Saturday, December 31, 2011

Investing in Pure Gas Companies ? ArticleDevlist / Dofollow Article ...

As oil stocks run low and also the danger of world warming proceeds to loom about the
horizon like a dim cloud, increasingly companies are turning to alternative sources of gasoline.
Normal gas suppliers becoming among them, there is generally a tendencyamongst huge investors to
consider the initiative and begin profiteering from it. Nevertheless, just as unpredictable for the reason that
climate, there are a number of uncertainties that stand from the strategy for real investment. If you should
are eager to enterprise intosuch an investment it could be well worth your although to know what to take
under consideration ahead of investing in all natural gas organisations.

A Commodity Like several Other

Amongst the earliest and foremost basic steps an enthusiastic investor really should just take is of creating a
acutely aware realization of the inescapable fact that pure fuel is like any other commodity, like oil,
tobacco or silver. In order you embark in the fantastic journey
of investing with the commodity, it?s important that you simply target your focus on shifting gasoline
costs. Of note may be the likely cessation of exploration activities because of commodity rates
getting lower. It just would not make perception for firms to keep going with manufacturing when
commodity selling prices are small simply because they could well be compelled to operate beneath the blanket of reduction.

The Regulations Of Supply And Desire

The laws of supply and desire obviously state which the selling price of a commodity will effortlessly
raise when offer is minimal and desire is huge. Along with the reverse nonetheless rings true for a retailer
can?t assume to peg excessive costs for his excess
goods as soon as the need for them is painfully low. The seasonal shift from summer to winter season
usually sees an increase while in the demand for fuel, and the demand is even bigger when the climate
forecaster predicts a colder than regular winter season. Any
investor have to continually remain abreast of like predictions, coupled with consider the possibilities
profitability of investing inside the coldest areas on the planet.

The Sliding Scale Vs Certainty

When all is said and undertaken any investor wishes to understand regardless if a specific investment option is
sustainable under the center wrenching sliding scale of uncertainty. From a business stage of
watch, a person may well shy away from investing in
natural gasoline companies on account of regular fears surrounding shifting commodity price tags. However,
investing in them seriously isn?t a negative plan in any respect. The winter months will constantly be the silent
backbone of these kinds of purely natural gasoline vendors and so will be the
strategic mapping out of profitable markets. With the conclusion belonging to the day normal gasoline businesses recover
rather fairly quickly quickly following the passage of summer and they rake in sizeable profits from
countries just where electric power cuts and high vitality rates
formulate demand.

Investing in natural gas shares is basically a video game of give and just take. If the time is right
also, the situations are particular, gains may be manufactured. Th secret to investing in all-natural fuel
vendors is usually to try to remember the laws and regulations of provide and
desire, to derive determination during the prospect of inevitabgle returns and to realise that purely natural
gas is a commodity like several other.

Looking for news and investing advice that you can count on? Well turn to us for investment news. Find all your investing needs around topics such as investment news and so much more today!

Source: http://articledevlist.com/2011/12/29/investing-in-pure-gas-companies/

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Demotivational Poster: Interplanetary Communications ? Vulcan ...

Greetings, welcome to the database of Stev, the Vulcan currently on assigment somewhere in the American Heartland.

Vulcan Stev's Database is a chronicle of his viewpoints on life, a repository for his Demotivational Posters, and a place to store the cool stuff he puts together in Photoshop

Enjoy your visit. It is a logical place to be.

Live Long and Prosper

Source: http://vulcanstev.wordpress.com/2011/12/29/demotivational-poster-interplanetary-communications/

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PS Vita sales falter in Japan

Sony's brand new PS Vita sold only 72,479 units in the week leading up to Christmas, according to unofficial figures.

The Media Create Co. in Japan reckon that uptake has dropped from promising estimated opening week sales of 324,859.

Sony has declined to comment on the reports, but if the figures prove to be accurate it would surely represent a disastrous return for the company.

Too costly?

The feeling in Sony's native Japan appears to be that the retail price of the handheld console and the accompanying launch titles are just too high.

It wasn't until a drastic early price cut that sales of the Nintendo 3DS sparked into life and Sony may have to follow suit if the PS Vita is to enjoy a similar fate.

The console launches in the UK and United States on 22 February and will cost ?229.99, while top titles like Uncharted will be a whopping ?44.99.

Via: PC Magazine

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PatDollard: Happy New Year From The Israel Defense Forces http://t.co/nppPMmRG #tcot

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NewsDaily: Analysis: Manning's legal strategy could lead to plea deal

Analysis: Manning's legal strategy could lead to plea deal


By Andrew LongstrethPosted 2011/12/28 at 7:23 pm EST

NEW YORK, Dec. 28, 2011 (Reuters) ? While it may appear that the government's document-leaking case against U.S. Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning is strong, the defense could have some surprising leverage with prosecutors and force plea negotiations.

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning (C) is escorted by military police from the courthouse after the sixth day of his Article 32 hearing at Fort Meade, Maryland, December 21, 2011. REUTERS/Benjamin Myers


Prosecutors may in particular find it difficult to prove the 24-year-old Manning intended to provide the information to enemies of the United States such as al Qaeda, and that the information was helpful to them, legal experts said.

Manning faces 22 charges of participating in the largest leak of classified government documents in history, including the accusation that he had unauthorized possession of information related to national defense and that he stole records belonging to the United States.

At a hearing that concluded last week, military prosecutors presented evidence that Manning downloaded thousands of classified or confidential files that later made their way to the WikiLeaks website. In his closing summation at the hearing, Captain Ashden Fein, the lead prosecutor, said Manning was a well-trained soldier who "used that training to defy our trust."

"He gave the enemies of the United States unfettered access to these documents," Fein said.

Manning's case is being reviewed by investigating officer Lieutenant Colonel Paul Almanza, who will make a recommendation by January 16 on whether or not the military should court-martial Manning.

A court-martial, which could be a few months away, is not much different from a civilian criminal trial. The charges against the accused in a court-martial must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, just like in civilian court.

The biggest difference is that jurors in a court-martial consist exclusively of members of the military. There were about

1,900 Army courts-martial in fiscal year 2010 and about 60 acquittals, according to U.S. military justice statistics.

If convicted of all counts, Manning would face a maximum punishment of life imprisonment, reduction in rank to the lowest enlisted pay grade, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and a dishonorable discharge, the Army says. The charge of aiding the enemy is a capital offense, but the Army has indicated it will not seek the death penalty.

'SKY IS NOT FALLING'

Although legal observers agree the government's case is a good one, some speculate that prosecutors could have a tough time proving the most serious charge that Manning gave information to the enemy.

During the preliminary hearing, Manning's lawyer, David Coombs, sought to demonstrate that the audience for the leaked information was not foes of the United States, but the American people, and that the country was not put in any danger due to the leaks.

"The sky is not falling, the sky has not fallen and the sky will not fall," said Coombs.

Some military law experts also question whether the government will be able to prove that Manning intended the information to reach militant groups such as al Qaeda. Merely proving that he intended the information to be displayed on the WikiLeaks website may not be enough to convict him of that charge, said some experts.

It could also be difficult for the government to prove that the information was particularly valuable to al Qaeda, said Eugene Fidell, who teaches military law at Yale Law School.

"What is it that he has told al Qaeda indirectly that is of value to al Qaeda? Is everything that is hurtful to the United States in the eyes of the world of value to al Qaeda? I don't think so," Fidell said.

"If you can win one battle there and have the government say, 'Nah, that's not such a good idea we go forward on that charge,' then that's a windfall for the defense before the trial begins," Velloney said.

Coombs has signaled he also has some cards to play at any potential sentencing. At a court-martial, there are two stages -- one to determine culpability and the other to determine a sentence. During the sentencing stage, the defense can offer extenuating and mitigating circumstances that would justify a lighter sentence than sought by the government

Throughout the hearing to determine whether a court-martial is appropriate, Coombs attempted to portray Manning as emotionally unstable with gender-identity issues who should not have had access to sensitive government files.

Combs cited emails and memos showing that Manning's superiors were aware of his gender issues and his need for therapy. But no effective action was taken, Coombs argued. The same arguments about Manning's unit could be presented at any potential sentencing.

"They're going to air all the government's dirty laundry," said Velloney. "It potentially softens the government in any plea deal."

(Reporting by Andrew Longstreth; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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Source: http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre7bs00b-us-usa-defense-manning/

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Abortion, immigration changes among new 2012 laws (AP)

Girls seeking abortions in New Hampshire must first tell their parents or a judge, employers in Alabama must verify new workers' U.S. residency, and California students will be the first in the country to receive mandatory lessons about the contributions of gays and lesbians under state laws set to take effect at the start of 2012.

Many laws reflect the nation's concerns over immigration, the cost of government and the best way to protect and benefit young people, including regulations on sports concussions.

Alabama, with the country's toughest immigration law, is enacting a key provision requiring all employers who do business with any government entity to use a federal system known as E-Verify to check that all new employees are in the country legally.

Georgia is putting a similar law into effect requiring any business with 500 or more employees to use E-Verify to check the employment eligibility of new hires. The requirement is being phased in, with all employers with more than 10 employees to be included by July 2013.

Supporters said they wanted to deter illegal immigrants from coming to Georgia by making it tougher for them to work. Critics said that changes to immigration law should come at the federal level and that portions of the law already in effect are already hurting Georgia.

"It is destroying Georgia's economy and it is destroying the fabric of our social network in South Georgia," Paul Bridges, mayor of the onion-farming town of Uvalda, said in November. He is part of a lawsuit challenging the new law.

Tennessee will also require businesses to ensure employees are legally authorized to work in the U.S. but exempts employers with five or fewer workers and allows them to keep a copy of the new hire's driver's license instead of using E-Verify.

A South Carolina law would allow officials to yank the operating licenses of businesses that don't check new hires' legal status through E-verify. A federal judge last week blocked parts of the law that would have required police to check the immigration status of criminal suspects or people stopped for traffic violations they think might be in the country illegally, and that would have made it a crime for illegal immigrants to transport or house themselves.

California is also addressing illegal immigration, but with a bill that allows students who entered the country illegally to receive private financial aid at public colleges.

Many laws aim to protect young people. In Colorado, coaches will be required to bench players as young as 11 when they're believed to have suffered a head injury. The young athletes will also need medical clearance to return to play.

The law also requires coaches in public and private schools and even volunteer Little League and Pop Warner football coaches to take free annual online training to recognize the symptoms of a concussion. At least a dozen other states have enacted similar laws with the support of the National Football League.

People 18 and under in Illinois will have to wear seat belts while riding in taxis for school-related purposes, and Illinois school boards can now suspend or expel students who make explicit threats on websites against other students or school employees.

Florida will take control of lunch and other school food programs from the federal government, allowing the state to put more Florida-grown fresh fruit and vegetables on school menus. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam says the change will help children eat healthier.

A California law will add gays and lesbians and people with disabilities to the list of social and ethnic groups whose contributions must be taught in history lessons in public schools. The law also bans teaching materials that reflect poorly on gays or particular religions.

Opponents have filed five potential initiatives to repeal the requirement outright or let parents remove their children while gays' contributions are being taught.

In New Hampshire, a law requiring girls seeking abortions to tell their parents or a judge first was reinstated by conservative Republicans over a gubernatorial veto. The state enacted a similar law eight years ago, but it was never enforced following a series of lawsuits.

In Arkansas, facilities that perform 10 or more nonsurgical abortions a month must be licensed by the state Health Department and be subject to inspections by the department, the same requirements faced by facilities that offer surgical abortions in the state.

It affects two Planned Parenthood facilities that offer the abortion pill, though they're not singled out in the statute.

Among federal laws, a measure Congress passed last week to extend Social Security tax cuts and federal unemployment benefit programs raises insurance fees on new mortgages and refinancings backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration by 0.1 percent beginning Jan. 1.

That covers about 90 percent of them and effectively makes a borrower's monthly payment on a new $200,000 mortgage or refinancing about $17 a month more than it would have been if obtained before the first of the year.

Nevada's 3-month old ban on texting while driving will get tougher, with tickets replacing the warnings that police have issued since the ban took effect Oct. 1. In Pennsylvania, police are preparing to enforce that state's recently enacted ban on texting, scheduled to take effect by spring.

Election law changes in Rhode Island and Tennessee will require voters to present photo ID, a measure that supporters say prevents fraud and that opponents say will make it harder for minorities and the elderly to cast ballots.

In Ohio, a measure that creates one primary in March, instead of two that would have cost the state an extra $15 million, goes into effect later in January.

Ohio is also one of eight states with automatic increases in the minimum wage taking effect Jan. 1. The others, with increases between 28 and 37 cents, are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

A few laws try to address budget woes. In Delaware, new state employees will have to contribute more to their pensions, while state workers hired after Jan. 1 in Nevada will have to pony up for their own health care costs in retirement.

Jan. 1 is the effective date in many states for laws passed during this year's legislative sessions. In others, laws take effect July 1, or 90 days after passage.

___

Welsh-Huggins reported from Columbus, Ohio, and can be reached at http://twitter.com/awhcolumbus.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_re_us/us_new_laws

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Jones-Drew: Suits fuel NFL's concussion crackdown

FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2011 file photo, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew (32) is tackled by Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker Quincy Black (58) and middle linebacker Mason Foster (59) during the second half of an NFL football game, in Jacksonville, Fla. Ask Jones-Drew whether he would try to play through a concussion or yank himself from a game, and he provides a straightforward answer. "Hide it," the NFL's leading rusher says. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2011 file photo, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew (32) is tackled by Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker Quincy Black (58) and middle linebacker Mason Foster (59) during the second half of an NFL football game, in Jacksonville, Fla. Ask Jones-Drew whether he would try to play through a concussion or yank himself from a game, and he provides a straightforward answer. "Hide it," the NFL's leading rusher says. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton, File)

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew (32) scores a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)

(AP) ? Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew says lawsuits have fueled the NFL's crackdown on concussions.

The league's leading rusher spoke out about the issue again Wednesday, nearly a week after telling The Associated Press he would hide a concussion to stay in a game.

Jones-Drew has been questioned several times about his concussion views since. His latest comments are his strongest.

He says until recent years there "wasn't this big deal about concussions," and adds "the only reason they're making a big deal about concussions right now is because the league is getting sued over it."

He reiterates that he knows the risk of playing such a physical game, calling injuries an "occupational hazard." He adds that "you have to be willing to accept it, and I am."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-28-Jones-Drew-Concussions/id-c0f65d21f49a436a8fec3660d005d97c

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Mayor-elect picks Barker, Horne for city posts

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Source: http://www.thecourier.com/articleredirector.asp?d=122911_story2&c=n

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Accessory Does the iPod - iPhone cord work?

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Source: http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-tab-7-0-plus/471826-does-ipod-iphone-cord-work.html

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Cheapism: The best batteries for less than $10

Duracell CopperTop alkaline batteries are lauded for their longevity.

By Kara Reinhardt, Cheapism.com

For months, holiday toys and gadgets have been flashing, spinning, and flying all over TV. The commercials often end with fine print, read at our-lawyers-told-us-to-say-this speed: batteries not included. Perhaps gift tags should come with the same sort of disclaimer. Without the right batteries, even the most marvelous electronic toy is reduced to an inert hunk of plastic.

Before you dash out to pick up any old double-As, know that cheap, no-name batteries made from carbon zinc or zinc chloride cost the least but don?t represent the best value. You?re better off stepping up to a more powerful, longer lasting alkaline or nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery from a brand such as Duracell, Sanyo, or Sony.

Alkaline batteries are by far the most common. They power ?low-drain? devices such as clocks and TV remotes. NiMH batteries are rechargeable and designed to run digital cameras, power tools, and other ?high-drain? devices. A charger costs an extra $15 to $20 up front but saves money in the long run; it can juice up spent batteries hundreds of times, keeping you from having to buy new ones. One drawback to NiMH batteries is that they lose their charge relatively quickly when not in use. Within a month they can creep down to 60 percent capacity?? or even less than that if stored at temperatures higher than 70 degrees, according to Green Batteries. The exception is low self-discharge batteries, which employ new technology and come pre-charged.

NiMH and alkaline batteries can be interchangeable, but it?s best to use whichever is recommended for your device. Alkaline units produce 1.5 volts of electric charge and NiMH batteries produce 1.2 volts. The higher the capacity ? as measured in milliampere hours, or mAh ? the longer the battery should last. Both alkaline and NiMH batteries come in AAA, AA, C, and D. Alkaline batteries can be tossed in the garbage two at a time, while NiMH batteries must be recycled.

Below are Cheapism?s top picks for affordable batteries. We?ve recommended either AA or AAA for each one, but performance reviews of one size generally extend to the other as well. Note that batteries come in different size packages depending on the brand and the vendor, so consider the per-unit cost before making a purchase.

  • Sanyo Eneloop pre-charged rechargeable batteries (starting at $9.50 for a 4-pack) have a capacity of 800 mAh and can be revived up to 1,500 times. These AAAs win fans for their low rate of self-discharge, which gives them a longer shelf life than other NiMH batteries. (Where to buy)
  • Duracell CopperTop alkaline batteries (starting at $10 for a 20-pack) are cited in reviews for their longevity. Consumers and experts report successfully using these AA batteries in devices such as flashlights, smoke alarms, and radios. (Where to buy)
  • Sony rechargeable batteries (starting at $8.60 for a 4-pack) boast a capacity of 900 mAh, and for the most part reviewers are satisfied with how long they last. These AAA NiMH batteries can be recharged up to 300 times. (Where to buy)
  • Rayovac alkaline batteries (starting at $10 for a 30-pack) are another reliable AA option. Users posting reviews consider them an excellent value. (Where to buy)

More from Cheapism:
Cheap Batteries
Cheap Toys
Cheap Scooters
Cheap New Year?s

Source: http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/28/9665524-cheapism-the-best-batteries-for-less-than-10

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Philippine President Aquino pardons British drug trafficker

By BNO News

MANILA (BNO NEWS) -- Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III has pardoned a British national who was arrested and convicted of drug trafficking in the early 1990s, the presidential palace confirmed on Monday. He will be deported back to England.

William Robert Burton was arrested in December 1992 while attempting to smuggle 5.6 kilograms (12.3 pounds) of marijuana through Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. He was sentenced in 1993 to life imprisonment by a local court.

Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte told reporters during a news conference on Monday that Aquino has decided to grant a conditional pardon to Burton. He did not explain why Burton deserves a pardon, but reports have indicated that his health is deteriorating quickly after being diagnosed with an illness.

The pardon includes several conditions which Burton must abide to after he has been released from prison and turned over to the Bureau of Immigration. He has been ordered to pay a fine of 20,000 Philippine pesos ($430), he will accept a voluntary deportation back to England and promise never to return to the Philippines and pay for all transportation expenses.

Burton lived in the northern English village of Rufforth in North Yorkshire before his arrest in 1992.

(Copyright 2011 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)

Monday, December 26th, 2011 at 5:56 am | BNO News | Leave a Comment

Source: http://wireupdate.com/philippine-president-aquino-pardons-british-drug-trafficker.html

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Mexico, Guatemala collaborate to strengthen border security

backgroundblue line Monday 26th December, 2011

Mexico, Guatemala collaborate to strengthen border security ??



?????Monday 26th December, 2011??Source: People's Daily ??
Mexican President Felipe Calderon (L) and his Guatemalan counterpart Alvaro Colom arrive at a joint press conference at the official residence Los Pinos, in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, on July 27, 2011.
(Xinhua/David de la Paz)

Breaking News
Monday 26th December, 2011


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Doctors, moms take on No. 1 polluter in Utah (AP)

SALT LAKE CITY ? When winter comes to Utah and atmospheric conditions trap a soup of pollutants close to the ground, doctors say it turns every resident in the Salt Lake basin into the equivalent of a cigarette smoker.

For days or weeks at a time, an inversion layer in which high pressure systems can trap a roughly 1,300-foot-thick layer of cold air ? and the pollutants that build up inside it ? settles over the basin, leaving some people coughing and wheezing.

"There's no safe level of particulate matter you can breathe," said Salt Lake City anesthesiologist Cris Cowley, who is among a number of Utah doctors raising the alarm over some of the nation's worst wintertime air.

The doctors and a lobby group of Utah mothers are blaming a company that mines nearly a mile deep in the largest open pit in the world for contributing one-third of Salt Lake County's pollution. The rest is from tailpipe and other emissions.

They have filed a lawsuit against Kennecott Utah Copper, accusing it of violating the U.S. Clean Air Act. The company operates with the consent of state regulators who enforce the federal law.

The company is the No. 1 industrial air polluter along Utah's heavily populated 120-mile Wasatch Front and operates heavy trucks and power and smelter plants. It says the claims are "without merit."

Kennecott cites the blessing of Utah regulators for expanded operations and new controls that hold emissions steady.

Utah's chief air regulator, however, acknowledged Kennecott is technically violating a 1994 plan adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that limited the company to hauling 150 million tons of ore a year out of the Bingham Canyon Mine.

Utah has twice allowed the company to exceed that limit, most recently to 260 million tons, as the company moves to expand a mine in the mountains west of Salt Lake City. In each case, Utah sought EPA's consent, but the EPA didn't take any action.

The lawsuit could force EPA's hand, said Bryce Bird, director of the Utah Division of Air Quality.

Bird said the old limit would defeat changes Kennecott made to curb dust and emissions since 1994.

The EPA rules that set production instead of emissions limits puts many companies in a similarly "awkward position" and undermines confidence in Utah's air pollution permits, Bird said.

Kennecott disputes the doctors' figure and says it contributes about 16 percent of Salt Lake County's overall emissions.

An examination by The Associated Press of emissions figures provided by Kennecott to state regulators shows the company's share of pollutants ranges from 65 percent of Salt Lake County's sulfur dioxide emissions to 18 percent of its particulates.

Particulates are tiny flecks of dust that doctors say can attract heavy metals. The particulates are ingested through the nose and lungs and can become lodged in brain tissue. They are especially damaging to the development of children.

Medical research has found that the first few minutes of exposure to air pollution does the most damage, with many people's bodies able to react and fight off longer bouts of exposure, the doctors said.

Yet exposure to dust, soot and gaseous chemicals constricts vessels and send blood pressure soaring, making some people's hearts flutter and spiking emergency hospital visits while putting fetuses in the womb at risk, the doctors say.

"Rio Tinto is making our blood vessels act as if they were seven years older," said Dr. Claron Alldredge, an opthamologist at LDS Hospital. "One year after returning to Utah after practicing elsewhere, I began to have high blood pressure myself."

Kennecott is a subsidiary of the international mining conglomerate Rio Tinto, which posts billions of dollars of profit a year and can afford to clean up its act, said Cherise Udell, founder of Utah Moms for Clean Air.

"This is not an attempt to shut down their mine," she said.

Kennecott said its takes improving air quality seriously, and Bird noted that while Kennecott is Salt Lake County's largest industrial source of air pollution, it has accomplished the largest reductions through better emissions controls.

"Kennecott has and continues to operate within the parameters of its air permits and is consistently in compliance with U.S. EPA and Utah Division of Air Quality regulations, which are based on strict standards for protecting human health," the company said.

The doctors are members of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, which joined Udell's group in the lawsuit filed at Salt Lake City's federal court last week by lawyers for WildEarth Guardians of Santa Fe, N.M.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111226/ap_on_he_me/us_air_quality_utah

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Monday, December 26, 2011

Police: Florida man shot while trying to sell car

Police say a South Florida man trying to sell his car was shot by the prospective buyer.

Boynton Beach Police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater says police called to the scene Sunday found the man standing next to his car and smoking a cigarette in spite of a gunshot wound to the upper left side of his chest.

The man told police he was selling his Cadillac and had taken a potential buyer for a test drive.

According to police, the buyer tried to rob the car's owner at gunpoint.

The owner told police he defended himself with a knife concealed in his cane before he was shot. The buyer fled on foot.

Slater says the Cadillac's owner was hospitalized and expected to live. Police are searching for the gunman.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/25/2561528/police-florida-man-shot-while.html

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Motorola Droid Xyboard 10.1 hands-on impressions (video)

Don't call it a comeback, it's a Xyboard -- Motorola's rebranded (for the US, anyway) Xoom 2. A 10.1-inch attempt at sidestepping the original Xoom's notoriety. With baked-in LTE of the Verizon variety, a slimmer waistline and a distinctive design, this Android 3.2 tablet could very well inject a dose of excitement back into the company's flagging category appeal. But with the spotlight-stealing ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime already on the map and dazzling consumers with its notebook-like functionality, will anyone even notice Moto's second swing at Honeycomb? Are LTE speeds and an improved silhouette enough to lure wayward users back into the company's willing embrace? Does anyone even care about non-Ice Cream Sandwich tablets? Read on as we explore the odd ends and angles of this curiously-shaped slate.

Continue reading Motorola Droid Xyboard 10.1 hands-on impressions (video)

Motorola Droid Xyboard 10.1 hands-on impressions (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

History of Major Oil Spill Disasters (ContributorNetwork)

An oil leak off the coast of Nigeria is considered by experts to be the worst oil spill in nearly a decade for the western African nation that is one of chief exporters of petroleum products to the United States.

Here is a list of some other major oil disasters:

* 2011 Nigerian Shell Oil -- Nearly two million gallons of oil have leaked from the Bongo oil production facility off the Nigerian coast. Associated Press reported that the spill likely occurred while offloading petroleum on to an awaiting tanker. More than 50 percent of the leaking oil has been recovered or evaporated, according to representatives from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency. The production field is a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell Oil and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

* 2010 Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon -- Nearly 200 million gallons of oil pumped into the Gulf of Mexico following at explosion that killed 11 rig workers at the Deepwater Horizon platform. Associated Press reports that BP paid billions of dollars to families, area industry and business and in clean-up expenses from the worst disaster in the Gulf, but still faces a significant charge for unresolved claims and fines. Litigation between Halliburton, Transocean and other partners is likely to take years to resolve in the courts.

* 1998 Nigerian Mobil Oil -- Nearly 40 million barrels of oil seeped into the ocean waters off the coast of Nigerian when a 24-inch underwater pipeline crack went unnoticed overnight, according to a report by The New York Times. Publicity about the disaster was stifled by a military government intent on lessening the damage from the spill. Exaggerated compensation claims from residents in the affected coastal areas - amounting to $4.5 billion in a single day -- plagued Mobil officials for months afterwards.

* 1989 Exxon Valdez -- Nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil were spilled into the Prince William Sound when the tanker Exxon Valdez struck a reef. According to the EPA, it was the largest oil spill in American history (up to that time) and challenged federal, state and local authorities to work with company officials in an enormous clean-up effort. Many oil leak recovery processes used today were developed or perfected during this crisis, including use of dispersants that were deemed ineffective in the Sound. Congress reacted by strengthening the role of the U.S. Coast Guard in monitoring oil tankers.

Dan McGinnis is a freelance writer, published author and former newspaper publisher. He has been a candidate, campaign manager and press secretary for state and local political campaigns for more than 30 years.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111223/wl_ac/10736599_history_of_major_oil_spill_disasters

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Video: Tech Check: The Red Camera

CNBC's Jon Fortt reports on Red Studios, a company that created the professional and high quality digital video camera.

Related Links:

Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45780011/

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International Man of Mystery: Kim Jong Il's Russian Roots and Travels (Time.com)

During the handful of visits that Kim Jong Il made to Russia throughout his life, he never once stopped by his birthplace, the dirt-road village of Vyatskoye in the Russian Far East. Frozen for much of the year and reduced now to a population of mostly geriatric farmers, the village lies a short train ride from Russia's border with North Korea, the hermit state Kim ruled for 17 years until his death this Saturday, Dec. 17. According to Soviet records, Kim was born there as Yury Irsenovich Kim, the son of a rank and file officer of the Red Army, Kim Il-Sung, whom Stalin later nominated to lead North Korea.

"When we were alone together, of course we talked about the place of his birth," says Konstantin Pulikovsky, the Kremlin's former envoy to the Far East, who would escort Kim during the visits he made to Russia on his armored train. "I told him a bit about it. I told him that his father's house is preserved and that many of the villagers remember him. He listened carefully and never denied a thing. But he asked me never to publicize it, and he never asked to go there," Pulikovsky tells TIME. (See photos: "Mourning the Dear Leader.")

Publicizing Kim's beginnings, especially with a visit from the North Korean tyrant himself, would risk shattering the lie that the Kim family has been telling its subjects for decades. As the official legend has it, Kim was born atop a sacred mountain in Japanese-occupied North Korea, under a double rainbow that rose to greet the infant Kim and a new star that began shining in the sky. "This was all hogwash, of course," says Pulikovsky. "It was meant for internal consumption, and we respected that."

The real story of Kim's birth, however, seemed to be at the root of the personal and political connection he always felt toward Russia, one of the few allies that North Korea kept through its decades of isolation. Kim's last foreign visit, which he made on his armored train this August, just a few months before his death, was to Siberia, where he met with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. It was seen as Kim's latest effort to balance against China's influence by nuzzling up to Moscow, and at the time, Kim was also busy grooming his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, to succeed him. Many Russian officials expected Kim to bring his heir along to help ensure that the bond between the two countries would not be broken after Kim's death.

But he did not, and the future of that relationship, like so much of North Korea's future, is now up in the air. Pulikovsky, who formed a closer friendship with Kim than any other Russian official in modern times ("We are both Aquarius, so we would always call to say happy birthday and try to meet up."), only met Kim's youngest son once, during a holiday he took with his family to Pyongyang a few years ago. The older Kim introduced him as his heir, Pulikovsky recalls, "But the boy didn't say a word." (See "The Koreas: To Reunify or Not?")

Kim Jong Un's personality, and even his exact birth date, remains a mystery, while Korea watchers have harped on his reported love of American basketball to suggest that he might take a softer line than his father in relations with the West. But this is all guesswork so far, and experts in Moscow are convinced that the younger Kim will stick to Pyongyang's traditional older brothers, Russia and China. "North Korea simply has nowhere else to turn," says Alexander Lukin, the head of the East Asia department at the Russian Foreign Ministry's institute of diplomacy. "Economically it is totally dependent on China, because it doesn't really produce anything of its own," Lukin says. "And in the last years of his life, Kim Jong-Il did his best to cozy up to Russia more and more, mainly to show that his dependence on the Chinese is not so one-sided."

That is the double-game that North Korea will likely continue to play, because it is practically the only one the Kim family knows. Russia, for its part, seems ready to keep playing along. When news of Kim's death broke on Monday, the Kremlin sent its condolences to his heir, and on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited the North Korean embassy in Moscow to pay his respects. (Tellingly, Russia extended no such gesture to the Czech Republic after that country's former president, Vaclav Havel, died on Sunday. In the late 1980s, Havel led Czechoslovakia's peaceful revolution against Soviet rule. His death did not warrant so much as a word on the Kremlin website.)

But it is far from clear what Russia has to gain from its doting relations with North Korea, which still owes Russia $11 billion in debt from the Soviet era. "In terms of trade, I know they import our celluloid visors to put on their military caps, which tells you something about their industrial relevance," says Georgy Kunadze, Russia's former ambassador to South Korea. "But the fact that we have a paranoid regime on our borders should not make us temper our assessment of North Korea," adds Kunadze, who led a Kremlin mission in 1993 to re-establish relations with Pyongyang after the fall of the Soviet Union. "We need to remember that North Korea has never made good on its agreements with Russia, has never consulted us before jumping into one of its adventures," including its testing of nuclear weapons in 2006 and 2009, or its decision to shell a South Korean island last year. (See TIME's Person of the Year: The Protester.)

So for Russia, North Korea remains almost as much of a nuisance as it is for the West, and in some ways an even more dangerous one, because a nuclear accident in North Korea would inevitably spill radiation onto Russian territory. Yet Moscow shows no sign of toughening its stance. It has long supported United Nations sanctions against North Korea's nuclear program, but has also gone out of its way to make the regime feel loved. In August, when Medvedev flew to Siberia to meet with Kim Jong Il, he again pledged to build a gas pipeline and a railroad to North Korea. The state news agency KCNA described their meeting as "overflowing with friendship." This allowed Pyongyang to send a familiar message to both China and the West: if you cross us, we still have a powerful ally in Moscow. As Pulikovsky recalls, this has long been Kim's favorite diplomatic trick.

Soon after U.S. President George W. Bush branded North Korea a member of the "axis of evil" in 2002, Kim travelled to Russia to meet with then President Vladimir Putin, and he asked Pulikovsky to do him a peculiar favor. "He told me, 'Konstantin, when the official meeting [with Putin] is over, I want to sit down with him in private for ten minutes, with no one in the room, not even interpreters. I need to tell him something." That evening, the private meeting was arranged, and as Pulikovsky escorted Kim back toward the border afterward, his curiosity got to him. "I asked him, 'Comrade Kim, if it's no secret, why did you need these ten minutes?'" Pulikovsky says. "And he smiled at me and said, 'What's the difference? The point is for Bush to wonder what we were talking about.' For me that was classic Kim. He always found some way to get snagged in your thoughts, to make himself into a mystery."

See rare pictures from inside North Korea.

See TIME's top 10 everything of 2011.

View this article on Time.com

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/nkorea/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/time/20111221/wl_time/08599210291700

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Yahoo to weigh deals for Asian assets: sources (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Yahoo Inc is discussing a plan to slash its stakes in China's Alibaba Group and its Japanese affiliate as part of a complicated share transaction valued at roughly $17 billion, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The deal is expected to be considered by Yahoo's board on Thursday, one of the sources said, adding that the board was not interested in entertaining offers for the entire company at this point.

In the deal under contemplation, Yahoo would effectively transfer most of its 40 percent slice of Alibaba back to the Chinese company and all of its stake in Yahoo Japan to Softbank Corp in return for cash and assets, one of the sources said.

The exact value of the deal would depend on how the assets are valued, one source said.

Shares of Yahoo, which had languished in the red along with much of the technology sector on Wednesday, reversed course and ended the session almost 6 percent higher at $15.99.

Yahoo was not immediately available for comment. The possible deals were first reported in The New York Times.

(Reporting by Paritosh Bansal and Peter Lauria in New York, editing by Matthew Lewis)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111221/wr_nm/us_yahoo

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India soy oil to rise on thin supply

Edible oil prices might resume their uptrend today as soybean supplies are reported to be lower in 2012.

Palm oil supplies from Malaysia are disturbed by heavy rains which are affecting harvesting and transportation activities.

Prices are recovering on this factor while upside would be limited as demand for palm oil also remains weak.

However demand could shift towards soy oil from palm oil as former is preferred for latter in the winter season.

Courtesy: Karvy Commtrade Ltd.

If you want to have a free trial on Indian commodities or equity markets CALL TOLL FREE 08049311177 or visit tips.commodityonline.com

Source: http://www.commodityonline.com/futures-trading/commoditytrends/India-soy-oil-to-rise-on-thin-supply-10407.html

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Monday, December 19, 2011

Fort Hood soldiers glad to be home from Iraq (AP)

FORT HOOD, Texas ? After having no contact with her soldier husband for a week, Jeannette Juroff was relieved to hear his voice when the phone rang at 3 a.m. Sunday.

She could hear a bit of celebrating in the background since he was part of the last convoy of U.S. troops to leave Iraq as the nearly nine-year war came to an end.

"I had been worried, but then he called and said, `Hi honey. I'm here and I'm safe," Juroff said Sunday afternoon.

Sgt. 1st Class Nate Juroff, based at Fort Hood, was among the very last U.S. combat soldiers to roll out of Iraq across the border into neighboring Kuwait at daybreak Sunday. The 500 soldiers left in a convoy of heavily armored personnel carriers, slipping out under cover of darkness and strict secrecy to prevent any final attacks.

Jeannette Juroff, who's an Army staff sergeant based at the Red River Army Depot near Texarkana, said she is relieved that her husband is out of Iraq and won't face daily mortar attacks and other dangers. This was his second deployment to Iraq.

"We should have done this a long time ago," she said, referring to the troop withdrawal. "We had no business going over there at all and losing soldiers like that."

All U.S. troops are to be out of Iraq by Dec. 31, and hundreds of soldiers have been arriving at military installations in recent weeks because of the troop withdrawal.

Staff Sgt. Elama Palemene held his two young daughters and kissed his wife early Sunday after returning to Fort Hood with about 300 other soldiers. They arrived about 3 a.m. to a cheering, flag-waving crowd of teary wives and bundled-up youngsters on a field at the Texas Army post with temperatures in the high 40s.

"My husband wanted to have (our children) stay behind, but it was a must to have them here," said his wife, Annaden Palemene, who held a large homemade sign that read "Sgt. Palemene, Your Tour Stops Here."

The soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division said they were glad to be home before the holidays ? and relieved to be out of Iraq.

"This was my fourth deployment to Iraq ... so it feels great to be home," said Staff Sgt. James Cantrell, who had just hugged his wife, Brenda, and 7-year-old daughter Janelle.

Several soldiers said they were happy upon hearing the news that the last U.S. combat troops left Iraq at daybreak Sunday. That convoy's exit marked the end of a bitterly divisive war that raged for nearly nine years and left Iraq shattered, with troubling questions lingering over whether the Arab nation will remain a steadfast U.S. ally.

"I think it's good we're out of Iraq. I think they're ready ? the government and the military," said Spc. Keenan McCoy, holding his 13-month-old daughter Kyrie close to him and hugging his wife Rachel.

Fort Hood officials later said reporters were banned from asking questions about how soldiers feel about leaving Iraq or the war.

Staff Sgt. Palemene said he hopes the country remembers that U.S. troops are still fighting elsewhere in the world.

"It feels good to be home safe and sound, but we should remember that there are still soldiers in Afghanistan," he said.

The war in Iraq cost nearly 4,500 American and well more than 100,000 Iraqi lives and $800 billion from the U.S. Treasury. The quiet weekend withdrawal was a stark contrast to the start of the war, which began with a pre-dawn airstrike in Baghdad on March 20, 2003, before U.S. and allied ground forces then stormed from Kuwait across the deserts of southern Iraq toward that capital.

In late 2003, soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division, then based at Fort Hood, captured Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and he was executed in 2006. That division and its headquarters moved to Fort Carson, Colo., in 2009.

Fort Hood has about 46,500 active-duty soldiers. Since 2003, about a third of Fort Hood's soldiers have been deployed, and more than 565 were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to officials at the Army post.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111218/ap_on_re_us/us_iraq_returning_home

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

A touch of mob-business, anyone?

This idea just came to me. It's nothing particularly new, but eh, whatever. It involves a character of mine that I dearly love and have been meaning to bring back into play.

My character, Tristan, had something of a strange upbringing. Not bad, in his eyes, just...different than American culture. As he got older, his luck turned a bit and he found himself wanting to get away from his home nation, Reidan (an extremely small country that few people but those who are particularly interested in geography have really heard of) and decided to try his luck in the states. He had nothing, so he quickly found himself desperate. The man was picked up by some sort of crime group (mob, cartel, whatever) and they learned he had some military background. They discovered he was a good shot and hired him on as an assassin. Tristan started to get used to his new job, began to shield himself from others and never get attached to anyone, but soon he found he couldn't take the pressures and strains of his job. He hated it. But the mob won't let him go--why let such a smooth operator slip away? Tristan believes he's forever caught in their web until he meets someone (of a non specific gender--doesn't matter, nor does it matter who they are (perhaps they're a citizen, or maybe they're involved too?)) and, almost on accident, befriends them. He starts to trust them and finally reveals what he does for a living. The friend recognizes Tristan's desire to get out and encourages him to break free. The mob won't have it.

You must be an advanced writer for this roleplay. Straight up. Know your grammar, own your character and make it real. Give them some depth and contribute to the plot. And give me some substance in your writing. One paragraph just doesn't cut it.

I don't care what gender you play. I'm thinking this will be either a 1x1 or a three way thread (only if someone feels like they want to play the mob boss or something, otherwise let's keep it to just a 1x1).

Post often please, but I don't expect a post every day. I know I'm busy with school come January and can't always post every day. Once or twice a week is perfectly acceptable.

I'm open to any ideas and suggestions as well. Let me know if you're interested.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/ALhurGAC_GM/viewtopic.php

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Domino's top boss is CNBC's best CEO of 2011

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/15/9474895-dominos-top-boss-is-cbncs-best-ceo-of-2011

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Friday, December 16, 2011

'William And Kate': Royal Couple, Wedding Profiled In NBC Documentary

Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding was one of the most highly-anticipated nuptials of the year -- with an estimated 24.5 million viewers tuning in to witness the couple tie the knot on television.

But although the pair have been in the spotlight since their Big Day in April, they've managed to keep their private life surprisingly private.

That is set to change--sort of. A new documentary, "William And Kate: Inside The Royal Wedding," promises to take an intimate look inside the couple's nuptials while documenting the first six months of their lives together. The film, created by royal documentarian Matt Drury and Getty photographer Chris Jackson, also includes interviews with some of the couple's closest friends.

In this preview clip, we get an in-depth look at Kate Middleton's life and how she transformed from an ordinary girl to the Duchess of Cambridge.

"William And Kate: Inside The Royal Marriage" airs on NBC tonight at 8 PM EST.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/13/william-and-kate-goes-ins_n_1147192.html

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Future Riot Shields Will Suffocate Protestors with Low Frequency Speakers [Police]

It's not the first crowd control tool to use sound waves, but Raytheon's patent for a new type of riot shield that produces low frequency sound waves to disrupt the respiratory tract and hinder breathing, sounds a little scary. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/SpTRwUO24lM/future-riot-shields-will-suffocate-protestors-with-low-frequency-speakers

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When Did Gingrich Stop Supporting a Health Insurance Mandate ...

During Saturday's Republican presidential debate, Newt Gingrich claimed (not for the first time) that he advocated requiring every American to obtain medical coverage as part of a strategy to defeat President Clinton's health care plan:

In 1993, in fighting HillaryCare, virtually every conservative saw the mandate as a less-dangerous future than what Hillary was trying to do. The Heritage Foundation was a major advocate of it. After HillaryCare disappeared, it became more and more obvious that mandates have all sorts of problems built into them. People gradually tried to find other techniques. I frankly was floundering, trying to find a way to make sure that people who could afford it were paying their hospital bills while still leaving an out [for] libertarians to not buy insurance. And that's what we're wrestling with. It's now clear that the mandate, I think, is clearly unconstitutional. But it started as a conservative effort to stop HillaryCare in the 1990s.

Although this account does not reflect well on Gingrich's principles (or the Heritage Foundation's), it seems?plausible. But it does not explain why Gingrich continued to support an individual health insurance mandate for nearly two decades?much longer than Barack Obama, who rejected the idea during the 2008 presidential campaign, only to change his mind after taking office. In a 2005 interview with NPR, notes Josh Hicks in The Washington Post, Gingrich had this to say about a requirement he now calls "clearly unconstitutional":

Our goal has to be for 100 percent of the country to be in the insurance system. So that means finding ways through tax credits and through vouchers so that every American can buy insurance, including, I think, a requirement that if you're above a certain level of income, you have to either have insurance or post a bond.

Here he is on the same subject in his 2009 book Real Change: The Fight for America's Future:

We should insist that everyone above a certain [income] level buy [medical] coverage (or, if they are opposed to insurance, post a bond).

On Meet the Press?last May, Gingrich conceded that he still supported "a variation on" ObamaCare's insurance requirement:

I've said consistently we ought to have some requirement that you either have?health insurance?or you post a bond.

Two weeks ago Gingrich told ABC's Jake Tapper "a mandate per se is clearly unconstitutional because it means the Congress can require you to do anything with your own money under any circumstances." When Tapper asked him whether he still supported a modified mandate (with a bond as an alternative), Gingrich suggested he preferred an approach suggested by John ?Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis:

He essentially would give you a tax credit if you want to buy insurance, and if you didn?t want to buy insurance your share of the tax credit would go into a pool for the uninsured and if something happened to you, you?d be taken care of by the pool of the uninsured. And so you'd be in a different league in terms of how you were handled and what happened to you.

That proposal seeks to avoid the question of whether requiring health insurance counts as regulating interstate commerce by recasting the mandate as a tax incentive. The upshot is similar: Either way, the government penalizes noncompliant taxpayers by taking away money they would otherwise have (which under Goodman's proposal could be their own money or, if the credit is refundable, a transfer from other taxpayers). Still, the Supreme Court might see the difference as crucial, since Congress has been using the tax code for social engineering since it was created but has never before tried to mandate a purchase under the Commerce Clause.

In any case, as far as I can tell, Gingrich still has not explicitly renounced the insurance-or-bond approach, which is puzzling given his newfound constitutional objections to the mandate imposed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Putting up a bond big enough to cover one's future medical expenses presumably would cost more than buying insurance, meaning that the penalty for not obtaining coverage would be much bigger than it is under ObamaCare. I do not see how this policy avoids the constitutional problem or paternalistic precedent of using the Commerce Clause to compel purchases.

Last month Peter Suderman cited Gingrich's "tangled" position on mandating health insurance as an example of his muddled thinking.

Source: http://reason.com/blog/2011/12/13/when-did-gingrich-stop-supporting-a-heal

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Many kids at gold mine paid in bags of dirt

By Jessica Hopper
Rock Center

Samba Diarra, 15, journeyed 200 miles to live in a plastic hut alone and work in an artisanal gold mine in Mali. The teen came to the mine to help support his five younger brothers and sisters.

?The main reason I left home is to help my parents and sending them money is my main goal,? Diarra said.

Diarra?s parents can?t afford? to send him to school because he has to support his younger siblings.? He is one of at least 20,000 children working in Mali?s artisanal mines.

Mali is Africa?s third largest gold producer. Artisanal mines rely on heavy human labor and little mechanization.? People throughout West Africa are flocking to work in the primitive pits.?


?Globally, we?ve seen an increase with the number of artisanal gold miners because of the rise of gold prices, but that doesn?t necessarily translate to better living conditions,? said Juliane Kippenberg who helped author a forthcoming Human Rights Watch report on Mali?s mines.?

The skyrocketing price of gold has led to a rush on the precious metal in the United States and throughout the world, but some of the mining that?s helping feed the world?s craving involves child labor and a dangerous process involving mercury.

Approximately 100,000 to 200,000 people in Mali are working in artisanal mines, according to the Human Rights Watch report which will be released Tuesday.? Kippenberg told NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel that 20 to 30 percent of the workforce in African artisanal mines is child labor.

The report entitled, ?A Poisonous Mix: Child Labor, Mercury and Artisanal Gold Mining in Mali,? details abysmal working conditions.

??There couldn?t be a bigger contrast between the situation of a 7-year-old or a 14, 15-year-old working day in and day out in the very harsh conditions of these mines and the beautiful world of jewelry somewhere in Switzerland or the U.S. or elsewhere,? Kippenberg said.

The children working in the mines, some as young as six years old, help dig shafts with pickaxes, lift and carry heavy bags of ore and pan the gold with an amalgamation process involving mercury.?

?Not only is it hard work and then you?re tired from it, but it is hard work that everyday gives you pain: headaches, back pain, joint aches and it will create long-term spinal injury for some of these children who are carrying very heavy loads and they are very small,? Kippenberg said.

Diarra spent his first day pulling up gold ore that was mined by men working deep underground.? At the end of his first day, he was paid with a bag of dirt.? Gold is currently trading at around $1742 an ounce.

?After I wash and refine it, I?ll get paid for the gold that might be inside,? he said.

Some children working in the mines never get paid. Those who do, get just a few dollars a week.

Diarra still has dreams of a life away from the mines.

?I would like to study if I have the opportunity, I would also like to be a footballer,? he said.

Kippenberg said that it will be hard for Diarra to leave the mines.

?The sad news is that he is not going to be able to realize his dreams.? In almost all of these situations where children come here to work by themselves, they are terribly exploited and will probably end up working in artisanal gold mines for the rest of their lives or for very long periods, making, eking, out a living,? Kippenberg said.

Malian law actually bans child labor in artisanal mines, but the law is not heavily enforced. One miner told Rock Center that he simply can?t afford the fees to send his children to school so instead they work with him.

Diata Lissoko, the traditional? leader of one of the mines said, ?With this kind of physical labor, life is short.?

Lissoko said that just two days prior to Rock Center?s visit, a young man had suffocated deep in the mine.

?It was 30, 40 meters deep.? When you descend a mine that deep, there is no oxygen down there, so if you breathe in the gas, you are killed immediately,? Lissoko said.

Others are dying slowly from toxic mercury vapors.? To speed up the refining process, workers are mixing mercury with the crushed ore.? The mercury adheres to the gold flakes.? Then the mixture is burned. Those vapors are the most toxic.? Women and children often are in charge of panning the gold and often use the mercury in their backyards in the middle of their villages.

??Working with mercury in a residential area is a particularly bad practice because it affects so many people,? said Kippenberg of Human Rights Watch.? ?They will be exposed to mercury poisoning.? Just to give you an idea, it?s not something that happens very quickly, but people will begin to have coordination problems, memory problems in high doses. It can lead to kidney failure, heart problems and it can even kill people.?

Approximately 12 percent of the world?s gold is born from the grueling process of artisanal mining, Kippenberg said.

?It?s not the majority of the gold, but at the same time, it?s a significant proportion,? Kippenberg said.

The gold is sold to middlemen and eventually ends up in places like Dubai and Switzerland where it is melted? and mixed with gold from large scale mines before it?s turned into jewelry worn throughout the world.

?Even if it is a long, long supply train, at the end of the day, it is the gold from these artisanal mines in Mali and other parts of the world that is exported and then goes to the world?s markets and is turned into jewelry,? Kippenberg said.? ?So, yes, there is a direct link between the people who wear the jewelry and buy it and the refiners, the big international companies who trade the gold globally and those who work in these mines, the depths of these shafts, who risk their lives in doing so.?

Editor?s Note: Richard Engel?s full report, "The Price of Gold," airs Monday at 10pm/9c on NBC's Rock Center With Brian Williams.

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Source: http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/05/9213056-digging-for-gold-children-work-in-harsh-conditions-paid-with-bags-of-dirt

mindy mccready mindy mccready cliff harris cliff harris josh turner bishop eddie long chicago news