Infants involved in the study were being cared for in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/child_development/~3/Lhehb78mkvk/130520154249.htm

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Go to selected U.S. museums for free with Google's Field Trip

If you're looking for an excursion within six specific U.S. cities, then Google's Field Trip application wants to help you out. Within Portland, LA, Chicago, Washington DC, New York City and San Francisco, Field Trip is offering free entry to a total of 13 different museums.

Field Trip is developed by the Niantic Labs team at Google, and uses your location data to suggest interesting things to do in the area you find yourself in. It isn't surprising to see deals such as this one start to appear, since Google has their own Google Offers service already live. The full list of participating museums is as such:

• Conservatory of Flowers, SF
• California Academy of Sciences, SF
• Walt Disney Family Museum, SF
• Museum of Contemporary Art, LA
• Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
• Adler Planetarium, Chicago
• The Field Museum, Chicago
• Museum of the city of New York, NY
• Museum of Arts and Design, NY
• National Building Museum, DC
• Portland Children's Museum
• Portland Art Museum
• Pittock Mansion, Portland

The offer stands for a 'limited time' with no indication as to what that may mean, and the cards only appear to admit one person for free. So, if you want to go in a group, you'll all need to download Field Trip. When you find yourself in the vicinity of one of these museums, your free entry will appear just as any other Field Trip card. If you haven't yet downloaded Field Trip and this sounds like something for you, grab a copy at the download link below.

• Free - Download Now

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/ZZAkg28iToI/story01.htm

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AP CEO calls records seizure unconstitutional

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press on Sunday called the government's secret seizure of two months of reporters' phone records "unconstitutional" and said the news cooperative had not ruled out legal action against the Justice Department.

Gary Pruitt, in his first television interviews since it was revealed the Justice Department subpoenaed phone records of AP reporters and editors, said the move already has had a chilling effect on journalism. Pruitt said the seizure has made sources less willing to talk to AP journalists and, in the long term, could limit Americans' information from all news outlets.

Pruitt told CBS' "Face the Nation" that the government has no business monitoring the AP's newsgathering activities.

"And if they restrict that apparatus ... the people of the United States will only know what the government wants them to know and that's not what the framers of the Constitution had in mind when they wrote the First Amendment," he said.

In a separate interview with the AP, Pruitt said the news cooperative had not decided its next move but had not ruled out legal action against the government.

"It's too early to know if we'll take legal action but I can tell you we are positively displeased and we do feel that our constitutional rights have been violated," he said.

"They've been secretive, they've been overbroad and abusive ? so much so that taken together, they are unconstitutional because they violate our First Amendment rights," he added.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the government needs to stop leaks by whatever means necessary.

"This is an investigation that needs to happen because national security leaks, of course, can get our agents overseas killed," he said.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said the government should focus on those who leak sensitive national security matters and not on journalists who report on them. The Texas Republican said his committee should hold hearings on how the Justice Department obtained phone records from AP reporters and editors.

"What confuses me is the focus on the press, who have a constitutional right here and we depend on the press to get to the bottom of so many issues that we, as individuals, cannot," Cornyn said.

Cornyn said the Justice Department's actions were part of a pattern for President Barack Obama's administration to quiet its critics.

"It's a culture of cover-ups and intimidation that is giving the administration so much trouble," Cornyn said.

He also renewed his call for Attorney General Eric Holder to resign, citing the contempt citation the House of Representatives voted against him last year for refusing to turn over documents in a failed government gun smuggling sting.

White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said the president "has complete faith in Attorney General Holder." He also insisted the White House was not involved in the decision to seek AP phone records.

"A cardinal rule is we don't get involved in independent investigations. And this is one of those," Pfeiffer said.

Although the Justice Department has not explained why it sought phone records from the AP, Pruitt pointed to a May 7, 2012, story that disclosed details of a successful CIA operation in Yemen to stop an airliner bomb plot around the one-year anniversary of the May 2, 2011, killing of Osama bin Laden.

The AP delayed publication of that story at the request of government officials who said it would jeopardize national security.

"We respected that, we acted responsibly, we held the story," Pruitt said.

Pruitt said that only after officials from two government entities said the threat had passed did the AP publish the story. He said the administration still asked that the story be held until an official announcement the next day, a request the AP rejected.

The news service viewed the story as important because White House and Department of Homeland Security officials were saying publicly there was no credible evidence of a terrorist threat to the U.S. around the one-year anniversary of bin Laden's death.

"So that was misleading to the American public. We felt the American public needed to know this story," Pruitt said.

The AP has seen an effect on its newsgathering since the disclosure of the Justice Department's subpoena, he said.

"Officials that would normally talk to us and people we talk to in the normal course of newsgathering are already saying to us that they're a little reluctant to talk to us," Pruitt said. "They fear that they will be monitored by the government."

The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of personal and work telephone records for several reporters and editors, as well as general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and for the main number for the AP in the House of Representatives press gallery.

"It was sweeping and broad and beyond what they needed to do," Pruitt said.

He objected to the "Justice Department acting on its own being the judge, jury and executioner in secret," saying the AP would not back down.

"We're not going to be intimidated by the abusive tactics of the Justice Department," he said.

McConnell and Pfeiffer were interviewed on NBC's "Meet the Press." Cornyn appeared on "Face the Nation."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-05-19-US-AP-Phone-Records/id-fc560c48ee314adbb6a3484c316a7104

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Ketamine shows significant therapeutic benefit in people with treatment-resistant depression

May 18, 2013 ? Patients with treatment-resistant major depression saw dramatic improvement in their illness after treatment with ketamine, an anesthetic, according to the largest ketamine clinical trial to-date led by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The antidepressant benefits of ketamine were seen within 24 hours, whereas traditional antidepressants can take days or weeks to demonstrate a reduction in depression.

The research will be discussed at the American Psychiatric Association meeting on May 20, 2013 at the Moscone Center in San Franscico.

Led by Dan Iosifescu, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai; Sanjay Mathew, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine; and James Murrough, MD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai, the research team evaluated 72 people with treatment-resistant depression -- meaning their depression has failed to respond to two or more medications -- who were administered a single intravenous infusion of ketamine for 40 minutes or an active placebo of midazolam, another type of anesthetic without antidepressant properties. Patients were interviewed after 24 hours and again after seven days. After 24 hours, the response rate was 63.8 percent in the ketamine group compared to 28 percent in the placebo group. The response to ketamine was durable after seven days, with a 45.7 percent response in the ketamine group versus 18.2 percent in the placebo group. Both drugs were well tolerated.

"Using midazolam as an active placebo allowed us to independently assess the antidepressant benefit of ketamine, excluding any anesthetic effects," said Dr. Murrough, who is first author on the new report. "Ketamine continues to show significant promise as a new treatment option for patients with severe and refractory forms of depression."

Major depression is caused by a breakdown in communication between nerve cells in the brain, a process that is controlled by chemicals called neurotransmitters. Traditional antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) influence the activity of the neurotransmitters serotonin and noreprenephrine to reduce depression. In these medicines, response is often significantly delayed and up to 60 percent of people do not respond to treatment, according to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Ketamine works differently than traditional antidepressants in that it influences the activity of the glutamine neurotransmitter to help restore the dysfunctional communication between nerve cells in the depressed brain, and much more quickly than traditional antidepressants.

Future studies are needed to investigate the longer term safety and efficacy of a course of ketamine in refractory depression. Dr. Murrough recently published a preliminary report in the journal Biological Psychiatry on the safety and efficacy of ketamine given three times weekly for two weeks in patients with treatment-resistant depression.

"We found that ketamine was safe and well tolerated and that patients who demonstrated a rapid antidepressant effect after starting ketamine were able to maintain the response throughout the course of the study," Dr. Murrough said. "Larger placebo-controlled studies will be required to more fully determine the safety and efficacy profile of ketamine in depression."

The potential of ketamine was discovered by Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs of The Mount Sinai Medical Center, in collaboration with John H. Krystal, MD, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University.

"Major depression is one of the most prevalent and costly illnesses in the world, and yet currently available treatments fall far short of alleviating this burden," said Dr. Charney. "There is an urgent need for new, fast-acting therapies, and ketamine shows important potential in filling that void."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/mental_health/~3/2rOkTOAS-aE/130518153250.htm

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Emerging Writers' Festival 2013: an interview with Director Sam ...

Beginning as a one-day zine fair in 2004, the Emerging Writers Festival?has expanded to ten days of events, workshops, panel discussions and gala nights, as well as digital events using the #ewf13 hashtag ? and it all begins next week!

I?m very excited to be a part of two events this year: hosting a masterclass on?The Business of Being a Writer, as well as the?Signal Express Young Writers? Program for under 25s on freelance writing and publishing.

Before it all kicks off, I asked new Director Sam Twyford-Moore a few questions about this year?s program.

How was the experience of putting together the program ? your first as Director?

It was incredibly exciting. I?ve worked with running events before but never to this size and with this many writers involved. It?s a huge program and hugely ambitious ? but that?s Emerging Writers? Festival. It?s been interesting to come in as Director for the tenth festival also, because it?s an occasion to celebrate and there was a need to honour the festival too, so we?re bringing back a lot of festival favourites and really engaging with our alumni from the last ten years ? Rebecca Giggs, Jeff Waters, Jennifer Mills, Benjamin Law are returning, but there a lot of new names too.

EWF has a noted emphasis on digital spaces and social media, how will the festival unfold online this year?

This year we?re launching our first ever storytelling app, ?The Unfinished Phrase?, which is part exquisite corpse, part Twitter aggregator ? we?ve decided to launch it at the end of the festival so there?s something people can use to carry on the conversations they?ve had during the festival. Just because the festival is over doesn?t mean the writing stops. We?re also busy working on a Digital Showbag, which I can?t say too much about, but I think is going to be very exciting.

The title of the program launch this year was ?The Discomfort Zone.? Why did you choose this theme?

The Discomfort Zone was an attempt to get writers to challenge themselves, to write outside of their normal genre. So we had comedian Luke Ryan reading a very serious sci-fi story (actually a manuscript he had written when he was fourteen called Love Shall Sustain Me), the acclaimed novelist Toni Jordan writing poetry for the first time ever, graphic novelist Nicki Greenberg writing a cookbook and, my personal favourite in terms of discomfort, the childrens and young adult writer Andrew McDonald writing erotica. The whole point of this, while very funny, was to show writers that some of their most creative work will come when they test their limits.

Which events are you most excited about?

I?m really excited about the keynote by Astrid Lorange on opening night and the Sweatshop Stories event, which has been made possible by the support of the University of Western Sydney. We?re bringing seven writers down from the Sweatshop Collective, who are just the most dynamic and interesting collection of writers in this country. I mean, this was the description for the event they sent me: ?Welcome to the sweatshops of Western Sydney, where every Aussie gets a fair go. Pockets are full and guns are empty. There are no racists here. No misogynists and no homophobes. Where the Wogs rule and the Anglos have assimilated.? It?s got me interested.

The Writers? Conference is always hugely popular and is the place to go to get the most up to date conversations about writing. Emerging Q&A returns bigger and better than ever, with Benjamin Law doing his best Tony Jones impression as host. Turn The Music Up Loud is our chance to rock out ? with Dave Graney and Angie Hart ? talking about their work in both music and writing and how one might inform the other, that?s going to be a terrifically exciting night.

You?ve added several masterclasses this year ? tell me about this addition to the program.

EWF has always tried to cater for as many kinds of writers as possible, and to capture as many genres. It?s a tall order, but we?ve managed to do it this year through some really exciting new partnerships with Poetry Australia, MTC, ACMI and VCA ? who are all supporting us to expand the workshop program. Our event at ACMI is particularly exciting, with three screenwriters presenting parts of their work and then discussing them. I don?t know if popcorn will be available, but it?s really exciting that EWF is going to the movies!

One of the smaller workshops is just focusing on performing and presenting your work aloud ? writing is increasingly being associated with public speaking, with either a performance element expected, or the writer being expected to front up as a public intellectual. I mean this is what the Writers? Festivals are asking writers, but I don?t think writers are getting enough support to do this ? we?re expecting them to show up and just be ready, but they don?t have training in this. So the performance workshop is definitely there to think about that.

This year?s line up includes an Abbottsford Convent program on the second weekend of the festival. ?How did the idea come about for a second intensive weekend in addition to the Town Hall writers conference?

This grew pretty naturally soon after I came in as Director and was sort of the first big decision in programming. I wanted to provide a bit of a peaceful space for writers in the second weekend after the intensity of the Writers Conference and I also wanted to try and move the festival out of the Melbourne CBD for part of the festival, and see if we could travel. The Abbotsford Convent were really receptive to the idea of us coming out there, and so the programming kind of came out of responding to those beautiful spaces and grounds. There?s nothing like it and we?re so excited to be there. The wellbeing focus grew out of that, but also thinking about what support writers need. We?ve been great at providing professional development, but for me that?s only one part of the writing life. I wanted to kind of investigate some strategies for keeping writers healthy ? mentally and physically ? and so I think we?ve come up with a very unique program quite unlike what you would normally expect from a writers festival. I mean, I can?t wait to see what people think of the writing and yoga workshop.

You?ve got a session to welcome interstate guests ? why did you feel this was important?

I?m originally from Sydney and I came down to the last two festivals, and you know, it?s a very long way to come. It?s really a big investment in their writing careers and I want to recognise the contribution that interstate guests make by attending the festival ? they?re incredibly important to us and we want to make sure that we?re supporting them during their stay.

Melbourne isn?t a difficult place to get to know, but we want to have information ready about the location of our events for interstaters ? we?re really spreading our reach this year and want to make it as easy to get around as possible. It?d be great if we could have some very simple instructions on Mykis!

The festival is being launched this year by Astrid Lorange ? tell me about her work.?

Astrid is just amazing. She lives and breathes writing in this incredibly embodied way and I really wanted to put her in front of a big audience. Her biography in the program kind of captures it all, ?Poet, researcher, teacher, essayist, home brewer, band member, small press aspirant, part-time book indexer, relational enthusiast.? She also gets the idea that emerging isn?t a funding category, it?s a state of being ? and in creative practice the best state to be in. I?ve no doubt that her keynote will reflect this looking at the next ten years of writing in Australia, because Australia is emerging in this really interesting way on a planetary stage, and ? no pressure on Astrid ? but I think it?s really going to help the Emerging Writers? Festival and emerging writers think about the next ten years.

? The Emerging Writers? Festival runs from May 23rd to June 2nd in Melbourne. You can view the full listing of events here.?

Source: http://blogs.crikey.com.au/liticism/2013/05/17/emerging-writers-festival-2013-an-interview-with-director-sam-twyford-moore/

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Hangouts for iPhone and iPad review: Google+ cross-platform messaging service

Hangouts for iPhone and iPad is Google's new cross-platform messaging app that lets you converse with your friends regardless of what phone, tablet, or computer they are using. It features a beautiful, clean design and support for video messaging.

The chat view in Hangouts is very traditional and flat with some subtle shading. Your messages and picture are on the right and everyone else is on the left. All users' chat bubbles are the same color, so only the picture distinguishes users from each other; something I actually like. It's simple

Tapping a user's photo will take you to their profile which includes everything they've made available on Google+, including work history, basic information, education, and more.

Video chatting with Hangouts is super easy, looks great, and also sounds crisp and clear. I had a quick conversation with Rene while he was in a noisy environment, yet I had no problem hearing or understanding him.

Google Hangouts also gives you control over who gets to hangout with you and who must send a request. You can also choose to automatically snooze notifications after 1-72 hours and block specific users.

The good

• Clean design
• Cross-platform
• Group conversation support
• Video chat support
• Get notifications only once. After you see an alert, it disappears from other devices.
• Snooze notifications
• Save history
• View collections of photos shared from each Hangout
• Emoji support
• Connect to Messages for Mac with Jabber
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The bad

• Requires Google+, a simple Gmail account is not enough
• Can't set your status/availability
• No sound when new message comes in
• No SMS integration. This is not a fault of Google, but rather of iOS API limitations, but it's still a bummer.

The bottom line

If you chat with friends on Google Talk or Google+ often, then Hangouts is awesome and you should definitely pick it up.

• Free - Download now

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/BSt5ptHHrWk/story01.htm

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Make Income Possible With Perfect Web Marketing Strategies ? Hot ...

Generating serious profits from your business is an absolute possibility. It is under your control to make it work. Nobody has ever achieved goals by sitting back and watching everyone else make a bunch of money. You can do this by becoming acquainted with some top internet marketing techniques. These techniques include search engine optimization, social networking, and forum posting. These three things are only the start of your path to making profits with your business.

1. Search engine optimization is important because it allows you to reach the Google rankings that you need to get your business going. The greater your business? rankings are the very likely you are to drive more traffic to your site. One can learn search engine optimization techniques on your own or you can make it simpler and hire the work to be performed by a professional. Either way have shown to result in significant results for many business owners.

2. You must realize that social media sites are the greatest web marketing strategies for obtaining significant traffic to your website. These media sites have become the most famous form of communication these days and they are totally free. Have patience with this type of strategy for internet marketing because it will take time to get people to follow you but it will happen if you are persistent. Get started with friends, family, and colleagues and you will note that the possibilities for profit can be endless.

3. Having an internet marketing forum will also help you to achieve great profits but in a much more roundabout way. You can exchange ideas with others within the industry and you can build links within these forums. In this industry you should have access to new and improved information to move forward financially.

You may make profit a chance for your business when you follow some fundamental web marketing principles. These will help you to take the steps important to achieve your financial targets. Keep in mind, if you intend to attain these goals you must act now and do it straight away.

If you?re a small business owner looking to get a BIG presence online then you?ve found the right place here at Atlanta Web Marketing or Atlanta Online Marketing. Thank you for coming to our page.

Source: http://hotarticledepot.com/make-income-possible-with-perfect-web-marketing-strategies-2/

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Amazon UK pays $3.7 million tax on $6.5 billion sales

By Tom Bergin

LONDON (Reuters) - Amazon.com's main UK unit paid $3.7 million of taxes on its 2012 income, it said on Wednesday, despite group UK sales of $6.5 billion (4 billion pounds), prompting criticism from lawmakers and competitors.

Amazon.co.uk Ltd added in its accounts, published through the UK companies register, that it received 2.5 million pounds in government grants during 2012 - just ahead of the 2.4 million it paid in corporation tax, the UK form of corporate income tax.

Corporate tax avoidance has risen to the top of the political agenda in Europe following revelations in the past couple of years about how little big names like Apple Inc., Starbucks, Google and Microsoft pay in tax in markets where they reap billions of dollars in sales.

The companies say they follow the rules but UK Prime Minister David Cameron has called for international action on the shifting of profits, which can help firms cut tax bills.

Amazon.co.uk reported a small corporate income tax bill because all sales to British customers are routed through a Luxembourg affiliate, Amazon EU Sarl, which employs around 500 staff.

The British subsidiary, which employed 4,191 people at the end of 2012 and thousands more indirectly via contracting agencies, is deemed, for tax purposes, to be a service provider to the Luxembourg unit.

It is funded by fees it receives from Amazon EU and since these only just cover operating costs, little is left over for the UK tax authority, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to tax.

Amazon EU pays little tax in Luxembourg because it pays hundreds of millions of euros each year in fees to a tax exempt affiliate, also registered in Luxembourg.

Amazon was not immediately available for comment but has previously said it follows the tax rules in every country where it operates.

John Hemming, a member of parliament with the Liberal Democrats, the junior party in Britain's governing coalition, said the figures showed the inadequacy of existing rules to tackle the problem of profit shifting by major corporations.

"The government clearly needs to do a detailed study on how to handle the tax implications of e-commerce," he said.

But Nick Smith, a member of parliament with the opposition Labour party, said he wanted the tax authorities to take a close look at Amazon, describing its tax payment as "pathetic".

"HMRC should be going through this company's tax arrangements with a fine-tooth comb," he said.

Mark Brighton of Kew Books, which operates three bookstores in southwest London, said Amazon.co.uk's low tax bill highlighted the unfair competition small retailers like himself face.

Larger booksellers, electronics retailers and grocers have also criticized Amazon's arrangements in the past year.

In December, a committee of British lawmakers grilled an Amazon executive about the company's tax affairs and accused it of behaving "immorally".

Like other businesses, Amazon also pays taxes on employee wages and collects value added tax, a European form of sales tax, for the government.

Including adjustments in relation to previous years, Amazon.co.uk Ltd had a total tax charge of 3.2 million pounds.

($1 = 0.6554 British pounds)

(Reporting by Tom Bergin; Editing by Keiron Henderson and Mark Potter)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/amazon-uk-pays-3-7-million-tax-6-103415921.html

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