Sony fined in UK over PlayStation cyberattack

FILE - In this Aug. 19, 2009 file photo, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan President Shawn Layden displays a new PlayStation 3 during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan. Britain?s Data Regulator fined Sony 250,000 pounds ($396,100) on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013 for having insufficient security measures to prevent a 2011 cyberattack on its PlayStation Network. The attack in April 2011 targeted credit card information through Sony?s PlayStation Network and put millions of users? personal information - including names, addresses, birth dates and account passwords - at risk. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 19, 2009 file photo, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan President Shawn Layden displays a new PlayStation 3 during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan. Britain?s Data Regulator fined Sony 250,000 pounds ($396,100) on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013 for having insufficient security measures to prevent a 2011 cyberattack on its PlayStation Network. The attack in April 2011 targeted credit card information through Sony?s PlayStation Network and put millions of users? personal information - including names, addresses, birth dates and account passwords - at risk. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, File)

LONDON (AP) ? British regulators have fined Sony 250,000 pounds ($396,100) for failing to prevent a 2011 cyberattack on its PlayStation Network which put millions of users' personal information ? including names, addresses, birth dates and account passwords ? at risk.

Britain's Information Commissioner's Office said Thursday that security measures in place at the time "were simply not good enough." It said the attack could have been prevented if software had been up to date, while passwords were also not secure.

David Smith, deputy commissioner and director of data protection, acknowledged that the fine for a "serious breach of the Data Protection Act" was "clearly substantial" but said that the office makes "no apologies" for that.

"There's no disguising that this is a business that should have known better," he said in a statement. "It is a company that trades on its technical expertise, and there's no doubt in my mind that they had access to both the technical knowledge and the resources to keep this information safe."

Smith called the case "one of the most serious ever reported" to the data regulator.

Sony, which has previously apologized for the data breach, said Thursday it "strongly disagrees" with the ruling and plans to appeal.

David Wilson, a spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd., said the company noted that the ICO recognized that Sony was the victim of a criminal attack and that there is no evidence payment card details were accessed.

"Criminal attacks on electronic networks are a real and growing aspect of 21st century life and Sony continually works to strengthen our systems, building in multiple layers of defense and working to make our networks safe, secure and resilient," he said in a statement.

------------------------

Cassandra Vinograd can be reached at http://twitter.com/CassVinograd

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-01-24-Britain-Sony%20Hack/id-b1d4c008fff246f689507df705788a48

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Video: Seahawks' Washington geared up for Pro Bowl

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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/21134540/vp/50567686#50567686

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Owners say ferrets are pets, officials say pest

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The difference between owning a ferret in Hawaii and one in Pennsylvania can be up to three years in jail ? and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

That's the penalty for ferret fans in the Aloha State, where the 3-pound members of the weasel and polecat family are banned amid concerns of the animals escaping and wreaking havoc on the islands' delicate ecosystems. Similar fears are behind a decades-old ban in California, which has one of the nation's most diverse ecosystems.

"The concern is that if these animals were released, like other non-native species have been, they would adapt and thrive and out-compete native species for food, and prey on native species," said Adrianna Shea, deputy director of California's Fish and Game Commission.

States have had problems with feral animals in nonnative environments, creating problems for native species by eating them or ravaging their food supply. Feral cats, for example, have decimated bird populations. In Hawaii, the introduction of the mongoose to combat a rat problem "was a very poor idea. Rats are nocturnal and mongooses are diurnal. They only saw each other for a short period between dusk and dawn," said Minami Keevin, a land vertebrate specialist with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture.

But ferret fans argue that the foot-long domesticated creatures make excellent pets and shouldn't be regulated by wildlife agencies.

"Ferrets are really wonderful animals for those of us who are so inclined. They are messy, and they're expensive, and they're demanding, but they are full of personality, full of love and full of joy," said Pat Wright, who lives in La Mesa, near San Diego, and has been fighting California's ban for nearly 20 years.

Keeping a ferret as a pet takes more time, care and money than owning a dog or cat. The American Veterinary Medical Association in Schaumburg, Ill., which recently posted a YouTube video on pet ferrets, noted that they need to be caged most of the time, require hours of exercise and emit a musky odor that many people find unpleasant. Large cages are expensive, but on the other hand, ferrets don't require as much medical or dental care as cats or dogs.

"They are wonderful little clowns that not only steal your heart but they will steal anything they deem is theirs. This includes your shoes, socks, pens, pencils, hairbrushes, potatoes, car keys, wallets and clothing. I had two ferrets that tried to take my notebook computer to what is called their hidey-hole," said AmyJo Casner of Harrisville, Pa., who legally owns ferrets Manny, Marcuz, and Marylin.

Their antics are better than antidepressants, said Casner, whose pets inspired her to start a ferret clothing line that she sells online.

A count of ferret owners across the U.S. was unavailable, but the American Pet Products Association said that in 1992, 2 percent of people who owned a small animal like a mouse, rat, ferret, gerbil, rabbit, hamster or guinea pig said they had a ferret. In 2000, 10 percent of small-animal owners said they had a ferret, and 7 percent in 2010 had them. That's despite bans in the two states, plus a number of large cities including New York, and U.S. military bases.

In California, where having a ferret can net a $500 fine or six months in jail, Wright estimated between 50,000 and 500,000 pet ferrets live a clandestine existence. His guess is based on ferret-supply sales and a 5,000-member mailing list for his ferret legalization cause.

Shea, who said Fish and Game has never tried to verify those numbers, said California doesn't have enough game wardens to chase violators, so the ban is not strictly enforced. Billboards close to the borders of Arizona and Nevada point motorists in the direction of ferret sellers. And most pet stores in California carry ferret food and supplies.

But the issue is taken seriously in Hawaii, where every report of a ferret is checked. One captured last year in Hilo was turned over to the Hawaii Island Humane Society, flown to Honolulu and quarantined until it could be shipped out of state. The penalty for importing, selling or possessing a ferret in Hawaii is a fine up to $200,000 and as many as three years in jail.

Dr. Valarie Tynes, a veterinarian with the AVMA, said breeders who spay and neuter ferrets before selling them could allay states' concerns that the animals could escape and procreate.

"I think there have been concerns by some that if ferrets got loose, they might thrive in the wild in the United States and possibly be damaging to native populations," she said. "I think it's interesting, as long as they've been pets, I've never heard of any place that's happened."

California's 80-year-old ban can be changed by commission vote or legislation, and there have been six attempts at a bill since 1994. A 2004 proposal came closest when it reached the desk of the governor ? Arnold Schwarzenegger, who appeared with a ferret in "Kindergarten Cop." He vetoed it.

Wright is looking for another lawmaker willing to sponsor a new round of legislation, but conceded that task alone was difficult. With legislators facing issues like the budget, gun control and health care, he noted, anyone who goes to bat for ferrets will probably be mocked.

___

Online:

http://www.avma.org

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/owners-ferrets-pets-officials-pest-100223217.html

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Justified, Season 4

Constable Bob (Patton Oswalt) made his Justified debut by bumbling his way to saving the life of Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant).

Still from Justified by Prashant Gupta/FX.

In Slate?s Justified TV Club , Rachael Larimore will IM each week with a different fan of the FX drama set in Harlan County, Ky. This week she chats with TV writer Tara Ariano.

Rachael Larimore: Welcome, Tara, and thank you for joining me. This season premiere seemed to be all about "fresh starts." Not just for Boyd's dealer/client who claims he has been saved by the Last Chance Holiness Church, but for the show itself. There were so many new faces. What did you think?

Tara Ariano: This is typical for a new season of Justified: a lot of tantalizing story threads without a clear idea of who or what the new Big Bad is going to be. Clearly, this Waldo Truth situation is going somewhere; and just as clearly, Arlo's being incarcerated isn't going to stop him from being a problem to Raylan (Timothy Olyphant). And to the state, I guess.

Larimore: I have always loved to hate Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), and I?ve never found him to be a particularly adept criminal mastermind, just lucky. But when we met Billy St. Cyr (Joseph Mazzello), the snake-handling revivalist preacher who has his new followers convinced he (or God) can cure them of addiction, I had a feeling I might start feeling a little more sympathetic toward ol' Boyd this season. Preacher Billy gave me the creeps. How do you think Boyd might handle this very different challenge to his empire?

Ariano: Boyd is always compelling as Raylan's dark double. What will be particularly interesting about Billy as Boyd's new antagonist is the faith aspect. Past seasons have shown Boyd grappling with his own relationship to religion. Billy may not realize that Boyd will be able to match him line for line in any scripture-based debate.

Larimore: There is indeed a glimpse of Boyd?s prowess at quoting scripture in the season preview trailer, where he appears to be crashing one of Billy's sermons and warning of false prophets. It makes me wonder if the Billy-Boyd drama could steal the show from the season?s other major plotline: the cold case. The episode opens with a flashback to 1983 and a dead parachutist surrounded by bags of cocaine in a suburban cul-de-sac. Fast forward to the present, when two teenagers are breaking into Arlo's house and searching for something hidden in his walls. They are chased away before they can get what they came for, but later, Raylan discovers a diplomatic pouch and the driver's license of "Waldo Truth" in the hole.

Ariano: Indeed. Either Arlo (Raymond Barry) is not as senile as he has seemed of late, or in his version of the present, he hid the bag away relatively recently and fears the consequences of its discovery enough to dispatch a prison trustee with impressive haste.

Larimore: Since we know that Raylan will be investigating this long-forgotten crime that has something to do with Arlo, I'm curious as to what it will do for Raylan and Arlo's relationship. Considering that Arlo thought he was shooting Raylan last season, it can?t get any worse. Do you think Raylan could possibly glean some insight into Arlo that would swing the pendulum back even a smidgen?

Ariano: I feel like Raylan has had enough cause and opportunity to take out Arlo over the years that he could have done it by now if he wanted. I also think any new information he learns about Arlo is unlikely to make Arlo look ? better. But the show has certainly surprised me before!

Larimore:?True! It's not like Arlo has ever been up for Father of the Year. I just can't help thinking that since Raylan is about to become a father?that the writers aren't concocting a storyline that has Raylan exploring his own childhood by chance.

Ariano: What seems certain is that Constable Bob (Patton Oswalt), whom Raylan's hired to look after Arlo's house, is going to continue screwing things up in the coming episodes. If his debut appearance ends with him and several others badly maimed, surely things can only escalate to him causing someone's death.

Larimore: I was intrigued by the casting of Patton Oswalt, who certainly has a diverse body of work but is better known for his comedy. I like to think that there is more to Constable Bob than the bumbler we saw in the premiere.

Ariano: Oswalt has become more of a dramatic actor in recent years (in movies like Big Fan and Young Adult), but I found his casting a bit of a departure for Justified, which tends to cast character actors who the audience wouldn't necessarily identify with any past roles. But maybe there's less crossover in the Justified and "comedy nerd" audiences than I think.

Larimore: I liked Oswalt in the role. I was less impressed with how the show introduced Colt (Ron Eldard). It's almost a clich? to have a guy show up at a bar, look threatening, and be almost chased off and then?hey, look everybody!?be a long-lost pal from the war. And then later, when Boyd said, "Take care of him" after they recovered the money from Boyd's newly clean and saved dealer, I kind of saw that coming a mile away?how Colt killed him though Boyd had meant for Colt to untie him. It was a bit lazy, I thought, compared with the rest of the episode.

Ariano: Yeah, maybe lazy. Or foreshadowing for a moment later in the season, when Colt wants to take out someone whose life is, to Boyd, less inconsequential than that poor fool's was.

Larimore: You are probably right! We've talked about all the new faces (well, except for a long-lost lady friend of Raylan's who appears briefly early on, but really, who can keep track of all of his paramours?), which brings us to the end of the episode, when Arlo kills a fellow prisoner for knowing a?little too much?about that diplomatic pouch. Dramatic and telling!

Ariano: It's a reminder that Arlo is still a bad guy, whose past crimes are never quite past. And a reminder of how hard it must have been for a young Raylan to escape his circumstances and start a career in law enforcement: Though the Arlo we first met seemed like a fairly small-time crook, we keep learning more about how ambitious his crimes actually were. And as for the lady friend: We see her naked ass and not Raylan's? WEAK.

Larimore: Do you have any predictions for the season? Or is there anything you're hoping to see (besides equal airtime for Raylan's backside)?

Ariano: Sometimes it seems like the only thing worth guessing after a Justified season premiere is who's going to survive the finale! And I don't have a good feeling about Rev. Billy. His sister may bite it even sooner than that.

Larimore: In that way, Justified is a little bit like Dexter ... the villain doesn't usually survive the finale. In this case, though, the bigger mystery might be around just who gets to kill Rev. Billy. My money is on the snake. By which I mean the actual reptile, not Boyd.

Ariano: He did say he's already been bitten twice. Rule of threes!

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=046cf42bead51db9628c27bafc0b25eb

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Depardieu: 'I'm French' despite Russian passport

PARIS (AP) ? Actor Gerard Depardieu denied in an interview aired Monday that he accepted a Russian passport to escape the taxman in France, and said that while he may also seek Belgian nationality, he is still French.

Depardieu's first public remarks since acquiring a Russian passport on Saturday suggest that his threat last month to turn in his French passport was a bluff, or the indignant reaction of a wounded man.

"I have a Russian passport, but I remain French and I will probably have dual Belgian nationality," he said in the interview with the sports channel L'Equipe21. "But if I'd wanted to escape the taxman, as the French press says, I would have done it a long time ago."

Depardieu, 64, is one of France's best known actors, has appeared in more than 150 films and has an international following. He has been at the center of a heated debate over tax exiles as France's Socialist government looks to fill state coffers with a hefty tax on the rich. Depardieu drew scorn and insults with his recent decision to move to neighboring Belgium, where taxes are less steep for the well-off.

After Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called him "pathetic" and "unpatriotic," Depardieu penned an open letter in mid-December saying he was handing in his passport and social security card. Then, over the weekend, Depardieu showed up in Russia to accept a passport delivered personally by President Vladimir Putin.

Depardieu spoke to the sports channel from Zurich, Switzerland, on the sidelines of a soccer awards ceremony. Referring to tax exiles, Depardieu said that some high-profile rich in the entertainment industry had left France two decades ago.

Depardieu has a court date Tuesday in Paris, where he is expected to agree to a plea bargain in a case of alleged drunken driving. The burly actor was arrested after falling off his motorcycle in November and failing a sobriety test.

Elisabeth Depardieu, the actor's ex-wife, said in an interview on Monday with RTL radio that her former spouse is by nature very emotional.

"When he feels refused, he becomes provocative," she said. "Should we throw stones? He is a monument. He is a poet."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/depardieu-im-french-despite-russian-passport-201421525.html

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Early Studies Show Facebook Mobile App Install Ads Perform Well For Devs, Indicating Big Revenue Potential

Chances are you may have seen one yourself, but just how well are Facebook mobile ads promoting app installs performing? AdParlor, one of Facebook’s advertising and marketing partners, has provided us with some data to show that the answer is rather well, although the experience of another developer points to some of those good gains possibly being short-lived. The gains of a strong app install model are potentially not just good news for developers — who need more than app store rankings these days to get their apps seen, installed and used — but also investors — who need to keep seeing evidence of solid business models in Facebook’s business. AdParlor recently ran a four-week campaign with a large global gaming company (it doesn’t say which one), with app instill ads placed in the mobile news feed. AdParlor found News Feed ads to be one of the most engaging and effective ad placements on Facebook’s platform at the moment, with average click-through-rates of 0.5% (ie, how many people click on the ads) and sometimes higher depending on the vertical. AdParlor, the divsion of online advertising network Adknowledge that handles Facebook advertising for ?hundreds of companies like?Groupon, L’Oreal, American Express, Coca Cola, LG, OMD, Mindshare, Starcom, says that this particular campaign was for a role-playing game, with the aim being (as it is with many Facebook ads) to drive more players to the game’s iOS app. The ad delivered 10 million mobile impressions and drove thousands of iOS installs over four weeks. Tracked and optimized for the most effective cost-per-install by country, this is how different countries broke down for cost-per-install: What these numbers, all under $3, show is that the cost-per-install — meaning the amount of money it is costing developers to get users to act on their ads — is still remaining relatively low. In other words, a lot of users are clicking on the ads and downloading. That’s something Kate Simille, a product director at app developers Miso, has also noted, with even more cost-effective results:?Miso recently decided to buy mobile ad units on Facebook’s mobile platform to promote a new app, Quips, along with ad units on two other networks, mDotm and Tapjoy. Their conclusion: Facebook far and away had the best results, with $0.45 Average cost-per-click (CPC) (not install); a 6% conversion rate of installs (actions) to clicks, with the average cost per user at $1.73.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/0xm3u_TwH1Q/

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Photosynthesis: The last link in the chain

Jan. 4, 2013 ? For almost 30 years, researchers have sought to identify a particular enzyme that is involved in regulating electron transport during photosynthesis. A team at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit?t (LMU) in Munich has now found the missing link, which turns out to be an old acquaintance.

Photosynthesis sustains life on Earth by providing energy-rich compounds and the molecular oxygen that higher organisms depend on. The process is powered by sunlight, which is captured by "biochemical solar cells" called photosystems that are found in plants, algae and certain types of bacteria. Plants have two photosystems, PSI and PSII. Each consists of a pigment-protein complex that uses solar energy to raise electrons to a higher energy level. These are then passed along a chain of electron acceptors, and the energy released is employed for synthesis of ATP, the "coinage" used for all energy transactions in cells.

Electron transport can proceed along several different routes. So-called linear electron transport requires the participation of both PSI and PSII, and delivers the electrons to a small molecule called NADP, forming NADPH. Cyclic electron flow on the other hand -- which can take two alternative paths -- involves only PSI, and is used solely for the production of ATP. Electrons that follow the major route are passed via an acceptor called plastoquinone to the cytochrome b6f complex and from there back to PSI, thus completing the cycle.

"The identity of the carrier that donates electrons to plastoquinone, and thus makes the process of cyclic electron flow possible, has long been a subject of controversy," says LMU biologist Professor Dario Leister, who, together with other members of his group, has now succeeded in identifying the crucial missing link in the process.

The crossroads that closes the circuit

Plants can switch between linear and cyclic modes of electron transport in order to maintain the appropriate balance between ATP and NADPH, both of which are required for synthesis of sugars from CO2. This implies that the allocation of electrons between the photosystems can be regulated. An electron transporter called ferredoxin, which receives electrons directly from PSI, acts as the junction that connects the two. "It was therefore proposed, more than 30 years ago, that a so-called ferredoxin-plastoquinone reductase (FQR) must exist, which ensures that electrons can be re-injected into the electron transport chain, and thus allows for cyclic electron transport," Leister explains, "but despite intensive searches, no such enzyme had been found."

In 2008, Leister's team identified a protein they called PGRL1, and showed that it was able to interact with PSI and with other factors known to participate in cyclic electron transport. In their latest study, they have been able to characterize the precise biochemical function of PGRL1. It turns out that the protein is the long-sought FQR that plays a central role in the regulation of cyclic electron flow. "In the long term, this finding may help us to improve photosynthetic performance by replacing or modifying specific components of the electron transport chain," Leister points out.

Pivotal regulators such as PGRL1 could possibly be tuned in a targeted fashion so as to enhance the efficiency of photosynthesis and thus increase yields in crop plants grown under controlled conditions. Furthermore, a complete understanding of the structure and regulation of the photosystems is a prerequisite for the development of methods that would allow one to optimize the process of photosynthesis for various applications -- such as raising crop yields, designing new types of solar cells or generating molecular hydrogen for use as an environmentally friendly energy source. (Molecular Cell, 3. January 2013)

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen (LMU).

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Alexander?P. Hertle, Thomas Blunder, Tobias Wunder, Paolo Pesaresi, Mathias Pribil, Ute Armbruster, Dario Leister. PGRL1 Is the Elusive Ferredoxin-Plastoquinone Reductase in Photosynthetic Cyclic Electron Flow. Molecular Cell, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2012.11.030

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/kEUJ4qHRoBY/130104101155.htm

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Congress ushering in new members, with old divide

Anne Easby-Smith, left, and Trace Robbins, right, who work for House Speaker John Boehner, help to prepare the Rayburn Room on Capitol Hill in Washington,Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013, where members of the House of Representatives will pose for pictures at an oath of office ceremony with Boehner. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Anne Easby-Smith, left, and Trace Robbins, right, who work for House Speaker John Boehner, help to prepare the Rayburn Room on Capitol Hill in Washington,Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013, where members of the House of Representatives will pose for pictures at an oath of office ceremony with Boehner. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The U.S. Capitol is seen amid reflections from inside the Cannon House Office Building on the last day of the 112th Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. On Thursday, all members of the House of Representatives and one third of the Senate will be sworn in as the 113th Congress begins its work. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Congress is ushering in the new and the old ? dozens of eager freshmen determined to change Washington and the harsh reality of another stretch of bitterly divided government.

The 113th Congress will convene Thursday at the constitutionally required time of noon for pomp, pageantry and politics as newly elected members of the House and Senate are sworn in and the speaker of the Republican-controlled House is chosen. The traditions come against the backdrop of a mean season that closed out an angry election year.

A deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" of big tax increases and spending cuts split the parties in New Year's Day votes, and the House's failure to vote on a Superstorm Sandy aid package before adjournment prompted GOP recriminations against the leadership.

"There's a lot of hangover obviously from the last few weeks of this session into the new one, which always makes a fresh start a lot harder," Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said.

For all the change of the next Congress, the new bosses are the same as the old bosses.

President Barack Obama secured a second term in the November elections, and Democrats tightened their grip on the Senate for a 55-45 edge in the new two-year Congress, ensuring that Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., will remain in charge. Republicans maintained their majority in the House but will have a smaller advantage, 235-199. Former Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s Illinois seat is the one vacancy.

Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has faced a bruising few weeks with his fractious GOP caucus but seemed poised to win another term as speaker. He mollified angry Republicans from New York and New Jersey on Wednesday with the promise of a vote Friday on $9 billion of the storm relief package and another vote on the remaining $51 billion on Jan. 15.

The GOP members quickly abandoned their chatter about voting against the speaker.

The new Congress still faces the ideological disputes that plagued the dysfunctional 112th Congress, one of the least productive in more than 60 years. Tea partyers within the Republican ranks insist on fiscal discipline in the face of growing deficits and have pressed for deep cuts in spending as part of a reduced role for the federal government. Democrats envision a government with enough resources to help the less fortunate and press for the wealthiest to pay more in taxes.

"We can only hope for more help," said Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who was re-elected in November. "Any time you have new members arriving you have that expectation of bringing fresh ideas and kind of a vitality that is needed. We hope that they're coming eager to work hard and make some difficult decisions and put the country first and not be bogged down ideologically."

The next two months will be crucial, with tough economic issues looming. Congress put off for just eight weeks automatic spending cuts to defense and domestic programs that were due to begin with the new year. The question of raising the nation's borrowing authority also must be decided. Another round of ugly negotiations between Obama and Congress is not far off.

There are 12 newly elected senators ? eight Democrats, three Republicans and one independent, former Maine Gov. Angus King, who will caucus with the Democrats. They will be joined by Rep. Tim Scott, the first black Republican in decades, who was tapped by South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to fill the remaining term of Sen. Jim DeMint. The conservative DeMint resigned to lead the Heritage Foundation think tank.

In a sign of some diversity for the venerable body, the Senate will have three Hispanics ? Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and one of the new members, Republican Ted Cruz of Texas. There will be 20 women in the 100-member chamber, the highest number yet.

At least one longtime Democrat, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, will be departing in a few weeks, nominated by Obama to be secretary of state. That opens the door to former Republican Sen. Scott Brown, the only incumbent senator to lose in November's elections, to possibly make a bid to return to Washington.

Eighty-two freshmen join the House ? 47 Democrats and 35 Republicans. Women will total 81 in the 435-member body ? 62 Democrats and 19 Republicans.

In the Senate, Reid and Republican leader Mitch McConnell are negotiating possible changes in the rules as lawmakers face a bitter partisan fight over filibusters, according to a Senate Democratic leadership aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about private matters.

Reid has complained that Republicans filibuster too often and has threatened to impose strict limits with a simple majority vote. That step could set off retaliatory delays and other maneuvers by Republicans, who argue that they filibuster because Reid often blocks them from offering amendments.

The aide said Reid was preserving the option of making changes with a simple majority vote.

The start of the new Congress also offers a comeback for one lawmaker. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who suffered a stroke last January and has been absent for the past year, plans a dramatic return to the Capitol by walking up the 45 steps to the Senate's doors.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-03-New%20Congress/id-a411f3e0347c457b907cc1eb35522503

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Observatory: In Ancient Meteorite, Hint There Was Life on Mars

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The meteorite?s unusual age, from the early part of the most recent geologic epoch on Mars, and its relatively high water content set it apart.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/science/space/in-ancient-meteorite-hint-there-was-life-on-mars.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Proper Heating and Air Conditioning Maintenance | My WordPress ...

If you need to install a new heating or cooling system in your house, the most essential things to consider are selecting high quality products and professional service. Many varieties of furnaces have been manufactured which all have various parts and functions. Depending on your home and location, your home temperature and utility bill can improve dramatically if you select an appropriate furnace. Cooling systems are also very different and it is essential to purchase a system that is the most effective. When you hire a heating and air conditioning professional, they will evaluate your home and help pick the system that will meet your needs the best. These specialists can also handle all varieties of heating and cooling repairs. Notice a large difference in your year-round comfort with professional heating and air conditioning technicians on your side. Heating Service Corpus Christi TX

Source: http://ercillesuniverse.com/proper-heating-and-air-conditioning-maintenance/

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Benefits of SandBell Games and Exercise Play | Game: Clear the ...

By Hyperwear Master Trainer and Faculty Member, Jake Duhon

Play, games and creative activities are extremely important in a child?s development. Incorporating them into fun and engaging challenges only enhances their affect on children?s physical, mental and emotional well-being. SandBell games are especially great for children?s activities because SandBells can be used without the fear of causing injury.

When creating an environment for games with the SandBell it is important to promote active play as it aids in physical development, coordination and cardiovascular fitness. Games allow children to play with friends helping them to discover skills such as communication, cooperation, negotiation and promotion of attachment, which is a preventative factor in the development of mental health problems later in life. Negotiation, self-reliance, cooperation and communication skills are all developed effectively through peer interactions in a way that doesn?t happen when adults are involved.

Playing games with rules helps children learn to live within boundaries. Children need to learn which rules are flexible and games are a good way of reinforcing the different types of boundaries while also providing confidence and teaching new skills through learning and following directions.

Using your own creativity and open mind, you can begin challenging children through games and promote movement within your community in a variety of different ways.

Click to watch the SandBell games video!

Game: Clear the House

Set-up: Create a space large enough for your group with a dividing line down the center. Separate your group into two teams of equal players with and an equal number of SandBells on each side ranging in appropriate weight.

Objective: Within the designated time period, teams must clear the SandBells from their ?house? to their opponents ?house?. The team with the least amount of SandBells in their house at the end of the time period wins.

Programing Variables

Duration: How long is the movement period set for?

The duration of the game will be set based on the desired conditioning goal of the movement session and most importantly the participants involved.

There are three different body systems to keep in mind when considering movement duration:

1. Lactate threshold ? This is the capacity to do high-intensity work for up to 3 minutes. The ESD unit of the training program is a form of interval training in which you alternate between periods of intense exercise with less strenuous periods.
2. Lactate power ? This is the body?s ability to do high-level work for periods of up to 12 seconds.
3. Aerobic system ? the body?s ability to work beyond 3 minutes.

Sets: How many rounds of play will you have?

The total sets will assist in providing training volume; the more sets the greater the volume of work for your participants.

Recommended sets for Kindergarten ? 2^nd grade: 3-5 sets

Load: What will the weight of the SandBells be for the participants?

The weight of the SandBells can vary. It is important to keep in mind the movement ability of the participants involved and most importantly the training goal. Load will have a direct correlation to the duration of movement desired as well as the total volume of work you would like to see performed. When considering load remember it is more important to see quality and not quantity. Motion with the SandBell should be controlled and participants should demonstrate good rhythm & timing throughout each set.

Recommended load for Kindergarten ? 2^nd grade: 2-10lbs

Rest: What length of time will participants recover from the movement duration?

The rest period will also assist in dictating the desired impact of the movement session. The amount of time you choose to have your participants rest between sets can have a major impact on how the movement you?re planning affects the body.

Recommended rest period for kindergarten ? 2^nd grade: 30-90 seconds.

Source: http://www.hyperwear.com/blog/benefits-play-sandbell-games-kids/

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T-Mobile confirms appeal over Austria telecom merger

VIENNA (Reuters) - T-Mobile Austria confirmed it had filed an appeal against the allocation of radio frequencies that will result from Hutchison Whampoa's takeover of Orange Austria, in a move that could derail the 1.3 billion euro ($1.7 billion) deal.

A source familiar with the matter had told Reuters last month that the Deutsche Telekom unit planned the appeal over fears it will be at a disadvantage to rivals who will have a head start of up to a year in building next-generation LTE networks.

The ability to build an LTE network, which will offer data speeds up to 10 times those now available, will be a key competitive advantage in Austria's hard-fought telecoms market.

The country's four operators are engaged in a price war as they fight over a population of just 8.4 million, with all-inclusive, no-strings offers available for as little as 7 euros per month.

T-Mobile said on Wednesday it had lodged an appeal on December 31 with Austria's higher administrative court against the decision of the country's telecom control commission, the TKK, for the transfer of frequencies that will accompany the merger.

It said it had asked for the transfer to be put on hold while its legal case is being heard. It said it expected the court to decide within days on whether to grant an injunction in the case, which it thought could last until March or April.

A court spokesman said the court had not yet received the appeal.

($1 = 0.7585 euros)

(Reporting by Angelika Gruber and Michael Shields; Editing by David Holmes)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/t-mobile-confirms-appeal-over-austria-telecom-merger-123631560--sector.html

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Apple Is Already Testing The iPhone 6, According ... - Business Insider

Apple is already testing the next iPhone, according to developer logs shown to Matt Brian of The Next Web.

Brian reports, "One developer showed us that Apple has been testing hardware relating to a new ?iPhone6,1? identifier, powered by a device running iOS 7, which is expected to be released by Apple in the middle part of this year."

The current iPhone is marked in developer logs as 'iPhone5,1' and ?iPhone 5,2'. Therefore, Apple appears to be testing new hardware.

In last two years Apple has released a new iPhone in the fall. The fact that a new iPhone is showing up in developer logs already suggests its going to pull the release date forward.

Don't Miss: Apple's 2012 Was Significantly Better Than Its 2011

We've already heard a few rumbles about Apple planning to release the next iPhone, which many are calling the iPhone 5S, in June or July.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-is-already-testing-the-iphone-6-according-to-a-developer-2013-1

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GOP Rep. King: ?Anyone from NY & NJ who contributes one penny to [GOP] is out of their mind? (Americablog)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/274403868?client_source=feed&format=rss

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"Fiscal cliff" tumble looms despite Senate efforts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States was on track to tumble over the "fiscal cliff" at midnight on Monday, at least for a day, as lawmakers held back from supporting an eleventh-hour plan from Senate leaders to avert severe tax increases and spending cuts.

The U.S. House of Representatives looked unlikely to vote on a Senate "fiscal cliff" plan before midnight, possibly pushing a legislative decision into New Year's Day, when financial markets will be closed.

The plan was heavy on tax increases and light on spending cuts, which was unlikely to appeal to Republicans in the House.

It would raise income taxes on high-income Americans, but leave taxes at current levels for the middle class, a key goal of President Barack Obama.

But there was discontent among Senate Democrats worried that the proposal did not go far enough in taxing the rich. The Democrats asked for a meeting with Vice President Joe Biden to have him explain the talks he was having with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

"The caucus as a whole is not sold" on the plan, said a Senate Democratic aide. "We just don't have the votes for it."

If Congress fails to act, about $600 billion in tax increases - much steeper than those in the Senate plan - and government-wide spending cuts will begin taking effect after midnight, harsh measures that could lead to a recession.

But lawmakers could still vote for a deal on New Year's Day or later and prevent the worst of the fiscal cliff effects.

The House expects to reconvene on Tuesday at noon, Republican Representative Steven LaTourette said. He added that House members had been told to stay close on Monday evening and that they may be called back to continue negotiations.

Under the Senate plan, income above $450,000 per household or $400,000 per individual would be taxed at 39.6 percent, up from 35 percent. Income up to those levels would be taxed at the current, reduced tax rates put in place under former President George W. Bush.

The Senate plan would raise estate taxes on inherited wealth and permanently fix the alternative minimum tax, or AMT, so that it did not threaten each year to sweep in millions of middle-income Americans for whom it was not intended.

The plan also postpones for two months the automatic, across-the-board spending cuts in defense and domestic programs that are part of the fiscal cliff, Senator John McCain said.

SENATE DEMOCRATS UNSURE

Some Senate Democrats did not like the $450,000 threshold for raising taxes on the rich - they wanted $250,000 - or the higher threshold for raising estate taxes. Democrats also are upset there is no agreement yet to put off the first round of $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts.

Republicans already are pushing for switching those across-the-board cuts to savings in the Medicare and Social Security healthcare and retirement programs and threatening to block a debt limit increase in February unless they get their way. But that is a fight that would most likely play out in January and February.

Some Senate Democrats aides were dispirited that Biden, a fellow Democrat, had gone further than they wanted in the fiscal cliff talks, just as he did in December 2010 when all Bush tax cuts were extended for two years.

Shortly after the plan emerged, Obama said agreement was within sight, but he sounded a cautious note.

"There are still issues to resolve, but we're hopeful that Congress can get it done, but it's not done," Obama, a Democrat, said at a White House event.

U.S. stocks rose on the day, with the market closing before the latest news broke about the House not voting. The benchmark Dow Jones industrial average closed up 1.3 percent at 13,104.

Even if the country tumbles over the cliff, legislative action afterward could soften the blow.

Final legislation can be backdated to January 1, for instance, said law firm K&L Gates partner Mary Burke Baker, who spent decades at the Internal Revenue Service.

"The important date is the date in the legislative language ... no matter what day the Senate or House pass the law, or the date the president signs it," she said.

Former Obama administration Treasury Department tax official Michael Mundaca agreed, although he said there would likely be delays in filing for many taxpayers as the IRS gets its computers into gear.

A deal on Tuesday will likely leave unsolved the issue of the "debt ceiling," which caps how much debt the federal government can hold.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a letter to congressional leaders that the government would suspend some investments in pension and health benefit funds for federal workers beginning on Monday in a move that allows it to keep borrowing for the meantime.

(Additional reporting by Mark Felsenthal, Tabassum Zakaria, Kim Dixon, Jeff Mason, Rachelle Younglai and David Morgan, Writing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Editing by Alistair Bell and Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fiscal-deal-stalls-clock-ticks-deadline-000951431--business.html

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Adam Lambert Slams Film ?Les Miserables? Over Pretend Singers!

Adam Lambert Slams Film “Les Miserables” Over Pretend Singers!

“Les Miserables” may be a critically-acclaimed movie that is already receiving Oscar buzz, but Adam Lambert claims the film “suffered miserably” due to the singing of the actors. The 30-year-old “American Idol”, who was the runner-up in Season 8 of the show, took to Twitter to give his two cents on the hit movie. Lambert ...

Adam Lambert Slams Film “Les Miserables” Over Pretend Singers! Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2012/12/adam-lambert-slams-film-les-miserables-over-pretend-singers/

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Vintage African Art: Nigerian Pulp Fiction | Okayafrica.

Before Heinemann?s African Writer?s Series?and Macmillan?s Pacesetter Series, there was Nigerian pulp fiction, or, as it?s more commonly known, Onitsha market literature. The sensational stories, paper-bound in Hollywood-inspired covers, grew in popularity in the decade before Nigerian independence, and the years immediately following it. Their appeal wasn?t limited to Onitsha, the city where they were written and printed. Before the demise of Onitsha?s printing presses in the Nigeria-Biafra War (1967-70), the group of independent publishers concentrated there churned out thousands of pamphlets which were distributed across the Nigeria and Anglophone West Africa.

Much like today?s self-appointed self-help gurus, many of these writers saw it as their duty to dispense moral advice on topics ranging from casual sex (avoid) to business success (pursue). The weight and optimism of Independence is everywhere in the pamphlets, which grapple with the contradictions of becoming moderns or ?new Africans? (who Nkrumah memorably conjured in his 1957 Midnight Speech), without sacrificing too many of the old ways in the process. They contain a palpable?enthusiasm for city life, moneymaking, self-creation and self-improvement.

Like many of his Onitsha contemporaries, author Cyril Ummunah promises to make his readers intimates of the rules of modern love. As the title suggests, ?They Died in the Game of Love? is a cautionary tale: lovers Thony and Cathy heap tragedy on their own (and everyone else?s) heads by engaging in pre-marital sex. Cathy dies, Thony finds another lover who also dies, and the whole thing ends in the type of bloodbath more readily associated with a Tarantino film. But there?s hope ? Ummunah promises his male readers that they?ll find love, ?regardless how ugly you are?.

Here as elsewhere, the figure of wayward youth, and the wayward woman (ashewo, harlot, schemer, manipulator), features strongly. She recurs as a stock character onto which anxieties about money, poverty and the hardship of city life, are routinely projected. Across the genre, worried men warn other, presumably equally worried, men away from the jeweled arms and made-up face of the gold-digger (??la Yeezy). Naturally, the minute we meet Mabel of ?Mabel the Sweet Honey that Poured Away? we know the terrible truth about her: ?It took her seven minutes to take her bath?, she uses ?two different pomades? and ?pencilled her eyebrows and eyelashes?. Powerless to warn our young hero, we brace ourselves for the havoc she?ll inevitably wreak.?Onitsha author C.N.O Money-Hard puts it best: ?You know women are pests and they are bent on sucking the man until he becomes tired??

But this archetype is not just a product of 1950s pulp fiction. She also appears in many of the revered ?village to city novels? that Heinemann went on to publish (Cyprian Ekwensi?s ?People of the City? is a classic example, while Buchi Emecheta?s ?The Joys of Motherhood? complicates the second-wife ?golddigger? figure considerably). What is clear though, is that women were considered parasites of the new wage economy, schemers who given the chance, would exploit love for material gain.

If the stories display the suspicion with which she was once regarded, it?s worth noting how deeply ?this wayward woman?s manicured nails are embedded in the Nigerian popular imagination. She continues to show up today, even as the country?embraces and contributes to?global consumer culture. Nollywood is often hostile terrain for the single women and narratives that purport to tell her story often mock or punish her for her consumption (?Glamour Girls?, ?Blackberry Babes?, perhaps the more oldschool Domzilla is an exception?).

The continued existence of this archetype in representations of Nigerians by Nigerians (both Onitsha market literature and Nollywood films are pioneers in that regard) suggests is that Nigeria?s fixation on wealth accumulation, and rightful anger over economic inequality have thickened in the years since independence. That some of this anger is expressed through strong popular protest?is exciting; that it also continues to be projected onto women, who are held up as examples of everything that?s wrong with consumer culture, is more troubling.

*

That?s the end of our series! We hope the trip through the archives has been yielded some food for thought. Does the term post-Africa pass muster? Or should it go the way of African post-feminism and post-black? In the coming year we?ll be interested to see how the meanings of ?Africa? continue to morph, both in how its understood and artistically rendered.

Read Vintage ?Africa? Part I: Representations of the Motherland and Otherlands?here.
Read Vintage ?Africa? Part II: Postcolonial African Films?here.
Read Vintage ?Africa? Part III: Pan African Songs here

Source: http://www.okayafrica.com/2012/12/31/vintage-africa-nigerian-pulp-fiction/

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