WTF! Huge Devil Pentagram in Kazakhstan on Google Maps!

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Source: http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/147835/WTF___Huge_Devil_Pentagram_in_Kazakhstan_on_Google_Maps/

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Microsoft Gave Google a Copyright Takedown Request for Microsoft.com

Because every company with even just a three-legged rat in the copyright race basically just shotgun sprays Google for takedown requests these days, Microsoft accidentally but very hilariously asked Google to censor... Microsoft.com. That's got to be even worse than HBO giving Google a takedown request for VLC. Yeah, it's definitely worse.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/M3DOMdPuWoY/microsoft-gave-google-a-copyright-takedown-request-for-955659666

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Amanda Bynes Psychiatric Hold May Last Up to Two Weeks, Officials Say

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/07/amanda-bynes-psychiatric-hold-may-last-up-to-two-weeks-officials/

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Unbowed, foes of spying program vow to fight on

Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., comments about the vote on the defense spending bill and his failed amendment that would have cut funding to the National Security Agency's program that collects the phone records of U.S. citizens and residents, at the Capitol, Wednesday, July 24, 2013. The Amash Amendment narrowly lost, 217-205. The White House and congressional backers of the NSA's electronic surveillance program lobbied against ending the massive collection of phone records from millions of Americans saying it would put the nation at risk from another terrorist attack. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., comments about the vote on the defense spending bill and his failed amendment that would have cut funding to the National Security Agency's program that collects the phone records of U.S. citizens and residents, at the Capitol, Wednesday, July 24, 2013. The Amash Amendment narrowly lost, 217-205. The White House and congressional backers of the NSA's electronic surveillance program lobbied against ending the massive collection of phone records from millions of Americans saying it would put the nation at risk from another terrorist attack. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., comments about the vote on the defense spending bill and his failed amendment that would have cut funding to the National Security Agency's program that collects the phone records of U.S. citizens and residents, at the Capitol, Wednesday, July 24, 2013. The Amash Amendment narrowly lost, 217-205. The White House and congressional backers of the NSA's electronic surveillance program lobbied against ending the massive collection of phone records from millions of Americans saying it would put the nation at risk from another terrorist attack. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Opponents of the National Security Agency's collection of hundreds of millions of Americans' phone records insist they will press ahead with their challenge to the surveillance program after a narrow defeat in the House.

Furious lobbying and last-minute pleas to lawmakers ensured victory for the Obama administration as the House voted 217-205 Wednesday to spare the NSA program.

Unbowed, the libertarian-leaning conservatives, tea partyers and liberal Democrats who led the fight said they will try to undo a program they called an unconstitutional intrusion on civil liberties.

Rep. Justin Amash, a 33-year-old Michigan Republican, made his intentions clear through the social media of Twitter: "We came close (205-217). If just 7 Reps had switched their votes, we would have succeeded. Thank YOU for making a difference. We fight on."

The other sponsor of the effort, 84-year-old Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, said the slim margin ensures that vigorous debate on the NSA's programs will continue.

"This discussion is going to be examined continually ... as long as we have this many members in the House of Representatives that are saying it's OK to collect all records you want just as long as you make sure you don't let it go anywhere else,'" said Conyers, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. "That is the beginning of the wrong direction in a democratic society."

The showdown marked the first chance for lawmakers to take a stand on the secret surveillance program since former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden leaked classified documents last month that spelled out the monumental scope of the government's activities.

Backing the NSA program were 134 Republicans and 83 Democrats, including House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who typically does not vote, and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California. Rejecting the administration's last-minute appeals to save the surveillance operation were 94 Republicans and 111 Democrats.

At a news conference Thursday on a range of subjects, Boehner said he voted against the Amash amendment "because these NSA programs have helped keep Americans safe."

He said Congress needed to have the debate, but it is unlikely to be the final word on the worldwide debate over the U.S. government snooping to defend the nation versus the privacy of Americans.

"Have 12 years gone by and our memories faded so badly that we forgot what happened on Sept. 11?" Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in pleading with his colleagues to back the program during House debate.

Amash defended his effort, saying the aim was to end the indiscriminate collection of Americans' phone records.

His measure, offered as an addition to a $598.3 billion defense spending bill for 2014, would have canceled the statutory authority for the NSA program, ending the agency's ability to collect phone records and metadata under the USA Patriot Act unless it identified an individual under investigation.

The House later voted to pass the overall defense bill, 315-109.

Amash told the House that his effort was to defend the Constitution and "defend the privacy of every American."

The unlikely political coalitions were on full display during a brief but spirited House debate.

"Let us not deal in false narratives. Let's deal in facts that will keep Americans safe," said Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., an Intelligence Committee member.

But Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., a senior member of the Judiciary Committee who helped write the USA Patriot Act, insisted "the time has come" to stop the collection of phone records that goes far beyond what he envisioned.

Several Republicans acknowledged the difficulty in balancing civil liberties against national security. But they also expressed suspicion about the Obama administration's implementation of the NSA programs ? and anger at National Intelligence Director James Clapper.

Clapper has acknowledged he gave misleading statements to Congress on how much the U.S. spies on Americans. He apologized to lawmakers this month after saying in March that the U.S. does not gather data on citizens ? something that Snowden revealed as false by releasing documents showing the NSA collects millions of phone records.

"Right now the balancing is being done by people we do not know, people who lied to this body," said Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C.

With a flurry of letters, statements and tweets, both sides lobbied intensely in the hours prior to the vote in the Republican-controlled House. In a statement, Clapper warned against dismantling a critical intelligence tool.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Congress has authorized ? and a Republican and a Democratic president have signed ? extensions of the powers to search records and conduct roving wiretaps in pursuit of terrorists.

Two years ago, in a strong bipartisan statement, the Senate voted 72-23 to renew the USA Patriot Act, and the House backed the extension 250-153.

Since the disclosures this year, however, lawmakers have said they were shocked by the scope of the two programs ? one to collect records of hundreds of millions of calls and the other allowing the NSA to sweep up Internet usage data from around the world that goes through nine major U.S.-based providers.

Proponents argue that the surveillance operations have been successful in thwarting at least 50 terror plots across 20 countries, including 10 to 12 directed at the United States.

The overall defense spending bill would provide the Pentagon with $512.5 billion for weapons, personnel, aircraft and ships, plus $85.8 billion for the war in Afghanistan for the next budget year.

The total, which is $5.1 billion below current spending, has drawn a veto threat from the White House, which argues that it would force the administration to cut education, health research and other domestic programs in order to boost spending for the Pentagon.

The bill must be reconciled with whatever measure the Democratic-controlled Senate produces.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-07-25-NSA%20Surveillance/id-692dd64ccb854400a1343bb96e07c3c5

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Privatizing Canada Post gets our stamp of approval

(LAURA DETTLING/QMI AGENCY files)

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The U.K. government recently decided to privatize the Royal Mail postal group. It will sell a majority stake in the state enterprise to investors, and about 150,000 Royal Mail employees will receive free shares.

I think (hope) that such reform will one day have to occur here, with Canada Post.

The Crown Corporation delivers less and less mail, partly because of the growing popularity of e-mail and new technologies. And shipping costs ? including transportation and labour ? are growing faster than revenues. The Conference Board of Canada, a think-tank, recently released a report saying the corporation may incur losses of $1 billion per year until 2020.

So what do we do with this venerable but costly institution? Among solutions proposed by the Conference Board to save money:

• Freeze wages for a number of years;
• Deliver mail every other day;
• Eliminate door-to-door delivery and replace it with community mailboxes for urban residential customers.

Raising the cost of mailing letters and advertising could help raise some revenues, but not enough to eliminate the shortfall.

But we should go further. Like Britain, we could privatize Canada Post, in part, to set up the discipline that comes from having investors who demand a return on their investment. Right now the sole shareholder of Canada Post is the federal government ? not the most demanding shareholder.

If possible, the government should open up the market to competition. Allowing competitors to enter the postal market would force Canada Post to innovate and become more efficient in order to retain market share. Without such pressures, Canadian consumers will always bear the brunt of Canada Post?s underperformance, in the form of lower quality and/or higher prices.

In fact, the state monopoly to distribute letters, like the one enjoyed by Canada Post, is a model that has been increasingly abandoned in countries around the world, particularly in Europe.

Some will raise the issue of sparsely populated regions, which is a legitimate concern. The costs of services are indeed higher in those areas. But it shouldn?t be an obstacle to reform.

Thanks to the Internet, physical distances have become less and less relevant. And if some unprofitable business ? but considered absolutely essential ? must be maintained, nothing prevents the federal government from imposing this condition to any prospective buyer of Canada Post, and offering a subsidy accordingly. Which should be transparent, and subject to review and debate.

Canada Post must focus on providing the best service to Canadians, at the best price. A privatization, even partial, could most likely help meet that goal.

? Michel Kelly-Gagnon is president of Montreal Economic Institute. The opinions expressed here are his own.

Poll

Do you think Canada Post should be privatized?

Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2013/07/23/privatizing-canada-post-gets-our-stamp-of-approval

Zimmerman Verdict

Dig In And Get Excited With These Home Improvement Tips | Make ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]You can prevent future problems in your house by improving some simple home improvement skills. Little problems do not turn into big problems. This article will give you the techniques necessary to handle most home ...

Source: http://www.make-your-home.com/2013/07/23/dig-in-and-get-excited-with-these-home-improvement-tips/

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Probing the why of Wall Street insider trading

Rajat Gupta was once worth $100 million US, a budding philanthropist and a respected member of the South Asian community. Now, he's a felon, convicted of selling insider trading secrets to Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam.

Journalist and London bureau chief for Forbes Anita Raghavan wanted to know why such a rich and respected man became part of the scheme, which involved insider trading on Goldman Sachs stock, a company where he was a director.

The result is The Billionaire?s Apprentice, which looks at how the best and brightest of the South Asian business community were drawn into corrupt practices on Wall Street.

Just a week ago, Gupta was ordered by a U.S. judge to pay a hefty $13.9 million US civil penalty and permanently barred from acting as an officer or director of a public company.

Yet Gupta had been a groundbreaker for South Asians in American business, rising to become head of McKinsey & Co. and credited with a huge turnaround at the marketing firm.

Though his personal fortune was $100 million, Gupta then began to move in philanthropic circles with the likes of Henry Kravis and Bill Gates, and suddenly did not feel he was influential enough, Raghavan told CBC News.

?Wealth, particularly enormous wealth, is increasingly encoded with power in our world and Rajat Gupta, after stepping down from the helm of McKinsey in 2003, felt a profound loss of power. And I think he teamed up with Raj Rajaratnam to try and address that problem,? she said.

Sri Lankan-born Rajaratnam was the billionaire founder of the Galleon Group hedge fund, but he felt he was losing his edge in an environment where rules against insider trading were getting tighter. He recruited Gupta to give him boardroom tips about Goldman Sachs, including Warren Buffett?s $5-billion investment in the bank during the financial crisis.

?Rajaratnam was clever at inducing information out of all his informants and he particularly played Gupta,? she said.

?He sensed that Gupta felt this loss of power when he stepped down from McKinsey and he also picked up on the fact that Gupta was looking for a way to reinvent himself and offered himself as the solution to Gupta?s problem.?

Galleon collapsed after Rajaratnam was arrested on insider trading charges in 2009. Authorities had used wiretaps in the investigation. He is now serving an 11-year sentence.

Ironically, it was New York state attorney Preet Bharara, the son of Indian immigrants, who led the prosecution against Wall Street insider trading.

In The Billionaire?s Apprentice, Raghavan tries to puzzle out why such wealthy and powerful people think they can get away with insider trading.

?I think they convince themselves it is OK. They tell themselves that everybody on wall street is doing it,? she said.

But she says healthy markets rely on wiping out such corruption.

?If retail investors feel that one player has an advantage over another, then they are less eager to participate in the market,? she said. "It?s important because the greater transparency you have, the greater sense of fairness you have in markets, the greater participation you have."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/probing-why-wall-street-insider-trading-003856257.html

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Dutch court blocks extradition of terror suspect

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) ? Dutch judges blocked the extradition Tuesday of a terror suspect to the United States, saying he was tortured in Pakistan after his 2010 arrest and it is unclear whether American authorities had any involvement.

The Hague Court of Appeal ruling was a significant victory for the man identified only as Sabir K. in his attempts to avoid being sent for trial in America, but Dutch authorities can still launch a final appeal to the country's Supreme Court.

"He is very satisfied that the role of the Americans is finally being looked at in a critical light," his lawyer Andre Seebregts said. "He has said from the very beginning that the Americans were involved."

Sabir K., who has Dutch and Pakistani nationality, was arrested in Pakistan in 2010 and expelled to the Netherlands in 2011. U.S. authorities accuse him of working with al-Qaida from 2004 to 2010, and of plotting a suicide attack on an American military base in Afghanistan.

In a statement, the Hague appellate court said that U.S. authorities had issued an arrest warrant for K. three days after his detention in Pakistan.

But it went on to say that circumstances of K.'s arrest and detention "raised questions" among the judges, who cited international human rights groups as saying terror suspects are "almost without exception tortured" if detained in Pakistan.

"If the U.S. asked Pakistan to arrest K., knowing he would be tortured by the secret service, this would be a reason to block the extradition," the court said.

Judges had asked the Dutch government to seek clarification from U.S. authorities about their role in the detention, but Dutch justice and security ministry officials refused, saying they did not see the necessity of the request.

The government's refusal meant "uncertainty remained about the involvement of the U.S. in the torture of K.," the court said as it blocked his extradition.

Dutch Security and Justice Ministry spokeswoman Sentina van der Meer said officials were studying the ruling and had no further comment.

Sabir K. was released from Dutch detention earlier this year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dutch-court-blocks-extradition-terror-suspect-093210340.html

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GOP DREAM Act Not Enough For Dreamers

DREAMers (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) and parents take an oath in a mock citizenship ceremony during a rally on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 10, 2013.

Dreamers, immigrants who entered the country illegally as children, finally have congressional Republicans on their side, pushing for a path to citizenship on their behalf.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., are expected to unveil the Kids Act soon to give Dreamers the same path to citizenship that they voted against in 2010.

The president issued an executive order in 2012 that gave dreamers differed action and allowed those who were in college or joined the military the opportunity to stay in the U.S.

[OPINION: House GOP Dream Act Deferral Vote Is Political Insanity]

While Dreamers say they appreciate Republicans' change of heart, it is too little too late. The goal post has moved quickly. Since the Senate passed a comprehensive bill that included a path to citizenship for all 11 million immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, dreamers say they won't accept anything less from the House of Representatives.

"Anything else than a pathway to citizenship for our community is not acceptable to dreamers," says Cristina Jimenez, the cofounder of United We Dream, an organization that advocates for immigration reform. "The reality is that our parents sacrificed everything to bring us here for a better future for our families. We don't leave them behind."

Dreamers will gather Tuesday on Capitol Hill to protest before a hearing in the Subcommittee on Immigration, and advocate for a more comprehensive path to citizenship.

They warn that ignoring the public outcry for immigration reform could have election-year consequences.

"The Latino community will not look kindly at immigration legislation that condemns people to be second-class citizens," says Clarissa Martinez De Castro, the Director of Immigration and National Campaigns at the National Council of La Raza, a Latino civil rights organization.

[ALSO: Welcoming Immigrants Is an American Tradition]

Democrats agree.

"We've been there we've done that. It's so yesterday," Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., said during a leadership press conference last week.

The most recent Pew Poll shows that Americans are divided on whether immigrants who entered the country illegally should be allowed a path to citizenship. Just 43 percent support it, while 31 percent say they should be allowed to stay in the country but should only get legal residency.

More News:

Source: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/7/22/gop-dream-act-not-enough-for-dreamers?s_cid=rss:gop-dream-act-not-enough-for-dreamers

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Catholic Church lobbies against Calif. abuse bill

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Tony Quarry suppressed his memories of being abused by a Roman Catholic priest for nearly 30 years and decided to sue only after finding out that his five brothers were molested by the same man ? just to discover that it was too late.

The state's high court ultimately tossed out the brothers' lawsuit because they missed a special legal window that allowed victims to sue over abuse claims decades after the fact. Their plight, however, has inspired new sex abuse legislation in California a decade after a similar bill cost the church hundreds of millions in civil settlements.

"I still believed in the tooth fairy when these things happened to me," Quarry, 51, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday. "It's a good thing for these other people to have the opportunity to step forward."

Like the previous law, Senate Bill 131 would permit many victims who would otherwise be unable to file a civil suit due to time and age restrictions ? like the Quarry brothers ? to sue their abuser's employer in civil court.

The proposed law would lift the statute of limitations for one year for the group of alleged victims who were 26 and older and missed the previous deadline.

The Catholic Church did not fight the 2002 bill that opened the flood gates for hundreds of victims and led to $1.2 billion in settlements from dioceses statewide, including $660 million in Los Angeles alone. This time, however, the church is fighting hard against the proposed legislation ? from the pews to lobbyists.

The 2002 law led to settlements that also forced the Los Angeles archdiocese to make public earlier this year thousands of pages of confidential files kept on priests accused or suspected of abuse.

The California Council of Nonprofit Organization, a group affiliated with the California Catholic Conference, has spent more than $70,000 to fight the bill, according to documents from the California Secretary of State's office. The Catholic Church and private organizations have called the bill a step backward, and charge they have been unfairly targeted because the proposed legislation does not apply to public schools.

The bill, as authored by Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, specifically targets only private institutions.

In Los Angeles, Archbishop Jose Gomez urged local Catholics to contact their legislators, arguing in the church newsletter that the proposed change "puts the social services and educational work of the Church at risk."

The LA archdiocese and other private institutions fear the reform would make them vulnerable to cases like those brought against the church following allegations of clergy sex abuse more than a decade ago.

"Our hearts can bleed and feel sad for those who didn't come forward, but the purpose is good and fair public policy," said Ned Dolejsi, executive director of the California Catholic Conference, which represents the California Catholic Conference of Bishops.

The bill, Dolejsi argued, could have a devastating effect on nonprofits, such as Catholic schools, as well as state dioceses that have already paid more than $1 billion in settlements, while exempting public employers.

The LA archdiocese declined to comment on the bill and referred calls to Dolejsi. Archdiocese attorney J. Michael Hennigan did not respond to a request for comment.

The California Association of Private School Organizations, which includes pre-collegiate, independent and religious schools, has also said that the bill is unfair.

California's current law states a victim can sue a third party up until the age of 26, or within three years of the time a victim realizes he or she was abused ? whichever period expires later.

Under the proposed bill, the statute of limitations would be lifted for one year for the group of people who were 26 or older and missed the previous window because they discovered abuse trauma more recently.

Tom Lyon, a law expert at the University of Southern California, said the bill's key provision addresses issues of fairness. One group of abuse victims has no means to come forward and file a civil suit, he said, and the proposed law aims to fix that.

"It's hard to defend a case when it happened decades ago," he said.

"But why not give them their day in court?"

The Quarry brothers' case dates back to 2007, when they filed a civil lawsuit against the bishop of Oakland.

The brothers, now in their 40s and 50s, alleged they were molested by an Oakland priest in the 1970s but didn't connect it to their distress until 2006. The priest admitted in a sworn deposition in 2005 that he had had sexual relationships with four sets of underage brothers during the 1970s, including at least two of the brothers in the Quarry case. The priest was forced to retire following abuse allegations in 1993 and died in 2010.

In 2011, the California Supreme Court ruled it was too late for the brothers to sue because the one-year window extended by the legislature had passed.

The proposed reform has already gone through the state Senate and passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee. It's expected to go to the House Appropriations Committee in August.

Quarry and his brothers can't refile their lawsuit even if the new legislation passes because the high court's ruling in their individual case was final, but he hopes it passes so other victims are able to come forward.

"They call us all enemies of the church, but we're not," he said. "We're victims of the church."

_____

Follow Sarah Parvini on Twitter at http://twitter.com/parviniparlance

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/catholic-church-lobbies-against-calif-140838405.html

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KW Rating Explained for Electric Showers | Home Improvement ...

Electric showers are a very popular choice for those looking for a shower unit that provides constant hot water and not rely on external sources of heat. Electric showers are also very economical and once installed can provide considerable financial savings, especially if you opt for a low-pressure version. If you are environmentally conscious and are looking to reduce the environmental impact of electric shower is a much better option than a power shower because it uses much less water.

KW Ratings Explained

- all the features of this type of bath flow
The have the internal capacity to self-heat cold water entering the unit ? works basically like a big water heater to heat the cold water, hot water pushed out the other end with cold water to create the desired temperature. Water flow rate elements control the temperature of the water ? raising and lowering the level of water flow in the internal elements of what electric shower possible to adjust the shower temperature. Flow rate is constrained to raise the temperature of the shower so the water is heated for longer before it is released. While this increase in temperature, it also reduces the rate of flow of water out of the shower head, the better rankings shower.KW described for electric shower ?

- 7KW or KW ratings for 10.5kw electric shower really connect with the flow of water. Most electric shower market range from around 7.0kw to 10.5kw. The higher the kW rating of the shower, good water flow from the shower head. Many people opt to choose high rating kW electric shower them with visitors to strong water flow and a more powerful shower. The reason is that the bathrooms have a high rating kW to heat water coming into the unit at a higher temperature more quickly, which means the flow of water coming out of the shower head is not limited to the lower KW models to achieve the same temperature. While the difference between 7.0kw and 10.5kw not seem very good, even higher kW rating can provide users with bath flow 50% more than the low rank tells rating.KW electric shower

- variation
The number of seasonal water flow restriction is needed to heat the water may vary depending on time of year. In summer, for example, the temperature of the water bath is channeled to a higher power, which means it will take less heating unit to achieve the desired temperature. In winter it is clearly explained reversed.KW rating for electric showers

- upgraded to KW high shower
If want to improve your bathroom kW rating, then there are a number of factors involved in this case and it is not something you can do so by simply changing the shower unit. The first thing to check is the pressure of the water system, such as a bathroom kW higher will require a system with a higher water pressure to provide more water for bathing. Small circuit breaker must also be greater if you are upgrading to higher kw shower and you also need to install a larger cable to the higher KW rating kW shower.
The explanation for electric shower to actually hold the key to how the shower works. If you see an idea that is difficult to get to grips with so it?s a good idea to remember that the higher the kW rating, the better the performance of your shower will be. If you have any concerns about whether you have the right cable or deal with the high pressure water bath KW so it?s a good idea to talk with shower or bath manufacturer registered electrical installer before you hand over any money.

This entry was posted in Bathroom and tagged electric shower, Electric showers, KW. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://redevelopks.org/2013/07/kw-rating-explained-for-electric-showers.html

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Microsoft Delivers Outlook to iPhone and iPad Users

Starting today, iPhone and iPad users will be able to get many of the same features of Outlook in the form of in a new application available from the iTunes Store.

Using what Microsoft has dubbed OWA for iPad and OWA for iPhone, users will be able to access Office 365 accounts from their devices. In addition to giving users access to their email without being online, the application also seems to act as another Trojan horse for Microsoft?s Metro-design language and Office 365.

The application?s Mail, Calendar and People areas sit behind a sort of Start Screen that features Live Tiles that quickly update the user on their latest email, and documents. In fact, the entire experience isn?t too far-flung from the designs of Office 365 for iPhone, Office 365 for iPad as well as Outlook.com and Windows 8.1.

OWA for iPhone and OWA for iPad

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Gottabemobile/~3/JUUk4sLZV3o/

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Travel: Half Dome in Yosemite a California icon

Published: July 14, 2013 1:00 AM

Christopher Reynolds

contributor

Japanese artist Hokusai liked Mt. Fuji. Really liked it. So in the 1820s and 1830s, he made a series of 36 woodblock prints of the mountain, from near and far, in summer and winter. When they went over well, he made 10 more scenes. Then, because an artist must follow his muse, he started a new series: 100 views of Mt. Fuji.

When I?m looking at Half Dome, the great granite hood ornament of Yosemite National Park, I understand Hokusai and Fuji. You see Half Dome on a century?s worth of postcards, on Ansel Adams prints and Sierra Club calendars, on your waiter?s name tag at the Wawona Hotel, on the new California driver?s licenses.

Yet to me, it seems inexhaustible.

When I visited Yosemite with photographer Mark Boster in late May, we glanced at a few other popular spots, but mostly we chased Half Dome variations. Though we didn?t summit the big rock?the climbing cables weren?t in place for the season?we saw it from so many directions and elevations that I started thinking of it as the third member of our traveling party.

Some people say Half Dome looks like a football helmet or a broken bowling ball. I always saw a dented ranger?s hat. Until this trip.

For a proper introduction or a ritual re-introduction, a traveler heads from the park?s south entrance to the Tunnel View turnout. You may find yourself standing in a crowd?on a busy day, 5,000 people pause here?but you?ll spot Half Dome, bracketed by El Capitan to the left, Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Fall to the right. And if the crowds are thin, you may think: This is the place. No view can match this. But just up the road, plenty can.

Bob Roney, author of ?The Road Guide to Yosemite? and a ranger here for 40-plus years, met us at Tunnel View to explain how a work crew in the early 1930s spent months creating a shortcut for travelers, using a ton of blasting powder daily to make about 20 feet of progress.

Eventually, they had the Wawona Tunnel, nearly a mile long, and a small mountain of tailings at its east end. And somebody realized that the new mound had a big view.

Naturally, it didn?t take long after the tunnel?s 1933 opening for Ansel Adams to turn up with his tripod. Before long, Tunnel View was the iconic Yosemite view. It scarcely changed for 75 years, until a 2008 upgrade that smoothed traffic flow and opened up the view by cutting down a bunch of trees. Yes, the park service does that sometimes.

Still, Roney reminded us, no panorama is permanent, especially in a park that records dozens of rockfalls every year. ?Sure as time moves forward,? Roney said, ?this view will be wrecked by some other geologic event,? perhaps transformed ?into something even more beautiful.?

And so to Mirror Lake, which is really a seasonal water hole a mile?s walk from the Mirror Lake shuttle-bus stop. In spring, if kids aren?t splashing, the still water gives you a perfect reflection of shapely Mt. Watkins to the north. The view is so mesmerizing, in fact, that you might not realize the stone wall just east of you is the base of Half Dome.

And it was near here, at 5:26 a.m. on March 28, 2009, that 115,000 tons of boulders and debris rained down from Ahwiyah Point, 1,800 feet up, near Half Dome. The impact generated a blast of air that leveled hundreds of trees up to 50 yards away. Nobody was hurt. But rockfalls (both naturally occurring and human-caused) occasionally do kill people in Yosemite. Falling rocks dislodged by climbers killed one El Capitan climber on May 20, another on June 2.

I soaked my feet in the shallows, listening for distant rumbles. Then Mark and I headed for the high country.

At Olmsted Point, along Tioga Road, we found a rock scape scoured by ancient ice and peppered with ?erratics,? stray boulders nudged into strange places by glacial advances. From there, Half Dome is a far-off rounded lump that sometimes glows red at sunset. For us it turned a faint orange.

Another day, we drove to Glacier Point, which is only 7,214 feet above sea level but feels like the roof of the Earth, with jaw-dropping views of the valley. From there you seem to be even with Half Dome (though you?re really 1,600 feet below it), and the spectacle is an invitation to consider eternity and forget petty human affairs.

But then you?d miss the hooded photographer fussing with his 8-by-10 camera, or the British tourist dropping to one knee and proposing to his girlfriend (who says yes), or the guy who is about to throw a pebble into the abyss until a second guy threatens to throw him instead.

It got quieter when the sun dipped and set the dome aglow. Then the moon and stars took over. We stayed for hours.

But that?s not the view that destroyed my ranger?s-hat idea of Half Dome. It was Washburn Point, less than a mile from Glacier Point, that did it.

There, as at Glacier Point, you are reminded how puny Yosemite Valley is: 7 miles long and a mile wide, surrounded by nearly 1,200 more square miles of rugged high-country parkland. But Washburn Point also has a different angle on Half Dome, an angle that shows it isn?t a dome at all. To my eyes, it?s a thick, uneven slice of bread, maybe the heel of the loaf. Of course, it?s epic and all that, but you?d never make it your logo.

The Half Dome we love is the well-rounded idea of Half Dome, as seen from the valley, Olmsted Point and Glacier Point. Seeing its unrounded backside is like being told that Humphrey Bogart never said, ?Play it again, Sam? in ?Casablanca.? Part of you doesn?t want to know. And the other part figures that?s a good reason to watch the movie again.

Hiking Half Dome: what you need

To hike Half Dome, you need a clear, summery day, a permit, strong legs, strong lungs, food, water, a flashlight and a plan.

A few things you need in order to hike Half Dome:

? A clear, summery day. Because hiking Half Dome can be dangerous, the park service strongly discourages hiking it in the rain, when there are storm clouds or any time but in summer. Rangers say five hikers have died on the trail in the last decade, most losing their footing, often in the rain. To make things easier for hikers in the summer months, rangers put up removable steel cables just before Memorial Day most years to help climbers ascend the last 400 feet to the top. The cables come down around Columbus Day (in October).

? A permit from the National Park Service. To keep the trail from clogging with traffic when the cables are up, rangers require that you have a permit, and they set a limit of 300 hikers a day. Fees are $12.50 (if you apply online) or $14.50 (by phone). Check the Yosemite website at www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hdpermits.htm.

?

Source: http://www.kelownacapnews.com/lifestyles/215136021.html

maundy thursday

Italian police raid Jamaican sprinters' hotel

FILE - In this Saturday, May 19, 2013 file photo, Asafa Powell of Jamaica, center, competes with Nesta Carter of Jamaica, left, and Kim Collins of Saint Kitts, right, during the men's 100 meter at the Diamond League track and field competition in Shanghai, China. Former 100-meter world-record holder Asafa Powell and Jamaican teammate Sherone Simpson have each tested positive for banned stimulants, according to their agent. Paul Doyle told The Associated Press on Sunday, July 14, 2013 that they tested positive for the stimulant oxilofrine at the Jamaican championships and were just recently notified. The news came the same day that American 100-meter record holder Tyson Gay revealed that he also failed a drug test. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

FILE - In this Saturday, May 19, 2013 file photo, Asafa Powell of Jamaica, center, competes with Nesta Carter of Jamaica, left, and Kim Collins of Saint Kitts, right, during the men's 100 meter at the Diamond League track and field competition in Shanghai, China. Former 100-meter world-record holder Asafa Powell and Jamaican teammate Sherone Simpson have each tested positive for banned stimulants, according to their agent. Paul Doyle told The Associated Press on Sunday, July 14, 2013 that they tested positive for the stimulant oxilofrine at the Jamaican championships and were just recently notified. The news came the same day that American 100-meter record holder Tyson Gay revealed that he also failed a drug test. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

FILE - In this June 10, 2010, file photo, Jamaica's Asafa Powell runs to win the men's 100 meter event during the IAAF Diamond League Golden Gala athletics meeting at Rome's Olympic stadium. Former 100-meter world-record holder Powell and Jamaican teammate Sherone Simpson have each tested positive for banned stimulants, according to their agent. Paul Doyle told The Associated Press on Sunday, July 14, 2013, that they tested positive for the stimulant oxilofrine at the Jamaican championships and were just recently notified. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 22, 2010, file photo, Sherone Simpson, of Jamaica, runs to win the women's 100-meter event during the ISTAF Athletics Meeting in Berlin. Former 100-meter world-record holder Asafa Powell and teammate Simpson have each tested positive for banned stimulants, according to their agent. Paul Doyle told The Associated Press on Sunday, July 14, 2013, that they tested positive for the stimulant oxilofrine at the Jamaican championships and were just recently notified. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2009 file photo Tyson Gay, left, of the United States and Asafa Powell from Jamaica compete in men's 100 meters during an IAAF World Athletics Final at Thessaloniki's Kaftanzoglio stadium, Greece. Former 100-meter world-record holder Asafa Powell and Jamaican teammate Sherone Simpson have each tested positive for banned stimulants, according to their agent. Paul Doyle told The Associated Press on Sunday, July 14, 2013 that they tested positive for the stimulant oxilofrine at the Jamaican championships and were just recently notified. The news came the same day that American 100-meter record holder Tyson Gay revealed that he also failed a drug test. (AP Photo/Thannasis Stavrakis, File)

ROME (AP) ? Italian police confiscated unidentified substances Monday in a raid on the hotel where Jamaican sprinters Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson were staying after each tested positive for banned stimulants.

Rooms of the athletes and physical trainer Christopher Xuereb of Canada were searched and drugs and supplements were seized, Udine police captain Antonio Pisapia told The Associated Press.

Pisapia said it was unclear if the substances were illegal, and that they were being analyzed.

"We are examining the substances now," Pisapia said. "No arrests have been made and nobody has been placed under investigation."

The raid took place at the Fra i Pini hotel in Lignano Sabbiadoro in northeastern Italy.

Powell, a former world-record holder at 100 meters, and Simpson tested positive for the stimulant oxilofrine at the Jamaican championships last month, their agent said Sunday.

The police captain with the specialized NAS unit said that Powell and Simpson were informed of the positive tests Saturday morning.

The raid came in stark contrast to the warm reception that the runners generally receive in Lignano, and the town's mayor, Luca Fanotto, recommended "caution" before drawing conclusions.

"The Jamaican team has chosen the sports facilities of Lignano Sabbiadoro as their training base for years and they never forget to thank the city from podiums all over the world," Fanotto said in a statement.

A local meet is scheduled for Tuesday in Lignano, and the Jamaicans had been scheduled to compete as they do most years. But neither Powell or Simpson was on start lists released Monday.

Both athletes train under Stephen Francis, a coach at the high-profile MVP Track and Field Club in Jamaica.

On Monday, in an interview on Jamaican radio station HITZ 92, Francis blamed the positive tests on Xuereb.

"We are not disowning Asafa, we are just saying this relates to his personal employee. The trainer has nothing to do with MVP," Francis said.

Francis told the radio station that he told Powell to only trust people who were with him from the start.

"If you are going to sink, sink with people who were always around," he said.

The news of the positive tests for Powell and Simpson came the same day that American 100-meter record holder Tyson Gay revealed that he also failed a doping test.

Powell was the last man to hold the 100-meter world record before Usain Bolt broke it in 2008. He also helped the Jamaicans to the 400-meter relay gold medal at the 2008 Olympics.

Simpson won Olympic gold in the women's 400 relay in 2004 and silver in 2012, along with a silver in the 100 in 2008.

The doping positives come a month after another Jamaican Olympic champion, Veronica Campbell-Brown, tested positive for a banned diuretic.

___

Associated Press Writer David McFadden in Kingson, Jamaica contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-07-15-ATH-Jamaica-Doping-Raid/id-cf47f4d2b620476c909f5ae7dd365a57

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Cleveland Cavaliers hope Andrew Bynum is the answer, but is that an alien notion? Bud Shaw's Sunday Sports Spin

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Former Cavaliers' guard Baron Davis told the hosts of "The Champs" podcast he was inducted by aliens in the desert while driving from Las Vegas to L.A. two weeks ago.

"I'm a little tired and see this light and I think it's a big truck," Davis said. "The next thing you know I was like in this big steel thing...with these crazy looking half-human people."

Sounds ridiculous, but maybe he nodded off. Maybe the big steel thing was Madison Square Garden and one of the big-eyed beings poking at Davis was Spike Lee?

The hosts weren't sure what to make of his story, twice asking him if he were serious.

Davis later Tweeted, "The alien thing is a joke."

Hey, crazier things have happened and I'm not just talking about Dennis Rodman becoming a spokesman for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Just this week:

? 1. A San Francisco TV station broadcast the names of the cockpit crew of the Asiana Airlines flight that crashed in San Francisco. A paid anchor, reading from a graphic, actually said the names, "Wi Tu Lo" and "Captain Sum Ting Wong" (and another you can look up online for yourself) without blinking.

2.Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera, in America's answer to the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, got credited with a double steal.

3. Mark Reynolds bunted for a base hit.

4. The Cavs' signing of Andrew Bynum -- 7-foot worth of limping big man made completely irrelevant by injury last year -- was hailed in this town as returning the Cavaliers to "relevance."

5. A tornado of sharks terrorized L.A.

On that list, I'm pretty sure either the sharks or the Fielder-Cabrera double steal is fictional. The question of whether the Cavs landed the big fish in Bynum or are getting pranked isn't exactly the right one to ask.

The Cavs' organization has its eyes wide open. The contract offered him is prank-proof. It mitigates risk, first with 50 percent worth of incentives in Bynum's first year and then with a team option for the second year.

They can't really lose unless his immaturity becomes contagious in the locker room.

The leap from "nothing to lose" to "game changer" and "biggest free agent signing in history" is a great one, though. Players seen as huge difference makers usually get more than one contract offer.

It was difficult to bet on great things to come with the track records of the Cavs' two best players, let alone now with their three best:

Kyrie Irving (injuries)

Anderson Varejao (injuries)

Bynum (sometimes insult on top of injuries)

Head coach Mike Brown, who had issues with Bynum in L.A., rightly says Bynum can change games without scoring. But he can't change games in street clothes or even lagging down the floor on bad knees.

The Cavs didn't get a chance to see Bynum work out. The contract they offered tells you they're not exactly comfortable with what they saw on the MRI.

There's a fine line between being naive and chronically hopeful. After so much losing, credit goes to any fan who can still work up a healthy measure of optimism over Bynum.

Not getting the "Wi Tu Low" joke is as naive as Mo Szyslak taking Bart Simpson's call at the bar and paging, "Al ... Al Coholic ... is there an Al Coholic here?"

The definition of eternally hopeful is betting on Bynum. The headline, "Andrew Bynum leads Cavs over Heat in Eastern Conference Finals clincher," isn't totally out of the question. More just out-of-this-world.

SPINOFFS

? Bynum's agent says the player's knees won't prevent him from becoming an All-Star this season.

So it must be true.

? Jets' quarterback Mark Sanchez likes his chances in any quarterback competition.

"I put my money on myself," he said. Which he has proven over his career is easier than putting the ball on the money.

? Metta World Peace said this week he doesn't want to play for any NBA team, that he'd actually rather play in China for Yao Ming's Shanghai Sharks.

He could have ulterior motives for his announcement. If he is offered a job in the NBA and turns it down, he could lose the amnesty money the Lakers paid him.

Or it could have nothing to do with that and he's simply got swept up in Sharknado.

? World Peace (I'll never get tired of writing that) says he is also open to coaching or playing Arena football. He did not rule out baker or candlestick maker either.

? "I have to amnesty my jeans," the player formerly known as Ron Artest said when the Lakers released him. "They're too tight. I think I might also waive my toothbrush. I need a new one."

So the Improv is a career option, too.

? Neighbors said former New England tight end Aaron Hernandez, who is charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd, carried a low profile. Quiet. Kept to himself.

When has that ever been a recipe for criminal intent?

? The NFL is considering not inviting players to the Scouting Combine who are academically ineligible.

The league must feel those players are bringing down its Mensa rating.

? Orioles' first baseman Chris Davis, who has hit 35 homers in 94 games, knows what you're thinking.

"I have never taken them," Davis said of PED use.

If he were sitting in front of Congress and shaking his finger for emphasis, no one would doubt him.

? Manny Ramirez cut his hair at the request of the Texas Rangers, where he plays for the Class AAA Round Rock Express. The team offered a "Manny Markdown" at the team store after a recent game, knocking 5 percent off merchandise every time Manny made an out. He went 0-for-4.

Don't think of Ramirez as washed up. Think of him as washed up and a sideshow.

? Dodgers' phenom Yasiel Puig did not make the National League All-Star team, much to the relief of traditionalists who didn't want to see him rewarded for one good month.

Yes, you wouldn't want a player everybody in baseball is talking about getting a spot in a meaningless exhibition alongside underachieving token players from some of the worst teams in the league.

Integrity protected.

? Too early to know if Danny Salazar could become what Jaret Wright became for the Indians in 1997.

What we know is his 97 mph looks a lot as effortless as ballet to Wright's slam dance.

? Former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader Sarah Jones won a defamation suit against the website TheDirty.com.

As if it's possible to lose a defamation suit against a website called TheDirty.com.

HE SAID IT

"My goal is always to catch 100 balls" -- Jets' tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., failing to meet his goal since 2004.

And falling just 99 short in 2012.

HE SAID WHAT?

"I'm not going to get up here and say we're going to win five championships. I'm not going to do that" -- Dwight Howard at his introductory press conference in Houston.

But can you at least guarantee you'll be happier for more than five minutes?

YOU SAID IT

(The Expanded Sunday Edition)

Bud:

Do you pick your lottery numbers by using Browns and Indians scores? -- Joe S

Yes. I can't think of anything that makes me so optimistic about cashing in an underdog bet than a Browns' score.

Hey, Bud:

If the Cleveland Indians were to package Trevor Bauer and Danny Salazar together, who would be the most Ubaldo Jimenez-like pitcher they could get in return? -- Tim, Twinsburg

That's exactly the kind of optimism I'm talking about.

Bud:

Once he's officially signed, do you think Andrew Bynum will throw a bowling party to kick off his time in Cleveland? -- Kristyn "Oke" Okress

Yes, but it will be bumper bowling with Bynum wearing the bumpers.

Bud:

Not sure why Bauer jumps up for three deteriorating starts with Salazar waiting in the wings? How do we judge potential versus performance? -- Jim Lanese

As the author of "You Said It," I am not familiar with either term.

Bud:

What a desperate and sad state of affairs. A lazy, overweight and knee-buckling player nobody else really wants is pronounced as the "greatest free agent signing in the history of the Cavs." What am I missing? -- Gary Wickliffe

The Kool-Aid truck?

Hey Bud:

It seems no matter where I shop, the cashier hands me the receipt asking me if I wouldn't mind taking a brief online survey rating my shopping experience. Would you ever consider asking your readers to complete a brief survey commenting on your writing skills? -- Ed Stagl, Berea

When your column ranks behind the erectile dysfunction ad nearby for readership, the people have already spoken.

Bud:

Was Tom Heckert's DUI for Driving Under the Influence or Drafting Under the Influence? -- Ron Corbut, Hudson

First-time "You Said It" winners receive a T-shirt from the Mental Floss collection.

Bud:

With the rash of DUIs involving Broncos personnel, will the term "the Drive" take on a new meaning in Denver? -- Joe

Some repeat winners want twice the limit.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/budshaw/index.ssf/2013/07/cleveland_cavaliers_hope_andre.html

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Former governor of Montana won't run for Senate; an opening for GOP?

Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat and former governor of Montana, announced he won't seek the US Senate seat vacated by Sen. Max Baucus next year. Baucus' seat will be a target for Republicans, who need to pick up six seats to control the Senate.

By Matt Gouras,?Associated Press / July 14, 2013

Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer speaks with union representatives at the Montana AFL-CIO annual convention in Billings, Mont., in May. Schweitzer said Saturday, he will not run for Montana's open US Senate seat in 2014, an announcement that complicates Democratic efforts to retain their majority in next year's elections.

Matthew Brown/AP/File

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Popular former Gov. Brian?Schweitzer?said Saturday morning that he will not run for Montana's open US Senate seat in 2014, an announcement that complicates Democratic efforts to retain their majority in next year's elections.

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Schweitzer?told The Associated Press that he doesn't want to leave Montana and go to Washington, D.C.

He had been considered the Democrats best candidate for holding onto the seat being vacated by US Sen. Max Baucus next year.?Schweitzer?said he felt compelled to consider the race only because many in his party said they needed him to run.

"I love Montana. I want to be here. There are all kinds of people that think I ought to be in the United States Senate,"?Schweitzer?said. "I never wanted to be in the United States Senate. I kicked the tires. I walked to the edge and looked over."

But ultimately, he said, "People need to know I am not running for the United States Senate."

The former governor was recently elected board chairman of Stillwater Mining Co., Montana's largest publicly traded company and said he is enjoying his life.

"I have responsibilities here in Montana, my family first. I have taken on a new life at the Stillwater mine. I owe it to the 1,670 people who work at the Stillwater mine that we continue to manage it and make it the best place to work in Montana,"?Schweitzer?said. "This is my home, not Washington, D.C."

Schweitzer?said recent criticism over politically active nonprofits connected to him had no bearing on the decision and said such criticism isn't new.

"This isn't my first rodeo,"?Schweitzer?said.

Montana's open Senate seat is one of several being targeted by Republicans who hope to regain Senate control in the 2014 elections. Republicans need to pick up six seats to win back the majority and enjoy several advantages: the GOP is defending fewer incumbents than Democrats and could benefit from the fact that the party controlling the White House usually loses seats during the midterm election of a second-term president.

Democrats need to defend 21 seats, including seven in largely rural states that Republican Mitt Romney carried in 2012. Republicans hope to unseat four key incumbents: Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Mark Begich of Alaska, Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.

The brash, jeans-wearing?Schweitzer?last year told the AP: "I am not goofy enough to be in the House, and I'm not senile enough to be in the Senate."

The 57-year-old Democrat left office in January after eight years in office with high approval ratings, but he wasn't able to run again because of term limits. The unconventional governor, who easily won re-election in 2008, always displayed a feel for tapping into Montana's conservative-leaning yet libertarian politics.

In Helena, his heavy-handed style proved adept at largely getting his way with the state budget despite fostering a confrontational and sour relationship with majority Republicans. He often touted the state's surpluses at a time when many others were floundering.

The outspoken governor never missed an opportunity to leave a larger-than-life impression. He once stormed New York's Times Square with a bullhorn handing out Montana-made promotional trinkets from a semi-truck.

But?Schweitzer?said he is enjoying pursuits other than politics, with a new lake house and a small ranch in the mountains.

"I don't want a job where I have to wear a suit, and my dog isn't welcome," he said.

Other Democrats who expressed an interest in running, including State Auditor Monica Lindeen and schools Superintendent Denise Juneau, had been waiting on Schweitzer's?decision.

The announcement surprised a Democratic Party that was meeting Saturday in Lewistown for its annual convention, and attention quickly turned to other potential candidates.

"Democrats were ready to get behind him in a bid for US Senate," said Juneau. "Since his announcement, I have been receiving encouragement to run, and I plan to give careful thought to that decision."

State Sen. Kendall Van Dyk of Billings, said he understood the decision to spurn a dysfunctional Congress. "He chose Montana trout over the rattlesnakes," Van Dyk said.

However, he added,?Schweitzer?"has done tremendous things for the state, and any Democrat will tell you he has done tremendous things for the party. Montana needs Brian?Schweitzer. And I believe this isn't the last we have heard of him."

Republicans are hopeful that freshman US Rep. Steve Daines will run for the open seat. Some Republicans are also advocating former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot, who served from 1993 to 2001 and later chaired the Republican National Committee.

Daines said Saturday that he will continue to consider the race.

"My focus is fixed on serving the people of Montana and doing the job they sent me to do," he said in a statement. "I will continue to give this decision the consideration it deserves, and am still taking time to talk with my family and the people of Montana about how I can best be of service to our state."

As?Schweitzer?was mulling his options, the Montana Republican Party circulated a 2010 Internal Revenue Service form that showed a politically active nonprofit group called The Council for a Sustainable America used the same Helena post office box used for?Schweitzer's?2008 re-election campaign and was signed by David Gallik, the state commissioner of political practices appointed by?Schweitzer?at the time.

The Council for a Sustainable America spent about $60,000 on politics in 2010, but it did not say in which races.

Schweitzer?adviser Franklin Hall said at the time the nonprofit was never used for Montana politics or to aid?Schweitzer.

Baucus, 71, announced in April that he was retiring. He was elected to the Senate in 1978 after serving two terms in the House. Baucus, who still controls a healthy campaign war chest, promised Democrats on Saturday he will continue helping them with 2014 elections.

"Brian was a great governor and there's no question he would have made an excellent candidate," Baucus said in a statement. "But we still have a wide field of qualified Montana Democrats who can run and win this seat."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/usa/~3/VDiN6dv6ves/Former-governor-of-Montana-won-t-run-for-Senate-an-opening-for-GOP

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New Jersey one step closer to outlawing conversion therapy for gay youths

By Victoria Cavaliere

(Reuters) - New Jersey's senate approved a bill on Thursday to prevent licensed therapists from counseling gay and lesbian youths to change their sexual orientation, a day after the Supreme Court handed the gay rights movement two significant victories.

The measure will now go to Republican Governor Chris Christie. Christie's office did not comment on whether he would sign or veto the bill, but gay rights advocates expressed optimism that New Jersey would become the second state after California to outlaw conversion therapy for people under the age of 18.

Citing medical and psychiatric research that sexual orientation is determined at birth, the bill would ban state-licensed counselors, therapists and social workers from practicing a method of talk therapy that opponents have said is deeply damaging to the self esteem and identity of gay youths.

The state Senate voted 28 to 9 to outlaw the therapy for minors. The bill was approved by New Jersey's lower house on Monday.

"I think Governor Christie will sign it," said Troy Stevenson, executive director of the gay rights group Garden State Equality. "He's given indication he will and he's fair-minded."

Stevenson said New Jersey's action, "sends a message that this is wrong and that society won't accept it anymore."

Conversion therapy has become increasingly controversial, and last week the California-based Exodus International, a Christian group championing it, apologized for the harm it caused and said it was shutting its doors after 38 years.

The New Jersey measure could face a legal challenge.

"It absolutely violates parental rights," said John Tomicki of the League of American Families.

On Wednesday the Supreme Court struck down a provision of the 17-year-old Defense of Marriage Act that denied federal benefits to same-sex couples in states where they are legally married. The court also declined to rule on a case overturning a lower court decision striking down California's proposition 8, which banned gay marriage. The decision paves the way for same-sex marriage to resume in California.

(Editing by Dina Kyriakidou and Carol Bishopric)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jersey-one-step-closer-outlawing-conversion-therapy-gay-192750366.html

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Analysis: Top court's gay marriage ruling won't be last word

By Joan Biskupic

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Whatever the U.S. Supreme Court decides this month, gay marriage appears destined to face several more years of legal debate and at least one more round of argument at the high court.

That's because a majority of the court's nine justices, based on their record and comments during March's oral arguments, are unlikely to proclaim a national right to same-sex marriage in the pending cases, and momentum for it in the states may soon slow as the battleground moves beyond the Northeast. Any right to gay marriage will come only if the Supreme Court declares it, probably years from now if it should happen.

Gay rights advocates are already girding for the next round of a struggle that stirs cultural, religious and political passions in the United States as elsewhere.

Among the nearly two dozen cases left to decide in the final weeks of the court's term, the two gay rights disputes are among the most closely watched. One is over a provision of the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act that denies U.S. benefits such as Social Security survivor checks for married same-sex couples. In their March hearing the justices appeared poised to invalidate the provision.

The other dispute, with potentially greater impact, tests California's 2008 ban on same-sex marriage. Challengers urged the court to break the ban and rule that gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry. But during arguments in March the justices appeared likely to rule in a way that would affect only Californians. Lower federal courts struck down Proposition 8, and it is improbable that a majority on the high court would reverse that trend and endorse the ban.

By and large, the justices typically keep an eye on the states as they take up major social-policy dilemmas. They may not want to get too far out in front of social changes, aware of the backlash generated 40 years ago when the court established a constitutional right to abortion. The 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, issued just as states were considering related legislation, remains one of the court's most controversial modern rulings.

NEEDED: A NATIONAL WIN

Twelve of the 50 states and the District of Columbia permit gay men and lesbians to marry. Three of the dozen - Delaware, Minnesota and Rhode Island - legalized such unions this year, and the laws take effect this summer, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Close observers of state legislatures say that action in Democrat-dominated states may soon run its course and that about half the states are likely to remain entrenched against gay marriage because of their conservative cast.

Interviewed this week, Theodore Olson, who argued in the Supreme Court against the California ban on gay marriage, said advocates believe they eventually will need a ruling rooted in the U.S. Constitution to make gay marriage legal nationwide.

"We have to win at some point on a national level because not all the states are going to legalize it," Olson said. He would not discount the possibility that the justices would rule broadly this month for gay men and lesbians but said advocates were thinking of the next phase anyway.

Olson and other lawyers seeking a constitutional marriage right say a model state for the next court challenge would be one that meets two main criteria. It would be a place where voters were unlikely to approve gay marriage in the near future, because approval would render any lawsuit moot. Ideally the state also would be in a region where judges are inclined to strike down a ban on same-sex unions, as happened in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit covering California.

One such state might be Virginia, which defined marriage as only between a man and woman in a 2006 state constitutional amendment. It also is one of the five states in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Because of Democratic President Barack Obama's appointments in recent years, that bench has a strong majority of Democratic appointees and may vote more liberally.

Charles Cooper, who argued for the California ban at the Supreme Court in the case of Hollingsworth v. Perry, declined to comment on his side's next steps pending a ruling.

A CIVIL RIGHTS SAGA

While more developments lie ahead, the legal fight over gay marriage already constitutes one of the most concentrated civil rights sagas in U.S. history. Just 20 years ago the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that its state constitution could allow gay marriage, prompting a nationwide backlash and spurring Congress and a majority of states, including Hawaii, to pass laws defining marriage as between only a man and woman.

In 2003, when the top court of Massachusetts established a right to same-sex marriage under its constitution, the action triggered another backlash as states then adopted constitutional amendments against such unions. Five years later, the tide began to reverse, and states slowly began joining Massachusetts in permitting lesbians and gay men to marry. Most of those states are in the Northeast.

Opinion polls show a steady increase in public support for gay marriage, and this month the Pew Research Center found that 51 percent of Americans now favor allowing it. That poll also found that three-quarters of people responding believed legal recognition of same-sex marriage nationwide would happen one day.

That day might not be so soon.

"There may be a slim national majority for same-sex marriage, but there isn't a majority in a large number of states," said Jack Tweedie, director of the children and families program at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Tweedie noted that a majority of states have reinforced their opposition to gay marriage with constitutional amendments in the past decade. About 30 states now have such bans on the books.

Gay rights advocates say if the court strikes down the law denying federal benefits in the case of United States v. Windsor, state action on same-sex marriage might accelerate, especially in states that already allow civil unions for gays and lesbians. Still, lawyer David Codell, who specializes in gay legal rights and is a director at UCLA's Williams Institute, predicted some states would never go that route on their own.

"It seems likely that at some point a constitutional ruling from the court will be necessary for full equality nationwide," he said. "The issue remains tougher than people think."

(Reporting by Joan Biskupic; Editing by Howard Goller and Prudence Crowther)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-top-courts-gay-marriage-ruling-wont-last-051440256.html

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Michael Solomonov's Down The Shore Party At Morgan's Pier Is ...

This year, when Michael Solomonov and Zahav throw their 4th annual Down The Shore Extravaganza ? this year subtitled Klezmer Inferno ? it?s all going down at Morgan?s Pier on July 1st. Featuring foods from your favorite chefs (including Jen Carroll, Terence Feury, David Katz, Nick Macri, Erin O?Shea, Lucio Palazzo, John ?Chainsaw? Taus and Peter Woolsey), a buffet from Solomonov and Zahava, an open bar, and a bunch more; the Klezmer Inferno will feature ?a Studio 54 vibe,? according to Solo. He continued, ?We?ll be getting down all night to the disco-fied beats of the Klezmer band with dishes from some of Philly?s best chefs, dressed in their Disco-best.? We recommend you do the same.

And don?t worry about the weather you dopes, the rain location is set for Union Transfer. Tickets available here, and they?re bound to go quickly, so get on it.

Source: http://www.phoodie.info/2013/06/11/michael-solomonovs-down-the-shore-party-at-morgans-pier-is-going-all-studio-54-this-year/

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Fed stimulus jitters drive Asian shares to 2013 lows

By Chikako Mogi

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares slipped to fresh 2013 lows on Thursday as growing uncertainty on whether the U.S. Federal Reserve would roll back its stimulus this year kept markets on edge, while choppy Japanese equities put pressure on the dollar against the yen.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan extended losses to drop as much as 0.9 percent to its lowest in six months. It had just snapped a four-day losing streak on Tuesday.

Australian shares, tracking a fall on Wall Street overnight, were off 0.6 percent after hitting a fresh 4-1/2-month low earlier. Hong Kong and Shanghai shares were also down. The fall in U.S. equities triggered by soft U.S. data spurred safe-haven bids into U.S. Treasuries on Wednesday.

A report by payrolls processor ADP showed U.S. private employers added 135,000 jobs in May, less than the 165,000 expected, while the Fed's Beige Book also provided a sober reading on hiring. Service-sector data from the Institute for Supply Management also showed employment in that part of the economy grew at its lowest rate in nearly a year in May.

Wednesday's set of U.S. data suggested the country's labour conditions may not yet prompt the Fed to trim its massive bond-buying programme. Still, it has sharpened the markets' focus on the more important monthly nonfarm payrolls data due on Friday.

The U.S. central bank has made an improving jobs situation a precondition for softening its strong stimulus measures. While the latest patch of news undershot expectations, economic reports have generally backed views there is a mild recovery.

"It means the Fed is between a rock and a hard place... There is not really much they can do," said Credit Suisse equity strategist Damien Boey in Sydney.

Japan's Nikkei stock average was back down 0.2 percent on a day of gyrations. After Thursday's opening, it fell 0.9 percent to a two-month-low, then rebounded to be up 1.7 percent before sliding again.

On Wednesday, the Nikkei skidded 3.8 percent, extending a selloff that began on May 23, a day after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested the U.S. central bank could start paring bond purchases as soon as the Fed's next few meetings if the economy improves further.

On top on the shaky global mood, Tokyo's tumble in the last session was sparked by disappointment that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's latest tranche of measures to revive the world's third-biggest economy dodged some of the tough issues.

"Abe should have delivered a simple message clarifying the image of what Japan will look like in a few years, giving something concrete such as a potential growth rate or how many jobs may be created as a result of these steps," said Tetsuya Inoue, a senior researcher at Nomura Research Institute.

"The government is on the right track, but the announcement was ill-timed, coming just when jittery markets were looking for something to soothe their battered sentiment. But the Nikkei now offers a good value for long-term investors who missed the sharp and rapid rally into the May peak," Inoue said, referring to the Nikkei's 5-1/2-year peak scaled just before the sell-off.

Currency markets have been taking their cues from the Nikkei and its volatility put a cap on the dollar.

The dollar was up 0.1 percent against the yen at 99.20, after suffering a one-percent fall overnight. The dollar index, measured against a basket of six key currencies, was steady but near Monday's three-week low of 82.428.

"The dollar's longer-term bullish outlook remains intact as the Fed will eventually start scaling down its stimulus if jobs continue to be added, while the Bank of Japan will expand its monetary base. Current market sentiment is very bearish, but it's hard to see a sharper dollar selling from here," said Yuji Saito, director of foreign exchange at Credit Agricole in Tokyo.

The euro was steady around $1.3092, showing resilience despite weak data.

European shares dropped to six-week lows on Wednesday after data indicated business activity in the euro zone eased in May and retail sales in April indicated weak consumer demand.

The data kept pressure on the European Central Bank to do more to stimulate growth, but was not seen as changing the prevailing view that the ECB will leave monetary policy unchanged at a Thursday meeting.

U.S. crude futures held steady around $93.75 a barrel while Brent eased 0.2 percent to $102.83.

(Additional reporting by Maggie Lu Yueyang in Sydney; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Richard Borsuk)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fed-stimulus-jitters-volatile-nikkei-weigh-asian-shares-010932109.html

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