Online gaming ? five ways to strike a balance

Stephanie Brantz has been a sports and events presenter for the ABC since 2010, following stints at both SBS?TV and Channel 9. She presents ABC TV?s summer of sport?as well as network events including the Australian of the Year and the Gallipoli dawn service on Anzac Day.??Stephanie is mother to three children ? Patrick, 18, Lewis, 13; and daughter Lindsay, 11 ? and she spends a lot of time monitoring their interests and finding out safe ways for them to participate in the online world. Stephanie is an ambassador for the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association.

When talking about internet safety, specifically in the area of online games, I always come across different opinions from parents about how to tackle the issue with their kids. Keeping your kids away from harassment or harmful and explicit content that might occur during online video games is a difficult and necessary task for parents.? Some parents choose to sit back and ignore the matter, others stop their children from using the internet altogether ? can there be a happy medium between the two? I believe so.

We all want our kids to learn about their online rights and responsibilities. Like most parents, I am very busy and, as much as I am a multi-tasker, I cannot constantly be hovering over the computer screen 24/7 watching what my kids are up to. With Safer Internet Day? around the corner, it is a timely reminder for us parents to help our children find a balance between enjoying online video games while being safe. As a veteran in this space, I thought I?d share a few simple (yet hard-learnt) tips you can use to monitor your kids and help them navigate the online world safely.

Tips #1 ? KEEP THEM CLOSE

My eldest son often downloads games that are not appropriate for my younger son or daughter to play. I keep the computer and other devices in our lounge room which is close to the kitchen and the other common areas in our house. This allows my husband and I to be close to the devices and see what they are playing, as much as possible. You would be amazed at how much a bit of parental proximity can stop the kids from doing inappropriate stuff on the computer!? Having parental controls set appropriately acts as a second line of defence here.

Tip #2 ? LAY DOWN THE LAW

I?ve found it really helpful to draw up a set of rules to demonstrate what acceptable online behaviour is, and what is not. ?For example, if you wouldn?t say it to someone when you are face to face with them, don?t say it in an online environment.? If you wouldn?t reveal your private details to a stranger in person, don?t reveal them online.

I also like the ?Grandma Rule? ? if you wouldn?t like Grandma to read it, don?t write it! This rule also works wonders in other social media environments.

Tip #3 ? SUPPORT ROLE

Although it?s hard at times, we must learn to be a supportive and positive parent, one that listens and takes on board their children?s feelings about being online. Being a tyrant won?t get you anywhere ? as I?ve found out! Although you may not have all the answers, building trust around the issues they may encounter, such as cyberbullying, is your key to success. My kids know that if they do experience any kind of negative harassment in a gaming environment, they should let me know right away, and we can deal with it together. You would be surprised how many features exist to help users manage privacy and bullying ? from parental controls and privacy settings, to the ability to flag content as inappropriate or report individuals who are engaging in negative behavior. It is a good idea to familiarilise yourself with these settings where possible.

Tip #4 ? FANTASY NAMES

I?ve found that by ensuring your kids only use nicknames, usernames or gamer tags instead of their real names, this will help keep minimal personal information about them out on the World Wide Web.

Tip #5 ? KNOW THE TERRITORY

Finally, I make sure that I familiarise myself with the sites my kids visit and only allow them to play games from reputable sites. It only takes a bit of extra time but I conduct research, reading online reviews before consenting to my kids playing a certain game. Online video games can be highly educational and social for kids; you just need to make sure they are playing the most appropriate ones for their age and maturity level and that they are aware of both their rights and responsibilities when playing. The introduction of an R18+ classification this year is a suitable reminder that there are numerous online games that cater for young and old and it is important that your kids are playing the appropriately classified games.

Source: http://engage.acma.gov.au/cybersmart/2013/01/online-gaming-five-ways-to-strike-a-balance/

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SwiftKey Flow Beta Improves ?Flow Through Space,? Makes It Available in All Text Fields

Android: If you've been using the SwiftKey Flow beta since it opened to the public, good news: a new update is available, one that fixes a long-standing bug, improves word predictions, makes it easier to correct errors, and adds some polish to an already great keyboard.

The big change in the latest version of SwiftKey Flow is that the "flow through space" feature works in all text fields?not just a select few. Flow through space lets you treat the space bar like any other key instead of typing a word, then tapping space, and then starting a new word. The update also improves the feature so it works more smoothly with word prediction and corrections, so you don't type a whole sentence and then have to delete half of it to fix errors. Similarly, the new beta improves SwiftKey's error correction?just tap on a word and you'll get three more options to choose from.

Some other improvements in the beta are less significant: new languages, new layouts, bug fixes, and so on. If you want to give SwiftKey Flow a try, the beta is still open, and you can sign up at the link below.

SwiftKey Flow Beta Update | SwiftKey Blog via Android Police

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/1hfQpq7DCE0/swiftkey-flow-beta-improves-flow-through-space-makes-it-available-in-all-text-fields

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New Business Booming will invigorate the Country in 2013 ? Costa ...

If you thought that 2012 was a year moved in the business world, pay attention to what is said about 2013, because the expectations are quite ambitious.

This is not just about the arrival of new industrial enterprises but also the commercial sector, tourism and real estate, including shopping centers, office centers, shops, supermarkets, restaurants and others.

The Central Bank estimates that, at the end of 2013 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) would reach about U$2.250 million or 2.27% over the 2012 estimate.

Of that amount, 25% (U$562.5 million) will be related to high-tech sectors (services, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and clean technologies) installed in a Free Zone.

According to Gabriela Llobet, director of the Costa Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives (CINDE), the goal for the next 12 months is to build at least 30 new projects on these fields. Last year they managed to attract 40, which represented about U$574 million and 8.236 additional jobs.

However, FDI is not the only thing that will move the country, since other nine different areas are also moving very fast.

According to information from the real estate firm, Colliers International, the number of square meters in remaining work declined between December 2011 and March 2012, in the three fields that monitors this company: office, industrial and commercial centers.

As for the hotel sector, the list of new projects that will open in 2013 reaches five and includes the Sonesta Hotel and Casino in Escaz? (U$40 million), and Andaz Papagayo in Guanacaste, with 153 rooms. During 2012 were opened six new accommodation centers.

Last but not least, other businesses that will high rise are clothing stores. Just in the upcoming months, about nine brands will open for the first time: Gap, Express, Forever 21 and Pull & Bear are among the new features. Most of them will open in Multiplaza Escaz? and Lincoln Plaza.

Source: El Financiero

Source: http://www.costaricarelocation.com/contenido/?p=617

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Mali military enters fabled town of Timbuktu

Chadian soldiers patrol the streets of Gao, Northern Mali, Monday Jan. 28, 2013. Malian soldiers descended on the city of Timbuktu on Monday after al-Qaida-linked militants fled into the desert having set ablaze a library that held thousands of ancient manuscripts. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Chadian soldiers patrol the streets of Gao, Northern Mali, Monday Jan. 28, 2013. Malian soldiers descended on the city of Timbuktu on Monday after al-Qaida-linked militants fled into the desert having set ablaze a library that held thousands of ancient manuscripts. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Chadian soldiers patrol the streets of Gao, Northern Mali, Monday Jan. 28, 2013. French and Malian troops held a strategic bridge and the airport in the northern town of Gao on Sunday as their force also pressed toward Timbuktu, another stronghold of Islamic extremists in northern Mali, officials said. Malian soldiers descended on the city of Timbuktu on Monday after al-Qaida-linked militants fled into the desert having set ablaze a library that held thousands of ancient manuscripts. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Children cheer foreign visitors arriving in the streets of Gao, Northern Mali, Monday Jan. 28, 2013. French and Malian troops held a strategic bridge and the airport in the northern town of Gao on Sunday as their force also pressed toward Timbuktu, another stronghold of Islamic extremists in northern Mali, officials said. Malian soldiers descended on the city of Timbuktu on Monday after al-Qaida-linked militants fled into the desert having set ablaze a library that held thousands of ancient manuscripts. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

A young child runs through the deserted side streets of Gao , Northern Mali, Monday Jan. 28, 2013. French and Malian troops held a strategic bridge and the airport in the northern town of Gao on Sunday as their force also pressed toward Timbuktu, another stronghold of Islamic extremists in northern Mali, officials said. Malian soldiers descended on the city of Timbuktu on Monday after al-Qaida-linked militants fled into the desert having set ablaze a library that held thousands of ancient manuscripts. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Malian soldiers are stationed at the entrance of of Gao, Northern Mali, Monday Jan. 28, 2013. French and Malian troops held a strategic bridge and the airport in the northern town of Gao on Sunday as their force also pressed toward Timbuktu, another stronghold of Islamic extremists in northern Mali, officials said. The sign , a reminder of Islamic extremists, reads " Al Hesbah, together for the pleasure of God almighty and the struggle against sins."(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

SEVARE, Mali (AP) ? Backed by French helicopters and paratroopers, Malian soldiers entered the fabled city of Timbuktu on Monday after al-Qaida-linked militants who ruled the outpost by fear for nearly 10 months fled into the desert, setting fire to a library that held thousands of manuscripts dating to the Middle Ages.

French Col. Thierry Burkhard, chief military spokesman in Paris, said that there had been no combat with the Islamists but that the French and Malian forces did not yet control the town.

Still, there was celebration among the thousands of Timbuktu residents who fled the city rather than live under strict and pitiless Islamic rule and the dire poverty that worsened after the tourist industry was destroyed.

"In the heart of people from northern Mali, it's a relief ? freedom finally," said Cheick Sormoye, a Timbuktu resident who fled to Bamako, the capital.

Timbuktu, a city of mud-walled buildings and 50,000 people, was for centuries a seat of Islamic learning and a major trading center along the North African caravan routes that carried slaves, gold and salt. In Europe, legend had it that it was a city of gold. Today, its name is synonymous to many with the ends of the earth.

It has been home to some 20,000 irreplaceable manuscripts, some dating to the 12th century. It was not immediately known how many were destroyed in the blaze that was set in recent days in an act of vengeance by the Islamists before they withdrew.

Michael Covitt, chairman of the Malian Manuscript Foundation, called the arson a "desecration to humanity."

"These manuscripts are irreplaceable. They have the wisdom of the ages and it's the most important find since the Dead Sea Scrolls," he said.

The militants seized Timbuktu last April and began imposing a strict Islamic version of Shariah, or religious law, across northern Mali, carrying out amputations and public executions. Women could be whipped for going out in public without wearing veils, while men could be lashed for having cigarettes.

Just over two weeks after the French began their military intervention in Mali, French and Malian forces arrived in Timbuktu overnight, the French military spokesman said Monday.

"The helicopters have been decisive," Burkhard said, describing how they aided the ground forces who came from the south as French paratroopers landed north of the city.

But the French have said Mali's military must finish the job of securing Timbuktu. And the Malians have generally fared poorly in combat, often retreating in panic in the face of well-armed, battle-hardened Islamists.

During their rule in Timbuktu, the militants systematically destroyed cultural sites, including the ancient tombs of Sufi saints, which they denounced as contrary to Islam because they encouraged Muslims to venerate saints instead of God.

The mayor said the Islamists burned his office as well as the Ahmed Baba institute, a library rich in historical documents.

"It's truly alarming that this has happened," Mayor Ousmane Halle told The Associated Press by telephone from Bamako. "They torched all the important ancient manuscripts. The ancient books of geography and science. It is the history of Timbuktu, of its people."

Some manuscripts had been removed from Timbuktu or hidden away for safekeeping from the Islamists.

"UNESCO is very concerned about the reports coming out of Timbuktu as to damage on cultural heritage there," UNESCO chief spokeswoman Sue Williams said from Paris.

The destruction recalls tactics used by the Taliban in 2001 when they dynamited a pair of giant Buddhas carved into a mountain in Afghanistan. The Taliban also rampaged through the national museum, smashing any art depicting the human form, considered idolatrous under their hardline interpretation of Islam. In all, they destroyed about 2,500 statues.

Mali's Islamists still control the provincial capital of Kidal farther north and are believed to have dug a network of tunnels, trenches and caves from which they can launch attacks.

Nana Toure, a native of Timbuktu now living in the capital, said she was delighted to hear that the French had arrived but worried how long the Malian soldiers could hold the town without help.

"French troops must not leave us alone then because those who fled may come back and cause problems for us," she said. "French troops have to stay a bit to stabilize the place."

___

Hinnant reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Carley Petesch in Johannesburg, Thomas Adamson in Paris, and Rukmini Callimachi in Sevare, Mali, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-28-AF-Mali-Fighting/id-2ef14c2c7e614e598f6035c3ec11b628

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"Our Weapon Is The Truth": K12 Inc. Sued Over For-Profit Education ...

Dozens of former employees claim that?K12 Inc,?a for-profit education company, used dubious and sometimes fraudulent tactics to mask astronomical rates of student turnover in its national network of cyber charter schools.

K12 manages Agora, the second largest cyber charter in Pennsylvania. The company is also involved in pending applications to open two new cybers in the state. The Pennsylvania Department of Education is expected to decide on the proposals later this month.

The former employees allege that K12-managed schools aggressively recruited children who were ill-suited for the company?s model of online education. They say the schools then manipulated enrollment, attendance and performance data to maximize tax-subsidized per-pupil funding.

These claims by anonymous ?confidential witnesses? are spelled out in court documents filed last June as part of a class-action lawsuit by the company?s investors.

ALLEGATIONS TOUCH UPON AGORA

Many of the allegations come from people who worked for the Agora Cyber Charter School, based in Wayne, Pa. With more than 8,000 students, Agora enrolls roughly a quarter of the 32,000 Pennsylvania students that have opted to attend cybers, which are independently managed schools providing mostly online instruction.

The class action suit against K12, Inc. and its executives was filed last January, shortly after a critical article about the company appeared in the New York Times. The investors allege that the company committed securities fraud when senior officials, including CEO Ronald J. Packard, ?concealed from the market? information about high rates of student withdrawal and poor academic performance.

?The core omission behind the Defendants? fraudulent success story was that K12 students were dropping out at staggering rates,? reads the complaint.?MORE

Short URL: http://www.newsnet14.com/?p=118887

Source: http://beautifulnightmare-killumbus.blogspot.com/2013/01/k12-inc-sued-over-for-profit-education.html

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Disgusted with the internet - The Haven

Joe90 Phoenix Joined: Feb 24, 2010 Posts: 7690 Location: Great Britain Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 2:19 pm?? ?Post subject: Disgusted with the internet I know I use the internet and can't live without it any more, I am still disgusted with the way the internet has basically took over everything and is making companies lose out on business and hundreds of jobs are being lost. It is happening as we speak, and it is very worrying. I have now heard that HMV (UK record shop) is going under because of so many people shopping online for DVDs and CDs. That is my favourite shop, it is the only place I can go when I need to go to a shopping centre (to get some shoes that need trying on or something) and after I get what I wanted I usually go into HMV and have a look, to kill time before the next bus, because I can't hang around in clothes shops for too long, and that's all there is. Now HMV is gone I will have nowhere exciting to look. It's really not fair. So many stupid idiotic people are buying things online, but there are still millions of people that like to actively browse around the shops too, for something to do. I am also worrying that all this internet shopping will soon destroy every retail business and there will be no shops left standing any more, instead everywhere will just get derelict. People don't realise that the internet is destroying everything. It is worrying me. Not only that, the internet isn't that reliable. Computers cost to update, you have to be careful of viruses, you have to be careful of what you're buying, you have to be careful of what you're downloading, and it is easy for people (older people that aren't used to computers, or people who are stupider than average, like me,) to end up getting their bank accounts hacked into. I tried downloading Adblocker the other day from Google, and I suddenly ended up with SweetIM as my browser, and I couldn't get rid of it, and it slowed down all my internet and everything. Now after fiddling around I have finally removed it, but my internet is still having a few problems with speed ever since. Also the connection from the router randomly cuts out and disrupts everything. This can be more frustrating than going out shopping among crowds of people sometimes... _________________ Gender: Female From: East UK Age: 22 Pet peeve: People criticising me Back to top ablomov Deinonychus Joined: Jul 20, 2008 Posts: 373 Location: northern hemisphere Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 2:31 pm?? ?Post subject: maybe ... if ... but ... hardly... etc... out of town malls are what screwed up UK high streets. the web is most useful to me, good for finding tip top things that I need at the right price, books that are not mainstream to feed my brain and it has rejuvinated my own particular niche manufacturing business, ahhhhhh ... the joy of not having to go to a town and deal with surly uncommunicative ass-hole sales ppl ..... Back to top Faelan Tufted Titmouse Joined: Feb 15, 2008 Age: 39 Posts: 38 Location: Denmark Back to top ablomov Deinonychus Joined: Jul 20, 2008 Posts: 373 Location: northern hemisphere Back to top Who_Am_I almost human Joined: Aug 28, 2005 Age: 29 Posts: 9760 Location: My body is in Brisbane and my mind is in the gutter. :D Back to top 1000Knives What Would Brian Boitano Do? Joined: Jul 09, 2011 Age: 21 Posts: 3801 Location: CT, USA Back to top lostonearth35 Phoenix Joined: Jan 06, 2010 Age: 38 Posts: 687 Location: Canada Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 7:29 pm?? ?Post subject: I often wish I could order my weekly supply of groceries online instead of going to the store because I HATE the crowds, and the line-ups, especially around holidays and when people get their monthly checks. I didn't always hate grocery shopping but the store I go to recently got expanded and now it there seem to be more people than ever there and there aren't many other stores that have a decent stock of groceries nearby. When I'm shopping there it seems all I say is excuse me excuse me sorry, sorry for being in your way, SORRY FOR EXISTING!!! And I normally take my time while everyone else rushes around in complete madness. It's like I can't even take a minute to decide what to choose from all the products, prices, and quality and then I turn around and see I'm blocking someone who wants to get past. Are the aisles getting more narrow, or am I getting more wide? I also seem to have a weird curse there when I'm next in line the cashier suddenly seems to forget how to use the cash register or someone calls her and she puts ME on hold, or the person in front of me is an 80-year old and forgets how to use a credit card or cash a check. There are screaming kids and teens yapping away on phones and since I don't have a car or drive I have to call my mother on the phone to drive me back to my apartment. But the store people don't like people having their cars right in front of the doors so I have to lug my shopping cart down to this empty corner on the sidewalk while I wait and it could be freezing or frying but there's not place to go inside. And one time some guy came up to me asking for a smoke. Not a teen but a grown man! I don't smoke and wasn't smoking, so why would he assume I had cigarettes on me, that is so stupid and annoying! Also I have to try to be home before the kids in the high school across the street are let out for the day or there will be cars and buses everywhere and sometimes my mom can't even drive up to the steps to my apartment. So I have to lug my bags of groceries such as big bags of kitty litter even further and then up two sets of stairs. UGH!!! Of course I don't want all stores to close down because where I live there's not much else to do or to go to. There's not a lot outside my home I feel like doing, anyway. But most of the other stores in the "city" I live in are terrible. I'm lucky if they have something that I really want and end up searching all over for it and they don't have it if I ask if they will get it soon the answer is nearly always I don't know. When I was a kid going to town or the mall was like going to Disneyland, but back then the stores were a lot better and everything was more fun as a kid but not any more. and I can't order stuff online even when I want to because I have no credit cards I can't afford them and I don't get this Pay Pal thing or whatever it's called. I know this was a very long rant, but I just had to get it out even though I just let my Mr. Noodles boil into a pot of disgusting sludge on the stove. Good thing I didn't set the place on fire. Back to top EmoGlambertAspie Snowy Owl Joined: Jun 25, 2010 Age: 19 Posts: 152 Back to top johnny77 Phoenix Joined: Apr 27, 2011 Age: 35 Posts: 1915 Location: looking but just a scared boy Back to top BlueAbyss Deinonychus Joined: Dec 15, 2012 Posts: 357 Location: California, USA Back to top 1x1

Source: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt221133.html

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Salmon runs boom, go bust over centuries

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Salmon runs are notoriously variable: strong one year, and weak the next. New research shows that the same may be true from one century to the next.

Scientists in the past 20 years have recognized that salmon stocks vary not only year to year, but also on decades-long time cycles. One example is the 30-year to 80-year booms and busts in salmon runs in Alaska and on the West Coast driven by the climate pattern known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation.

Now work led by University of Washington researchers reveals those decadal cycles may overlay even more important, centuries-long conditions, or regimes, that influence fish productivity. Cycles lasting up to 200 years were found while examining 500-year records of salmon abundance in Southwest Alaska. Natural variations in the abundance of spawning salmon are as large those due to human harvest.

"We've been able to reconstruct what salmon runs looked like before the start of commercial fishing. But rather than finding a flat baseline ? some sort of long-term average run size ? we've found that salmon runs fluctuated hugely, even before commercial fishing started. That these strong or weak periods could persist for sometimes hundreds of years means we need to reconsider what we think of as 'normal' for salmon stocks," said Lauren Rogers, who did this work while earning her doctorate in aquatic and fishery sciences at the UW and is now a post-doctoral researcher with the University of Oslo, Norway.

Rogers is the lead author of a paper on the findings in the Jan. 14 online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Surprisingly, salmon populations in the same regions do not all show the same changes through time. It is clear that the salmon returning to different rivers march to the beat of a different ? slow ? drummer," said Daniel Schindler, UW professor of aquatic and fishery sciences and co-author of the paper.

"The implications for management are profound," Schindler said. "While it is convenient to assume that ecosystems have a constant static capacity for producing fish, or any natural resource, our data demonstrate clearly that capacity is anything but stationary. Thus, management must be ready to reduce harvesting when ecosystems become unexpectedly less productive and allow increased harvesting when ecosystems shift to more productive regimes.

"Management should also allow, and probably even encourage, fishers to move among rivers to exploit salmon populations that are particularly productive. It is not realistic to assume that all rivers in a region will perform equally well or poorly all the time," he said.

The researchers examined sediment cores collected from 20 sockeye nursery lakes within 16 major watersheds in southwestern Alaska, including those of Bristol Bay. The scientists homed in on the isotopic signature of nitrogen that salmon accumulate in the ocean and leave behind in lake sediments when they die: When there was a lot of such nitrogen in the sediments, it meant returning runs during that time period were abundant; when there was little, runs had declined.

Climate is not the only reason for long-term changes in salmon abundance. Changes in food webs, diseases or other factors might be involved; however, at present, there are no clear explanations for the factors that cause the long-term variability observed in this study. Most, but not all, of the lakes examined showed declines in the kind of nitrogen the scientists were tracking beginning around 1900, once commercial fisheries had developed. However, earlier fluctuations showed that natural processes had at times reduced salmon densities as much as recent commercial fisheries, the co-authors said.

"We expected to detect a signal of commercial fishing ? fisheries remove a lot of the salmon, and thus salmon nitrogen, that would have otherwise ended up in the sediments. But we were surprised to find that previous returns of salmon to rivers varied just as dramatically," Rogers said.

As the paper said, "Interestingly these same fluctuations also highlight that salmon stocks have the capacity to rebuild naturally following prolonged periods with low densities, suggesting a strong resilience of salmon to natural and anthropogenic depletion processes. Indeed, total salmon production (catch plus escapements) has been relatively high in recent years for most sockeye salmon stocks in southwestern Alaska, despite a century of intense harvesting."

###

University of Washington: http://www.uwnews.org

Thanks to University of Washington for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 6 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126285/Salmon_runs_boom__go_bust_over_centuries

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Illinois lawmakers propose new pension fix, but unions vow suit (reuters)

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

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Assad to make rare speech as Syrian rebels draw nearer

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will deliver a rare speech on Sunday about the uprising against his rule, which has killed 60,000 people and brought civil war to the edge of his capital.

With insurgents fighting their way closer to the seat of his power, state media said in a statement that Assad would speak on Sunday morning about the "latest developments in Syria and the region", without giving details.

It will be the 47-year-old leader's first speech in months and his first public comments since he dismissed suggestions that he might go into exile to end the civil war, telling Russian television in November that he would "live and die" in Syria.

Insurgents are venturing ever closer into Damascus after bringing a crescent of suburbs under their control from the city's eastern outskirts to the southwest.

Assad's forces blasted rockets into the Jobar neighbourhood near the city centre on Saturday to try to drive out rebel fighters, a day after bombarding rebel-held areas in the eastern suburb of Daraya.

"The shelling began in the early hours of the morning, it has intensified since 11 a.m., and now it has become really heavy. Yesterday it was Daraya and today Jobar is the hottest spot in Damascus," an activist named Housam said by Skype from the capital.

Since Assad's last public comments, in November, rebels have strengthened their hold on swathes of territory across northern Syria, launched an offensive in the central province of Hama and endured weeks of bombardment by Assad's forces trying to dislodge them from Damascus's outer neighbourhoods.

Syria's political opposition has also won widespread international recognition. But Assad has continued to rely on support from Russia, China and Iran to hold firm and has used his air power to blunt rebel gains on the ground.

With the conflict showing no sign of abating, Syria's deputy foreign minister visited Iran on Saturday to seek to maintain the support of Assad's main ally in the region.

Iran's Fars news agency said Faisal al-Makdad would meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials.

MISSILE BATTERIES

Despite the estimated death toll of 60,000 announced by the United Nations earlier this week - a figure sharply higher than that given by activists - the West has shown little appetite for intervening against Assad in the way that NATO forces supported rebels who overthrew Libya's Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

But NATO is sending U.S. and European Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries to the Turkish-Syrian border.

The United States military said U.S. troops and equipment had begun arriving in Turkey on Friday for the deployment. Germany and the Netherlands are also sending Patriot batteries, which will take weeks to deploy fully.

Turkey and NATO say the missiles are a safeguard to protect southern Turkey from possible Syrian missile strikes. Syria and allies Russia and Iran say the deployments could spark an eventual military action by the Western alliance.

Syria's war has proved the longest and bloodiest of the conflicts that arose out of popular uprisings in Arab countries over the past two years and led to the downfall of autocratic regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen.

The war pits rebels mainly drawn from the Sunni Muslim majority against Assad, a member of the Shi'ite-derived Alawite minority sect, whose family has ruled Syria since his father seized power in a coup in 1970.

Syria's SANA state news agency said a journalist, Suheil al-Ali from the pro-government Addouniya TV, had died of wounds sustained in an attack by terrorists, the term government media use to refer to rebels. Syria was by far the most dangerous country for journalists last year, with 28 killed.

The opposition-linked Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict from Britain through a network of activists on the ground, reported fighting and shelling on Saturday in the eastern Euphrates River town of Deir al-Zor and near the central city of Hama, as well as near Damascus.

Assad's last formal speech was delivered to parliament seven months ago, in early June. "If we work together," he said, "I confirm that the end to this situation is near."

(Editing by Roger Atwood)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/assad-rare-speech-syrian-rebels-draw-nearer-024003266.html

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Family Tree Maker 2012 Out of Sync with Ancestry - Duplicate Tree ...

My Family Tree Maker 2012 Tree became Out of Sync with my Ancestry.com tree. In an effort to correct this, I ended up with 2 of the same tree name on Ancestry.com.

I've renamed the tree I'd like to use on Ancestry.com

Can I simply "Delete" the "old" tree on Ancestry.com... that I no longer use?

I've turned off syncing for the "old" tree, but my concern is that folks had linked to some of my source information (which is now in the new tree) and I don't now how this will effect them.

Lastly, I generally leave my Family Tree Maker program open on my home laptop, is this not a good idea? I'm hoping to avoid this from happening in the future. (sorry for the long post :)

~Gwen

*Note the Trees in Question: Airgood Family is currently marked "private" on Ancestry.com & my actual working tree: Airgood Neidig Family Tree is the one I use & is marked "public."

Source: http://boards.ancestry.co.uk/topics.software.famtreemaker/9313/mb.ashx

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Video: Simpson and Bowles on the fiscal cliff deal

Previewing the Next Big Fight

Also Sunday: The battle lines for the next fight were already being drawn before the members of the 113th Congress were sworn into office. Can Washington tackle the tough issues ahead, like raising the country's debt limit, in such a politically charged environment?? Plus: Turmoil in the Republican party as even members of the party's leadership split their votes on the final deal. Has Speaker Boehner's power diminished in the wake of this bruising fight? Joining us: Freshman Senator from Maine Angus King (I-ME), former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA), Chair of the House Democratic Caucus Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), former head of HP and Vice Chair of the NRSC Carly Fiorina, and Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/50378697#50378697

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Recreation bowling scoreboard - Blue Water Sports Network

League Highs

YOUTH LEAGUES
BLUE WATER BOWL

Kidets: Winners of 1st half Jackson Oles, Dylan Stoutmeyer & Bradon Bradley

Bumbroo?s: Winners of 1st half; Buddha Schindler & Emma Rhadigan

?BLUE WATER BOWL
Blue Water Mixers

Becky Van Hoesen 560(201); Annette Paradis 521(202); Dale Camphausen 732; Arnold Hinojosa 686(265); Terry Thompson 643(267); Tony Paulus 632; Steve Baker 624; Jose Ganhs 631

Bucks & Does

Pat Tallant 516(200); Mike Schindler 729(267); Doug Ultsch 664(300); Bill Tallant 638(237); Dwayne Rich 635(234)

Dan Wilkinson Memorial

Alicia Schroeder 579(221); Jamie Yeager 561(211); Rick Dodge 671(275); Joe Beidler 671(246); Joddy Swoffer564(214); Jeff Morrison 654(258); Kevin Renno 686(246); Frank Mitchell 640(238); Nate Brown 647(241)

Don McIvor Memorial

Gary Marinez 729(248); Fred Kuhr, Jr. 709(246);Dave Brown 671(254); Jose Ganhs 669(264); Mike Schindler 673(236);Rick St. Onge 672(243); Mike Raleigh 667(243); Mike E. Gossman 662(243); Dale Camphausen 659(233); Jeff Dickinson 675(248); Mike Benner 268

Friday Night Wanna Bees

Lew Gunn 731(267); Daniel Powell 724(254); Rick St. Onge 706(258); Chad Jeroue 695; Demetrius Jemison 656; Dale Camphausen 259; Josh Frey 253

Mueller Retirees

Geri Wise 478(193); Gail Toles 522(180); Pete Lapka 671(236); Red Cowper 636; Vic Gregowski 646(247); Bob Hall 227

Viking Three Man

Rich LaVere 655(227); Ron Fowler 647(250); Rich Wolfe 656(235); Steve Jakubowski 643(216); Ron Zimmer 632(235); Matt Phillips 626(247)

?BOWL O DROME
Beverage

Paul Urdzela617(248); Rick Barr, Jr. 737(257); Jeff Schott 728(256); Pat Mullins 672(268)

BOD Sunday Men?s

Doug Fowler 708(255); Gary Marinez 735(300); Mark Welsh 683(259); Tom Buchheister 266; Nate Kelly 691(266)

Friday Doubles

Trish Defrain 611(246); Matt Galanos 646(256); Rich Defrain 639; Tim Spencer 244

?PORT HURON LANES
Adult Activities-Mon AM

D.J. Gombos 481(205): Jane Angels 466(182); Maxine Brown 425; Barb Davis 175; Ron Messer 621(210); Pete Lapka 589(212); Walt Cumerlato 586(212); Rod Downing 552; Rick Stone 539; Gary Milutin 210; Roy Davis 539

Cowboys & Indians

Melissa Legault 702(269); Olivia Brown 610(235); Dara Sinclair 595(225); Greg Allen 702(277); Carl Norton 737(259); Frank Mowinski 735(267); Dave Cox 706; Cliff Crawford 705; Casey Donnenworth 702; Jose Pena, Sr. 713, Tim Nicolai 707

Friday Morning Industrial

Rick St. Onge 681; Jim Stewart 255; Rick Dodge 653; Gary Weiss 646

Friday AM Seniors

D.J. Gombos 494(197); Robyn Rossow 478(170); Marvel Holbrook 456(175); Rick Stone 570(222); Cliff Richardson 563; Robert Hall 555(202)

Friday PM Seniors

Nadine LaGruth 525(182); Carmen Aguinaga 500(178); Elmer Gamble 609(231); Red Cowper 634; Pete Lapka 610(224)

People of Faith

Mike Holloway 683(255); Tim Campbell 639(224); Don Thiede 624(248); Aleiha Schmidt 575(214); Hayley Cox 548(195); Anita DeMeulenaere 450; Connie Elsey 185

Saturday Nite Bridge

Nick Conard 753(279); Dave Black 279; Joe Beidler 726(278); Russell Barnes 727(278); Kimmie Symon 681(267); Stephanie Black 243; Jenny Klein 229; Wendy Tetreau 572; Jane Caldwell 543

Service

Barb LePla 621(246); Trish Defrain 532(198); Cathy McCaffrey 508(175); Pete Lapka 665(247); Greg Urben 613(257); Josh Mattox 590(242)

Sunday Outcast

Frank Mitchell 733(258); Scott Badley 691(268); Bob Pihaylic 236; Dylan Jacobs 231; Ric Lepine 643(231); Cindy Badley 495(210); Deb Turck 484(203); Angie Brennan 466(181); Pam Reid 171; Nikole Churchill 170

?ST. CLAIR RIVER LANES
Blue Water Mens

Don Lumley 690(257); Kevin Maas 663(246); Ed Martin 723(268); Gene Dalessandro 700(256); Tip Gostiaux 257; Steve McCoy 681(236); Jim Dymond 270; Tom Watson 702(245); Jim Currier 687

River Queens

Anita Hubbard 520(179); Jamie Prize 513(175); Lisa Rice 489(180)

STRIKERS ENT CENTER
Monday Night Mixed

Terry Krause 639(246); Dan Napier 632(255); Tony Chevalier 590(239); Sherry Pellegrom 563(196); Heather Yelencich 512(194); Ruth Bauman 478; Robin Sager 178

Saturday Night Live Mixed

Scott Whiting 712(277); Mike Gardner 707;Ron Malinowski 703(289); Bob Dalia 278; Elayne Gale 632(244); Kayla Christoff 611(238); Leann Gardner 583(273)

Thursday 50 Plus

Duane Miner 575(212); Tom Friedman 554; Jerry Brown 551(213); Bubba Van Buren 258; Janet Hope 532(211); June Clay 465; Suzanne McCoy 444; Phyllis Harm 181; Norma Schwark 171

Thursday Ridge Runners

John Essenmacher, Jr. 740(257); John Essenmacher III 729 Ray Wisniewski 728(258); Dan Gilliam 728(257); Jason Braun 259; Jim Sommers 257

Tuesday Night Classic

John Essenmacher III 734(257); Nick Bakeman 681; Ron Tyson 679257); Don Simmons 279

Tuesday Richmond Seniors

Bubba Van Buren 632(242); Al Gross 592(224); Harry Schaffer 558(195); Janet Hope 478(212); Peg Vanantwerp 492(169); Mary Booker 475; Sandra Eynon 174

Weekend Warriors

Len Hill 674(256); Mike Bowlby 651(257); Robin Zyrek 638; Al Kolvch 246; Debbie Wozny 651(256); Susan Hill 623(236); Cheryl Dudley 551;

Women?s Wednesday Night

Sandy Caldwell 604(228); Sherry Pellegrom 555(207); Joann Mozal 551(214)

Honor Roll

BLUE WATER BOWL
Women?s High Series

Alicia Schroeder 579
Joddy Swoffer 564
Jamie Yeager 561
Becky Van Hoesen 560
Annette Paradis 521

Women?s High Game

Alicia Schroeder 221
Joddy Swoffer 214
Jamie Yeager 211
Annette Paradis 202
Becky Van Hoesen 201

Men?s High Series

Dale Camphausen 732
Lew Gunn 731
Gary Marinez 729
Mike Schindler 729
Dan Powell 724

Men?s High Game

Doug Ultsch 300
Rick Dodge 275
Mike Benner 268
Terry Thompson 267
Lew Gunn 267
Mike Schindler 267

?BOWL O DROME
Women?s High Series

Trish Defrain 611

Women?s High Game

Trish Defrain 246

Men?s High Series

Rick Barr, Jr. 737
Gary Marinez 735
Jeff Schott 728
Doug Fowler 708
Mark Welsh 683

Men?s High Game

Gary Marinez 300
Tom Buchheister 266
Nate Kelly 266
Mark Welsh 259
Rick Barr, Jr. 257

?PORT HURON LANES
Women?s High Series

Melissa Legault 702
Kimmie Symon 681
Barb LePla 621
Olivia Brown 610
Dara Sinclair 595

Women?s High Game

Melissa Legault 269
Kimmie Symon 267
Barb LePla 246
Stephanie Black 243
Olivia Brown 235

Men?s High Series

Carl Norton 737
Frank Mowinski 735
Frank Mitchell 733
Jose Pena, Sr. 713
Matt Langolf 710

Men?s High Game

Matt Langolf 279
Greg Allen 277
Scott Badley 268
Frank Mowinski 267
Frank Mitchell 258

?ST. CLAIR RIVER LANES
Women?s High Series

Anita Hubbard 520
Jamie Prize 513
Lisa Rice 489

Women?s High Game

Lisa Rice 180
Anita Hubbard 179
Jamie Prize 175

Men?s High Series

Ed Martin 723
Tom Watson 702
Gene Dalessandro 700
Don Lumley 690
Steve McCoy 681

Men?s High Game

Jim Dymond 270
Ed Martin 268
Don Lumley 257
Tip Gostiaux 257
Gene Dalessandro 256

?STRIKERS ENT CENTER
Women?s High Series

Debbie Wozny 651
Robin Zyrek 638
Elayne Gale 632
Susan Hill 623
Kayla Christoff 611

Women?s High Game

Leann Gardner 273
Debbie Wozny 256
Elayne Gale 244
Kayla Christoff 238
Susan Hill 236

Men?s High Series

John Essenmacher, Jr. 740
John Essenmacher III 734
Ray Wisniewski 728
Dan Gilliam 728
Scott Whiting 712

Men?s High Game

Ron Malinowski 289
Don Simmons 279
Bob Dalia 278
Scott Whiting 277
Ken Tyson 257
John Essenmacher III 257

Source: http://bluewatersportsnetwork.com/2012/12/recreation-bowling-scoreboard-3/

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Cliff deal includes at least $67.9B for special interests

Getty Images for NASCAR, file

The fiscal cliff compromise includes tax breaks worth $70 million over two years for the owners of race tracks like Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

By M. Alex Johnson, NBC News

Taxpayers aren't the only ones who won't be flying off the fiscal cliff ??this year, at least. Add race cars, movies and asparagus to the list.

As part of their last-second deal to slam the brakes on an economy racing toward the so-called fiscal cliff, lawmakers gave the green light this week to extending dozens of business and industry tax breaks, like a cost-recovery program that will save the owners of "motorsports entertainment complexes" (that is, racetracks) about $70 million over the next two years.

---

Much of the compromise agreement that President Barack Obama's autopen signed into law Thursday was targeted at individuals and families, notably preserving most of the tax cuts that passed under President George W. Bush, which were set to expire Monday. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, told MSNBC that the deal was "a big gift-wrapped present of certainty to the middle class."

But the agreement also came loaded with extensions of separate existing tax breaks for businesses and industries, many of which had expired in the past year ? about $67.9 billion in all in 2013, as tabulated by Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation.

(The extensions will actually cost much more: Not only were they made retroactive to cover 2012, but some of the breaks and credits would be in effect for 10 years if left in place. Many cover only one or two years, however.)

Read the full 10-year analysis from the Joint Committee on Taxation (.pdf)

In addition to extending tax breaks for racing moguls, the legislation also extended:

??A tax credit for construction of renewable energy projects, like wind turbines and biomass, geothermal and hydropower generation, for one year. It's projected to cost about $116 million, the committee said.

That may seem like a drop in the bucket, but here's the kicker: While the extension to qualify for new projects covers only 2013, the actual tax credit itself is good for 10 years. That means new projects that break ground in 2013 will be able to claim the credit for the next decade, at an overall price tag the committee put at slightly less than $12.2 billion.

??An arcane provision of corporate tax law, called active financing income, that lets U.S. corporations defer taxes on some income they earn from their overseas subsidiaries. That provision will cost the U.S. Treasury more than $9 billion this year and $1.8 billion next year.

??Tax breaks for Hollywood producers who shoot their movies and TV shows in the U.S., at a cost of about $430 million through 2014.

? A program that sends most federal taxes collected on rum produced in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands back to those territories to subsidize domestic production. Bar tab: $222 million over two years.

??A tax break worth about $15 million a year for asparagus growers hit hard by cheap asparagus imported from Peru.

??$4 million in tax breaks over the next two years for people who buy "2- or 3-wheeled plug-in electric vehicles" ? in other words, electric scooters, Segways and the like.

The purpose of the deal was to prevent a series of steep spending cuts and tax increases on the middle class from automatically taking effect in the new year. But "we're not making it (the tax system) better or fairer," Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said on the House floor Tuesday in explaining why he was voting against the measure.

Big policy losers in tax deal: deficit reduction and 'certainty'

"We're not getting rid of the NASCAR loophole. We're not getting rid of the electric motor scooter low-speed loophole. We're not getting rid of a whole lot of tax things that are here," Issa said.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., tells Ed Schultz how the Democrats and the White House plan to move forward, with or without House Speaker John Boehner, pictured, as a larger fight over the deficit looms.

Neither new nor secret
Although many of the provisions are being characterized as new pork barrel programs that sneaked their way into the bill under cover of darkness, there's nothing new or secret about any of them.

Most of the tax breaks had been scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, 2011, and as long ago as February, lawmakers were seeking a way to revive them.

Industries in limbo as Congress mulls expired tax breaks

Eventually, they were packaged together as the Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012. It was so titled because "people need certainty to plan their finances, and businesses need certainty to hire, invest and grow," as Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Finance Committee, said when the committee passed the package in August.

Once it was out of committee, the measure went nowhere. That is, until this week, when ? with a lame-duck Congress just hours away from going home without having addressed the fiscal cliff ? it was substituted almost word for word into the deal brokered by Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

It makes up Titles III and IV of the final bill, with many of the alterations reading like this:

Paragraph (1) of section 7652(f) is amended by striking "January 1, 2012" and inserting "January 1, 2014".

(If you want to see what changed, here's the Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012 (.pdf) and here are the changes made to it in the final bill (.pdf).)

Former Sens. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo., left, and Erskine Bowles, D-N.C., co-chairman of President Barack Obama's 2010 deficit commission, said Congress missed a 'magic moment' to reform the tax code.

By taking the clock down to 00:00 and backing itself into a corner, Congress "missed this magic moment to do something big to reduce the deficit, reform our tax code and fix our entitlement programs," said former Sens. Erskine Bowles, D-N.C., and Alan Simpson, R-Wyo., the co-chairmen of Obama's 2010 commission responsible for finding a way out of the country's economic morass.

"We have all known for over a year that this fiscal cliff was coming," they said in a joint statement Tuesday, adding: "Yet even after taking the country to the brink of economic disaster, Washington still could not forge a common sense bipartisan consensus on a plan that stabilizes the debt."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was less diplomatic.

"It's so incredibly disappointing that members of Congress saw fit to add hundreds of millions of dollars in special-interest handouts to the recently passed 'fiscal cliff' bill, which had the simple purpose of avoiding massive tax rate increases on average Americans," McCain said Thursday.

"It's hard to think of anything that could feed the cynicism of the American people more than larding up must-pass emergency legislation with giveaways to special interests and campaign contributors," he said. "And this growing cynicism ? largely justified in my view ? will make it harder for us to deliver the tough medicine needed to address our crushing national debt."

Unloved for so long, Congress not fazed by public's disapproval

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/04/16334798-fiscal-cliff-deal-includes-at-least-679-billion-for-special-interests?lite

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TV documentary features presidents' staff chiefs

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) ? Makers of a Discovery network documentary on presidential chiefs of staff have a perfect participation record.

All 19 living men who had that job gave interviews for "The Presidents' Gatekeepers." The four-hour documentary is expected to air in two parts early this summer.

Filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet (naw-DAY) said Saturday that their well-regarded previous documentary on the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in New York was a calling card that probably helped them convince some former chiefs to participate.

Chris Whipple, formerly of ABC News, and ex-White House photographer David Hume Kennerly are also producers.

Their longest interview was with former Vice President Dick Cheney, who was President Gerald Ford's chief of staff in the 1970s.

Cheney said a chief is more powerful than a vice president.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-01-05-US-TV-Discovery-Gatekeepers/id-47361730f53345d3824defa82c48045d

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Republicans urge tax changes (Washington Bureau)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/274999923?client_source=feed&format=rss

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