Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/314969377?client_source=feed&format=rss
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Qatar ruler hands over power to son
FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 file photo, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani arrives for corner-stone laying ceremony of a Qatari funded rehabilitation center in Gaza City. Qatar?s emir moves to hand power over to his son, aiming to bring a youthful new face to rule in a tiny Gulf nation that has become one of the most powerful in the Middle East, aggressively spreading its influence through cash. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 file photo, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani arrives for corner-stone laying ceremony of a Qatari funded rehabilitation center in Gaza City. Qatar?s emir moves to hand power over to his son, aiming to bring a youthful new face to rule in a tiny Gulf nation that has become one of the most powerful in the Middle East, aggressively spreading its influence through cash. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 file photo, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani arrives for corner-stone laying ceremony of a Qatari funded rehabilitation center in Gaza City. Qatar?s emir moves to hand power over to his son, aiming to bring a youthful new face to rule in a tiny Gulf nation that has become one of the most powerful in the Middle East, aggressively spreading its influence through cash. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, March 26, 2013 file photo, Emir of Qatar Sheik Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, center, attends the opening session of the Arab League Summit in Doha. Qatar?s emir moves to hand power over to his son, aiming to bring a youthful new face to rule in a tiny Gulf nation that has become one of the most powerful in the Middle East, aggressively spreading its influence through cash. (AP Photo/Ghiath Mohamad, File)
DOHA, Qatar (AP) ? Qatar's ruler said Tuesday he has transferred power to the 33-year-old crown prince in an anticipated move that puts a new generation in charge of the Gulf nation's vast energy wealth and rising political influence.
The 61-year-old emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, said in a televised address that the decision has been made to step down following weeks of speculation. Now, the British-educated crown prince, Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, will begin the process of putting together a new government that may be in direct contrast to the old guard leaders across the Western-backed Gulf Arab states.
Qatar has given no official explanation on the transition, but it is widely believed that Sheik Hamad is suffering from health problems.
Sheik Tamim is not expected to make any immediate policy shifts for Qatar, which has used its riches to propel itself into one of the world's most politically ambitious countries. It has served as a powerful player in the Middle East, including key support for rebels in Libya last year and now in Syria. Qatar also has broken ranks with other Gulf states to offer help to the Muslim Brotherhood, which rose to political dominance in Egypt.
In an important sign of continuity and shared goals, the outgoing emir and Sheik Tamim stood shoulder to shoulder and greeted members of the ruling family and others following the address. Sheik Tamim has been closely involved in all key decisions in recent years and his father is expected to remain a guiding force from the wings.
"Sheik Tamim will be driving his father's car, which is already programed on where to go," said Mustafa Alani, a political analyst at the Gulf Research Center in Geneva.
But the transition ? a rarity in a region where leadership changes are nearly always triggered by deaths or palace coups ? also sends a message the wider Middle East. It appears a sweeping response to the Arab Spring upheavals and their emphasis on giving voice to the region's youth, and reinforces Qatar's bold-stroke political policies.
Under Sheik Hamad, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1995, Qatar has been transformed into a political broker and a center for global investment with a sovereign fund estimated to be worth more than $100 billion. Its portfolio includes landmark real estate, luxury brands and a powerful presence in the sporting world. Tiny Qatar also defeated rivals including the U.S. to win the rights to host the 2022 World Cup.
Qatar has played a role as mediator in conflicts such as Sudan's Darfur region and regional disputes including Palestinian political rifts. Qatar this week hosted a Syrian opposition conference attended by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and is the venue for possible U.S.-led peace talks with Afghanistan's Taliban.
Sheik Tamim became the next in line to rule in 2003 after his older brother stepped aside.
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Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
For Belfast, keeping peace means a city of walls
BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) ? When President Obama comes to Belfast, he's expected to praise a country at peace and call for walls that separate Irish Catholics and British Protestants to come tumbling down.
Barely a 10-minute walk from where the U.S. leader is speaking Monday, those walls have kept growing in size and number throughout two decades of slow-blooming peace. Residents today on both sides of so-called "peace lines" ? barricades of brick, steel and barbed wire that divide neighborhoods, roads and even one Belfast playground ? insist the physical divisions must stay to keep violence at bay.
Belfast's first peace lines took shape in the opening salvos of Northern Ireland's conflict in 1969, when impoverished parts of the city suffered an explosion of sectarian mayhem and most Catholics living in chiefly Protestant areas were forced to flee. The British Army, deployed as peacekeepers, erected the first makeshift barricades and naively predicted the barriers would be taken down in months.
Instead, the soldiers' role supporting the mostly Protestant police soon inspired the rise of a ruthless new outlawed group, the Provisional Irish Republican Army, committed to forcing Northern Ireland out of the United Kingdom and into the Republic of Ireland.
For all the unlikely triumphs of Northern Ireland diplomacy since the U.S.-brokered 1998 Good Friday peace deal ? a Catholic-Protestant government, troop withdrawals, police reform, and disarmament of the IRA and outlawed Protestant groups responsible for most of the 3,700 death toll ? tearing down Belfast's nearly 100 "peace lines" still seems too dangerous a step to take.
"I'd love to see that wall taken down and I could say hi to my neighbors, but it isn't going to happen. There'd be cold-blooded murder and I'd have to move out," said Donna Turley, 48, smoking a cigarette at her patio table in the Short Strand, the sole Irish Catholic enclave in otherwise Protestant east Belfast.
Right behind Turley's backyard refuge towers a 50-foot (15-meter) wall. It starts as brick, transitions into fences of corrugated iron, and is topped by more steel mesh fence. Each layer marks the history of communal riots like the growth rings of a tree. Higher still, two batteries of rotating police surveillance cameras monitor Turley and her Catholic neighbors, as well as the Protestant strangers living, audibly but invisibly, on the far side.
"It's terrible looking. But I wouldn't feel safe if it wasn't there. I couldn't imagine that wall being torn down. Nobody here can," said Tammy Currie, 21, who is Turley's nearest Protestant neighbor, standing in her own small cement patio backed by the wall. Her 3-year-old son jumps on a trampoline that a few months ago had to be cleared of shattered beer bottles thrown from the other side.
Both families rent state-subsidized homes provided by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, which is responsible for making their homes as safe as possible from the risk of further rioting. That means both have triple-layered Perspex windows that are foggy-looking and unbreakable, and metal-tiled roofs that can't be set on fire.
It was a lesson hard learned. The Protestants of Cluan Place and the Catholics of Clandeboye Drive used to be able to look, from upper floors, into each other's back yards until 2002, when militants on both sides sought to drive each other out with homemade grenades, Molotov cocktails and even acid-filled bottles. An IRA gunman shot five Protestants, none fatally, while standing atop what was then only a brick wall. Most homes in the area were burned, abandoned and rebuilt, and British Army engineers doubled the height of the wall in 2003. Nobody's been shot there since, even though both sides continue to host illegal paramilitary groups billing themselves as community defenders.
This stretch of wall connects with other security lines that date back to the early days of the modern Northern Ireland conflict in 1970, when IRA men in Short Strand shot to death three Protestants allegedly involved in attacking the district's lone Catholic church. To make it less of an eyesore, Belfast City Council has funded imaginative art works all along that stretch, but it still leaves Short Strand looking a bit like Fort Apache.
Last month, the Catholic and Protestant leaders of Northern Ireland's unity government announced a bold but detail-free plan to dismantle all peace lines by 2023. British Prime Minister David Cameron formally backed the goal Friday. Obama is expected to do the same Monday.
The politician working closest to the Cluan-Clandeboye wall, Michael Copeland, says both G-8 leaders are out of touch.
"Removing the walls would be a catastrophic decision," said Copeland, a former British soldier and a Protestant member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, who keeps his office just around the corner from Cluan Place.
"The biggest walls to be addressed are in the minds of the people. And what people in here remember is being shot at, being bombed, having their street burned," Copeland said while sitting on a Cluan Place bench outside one resident's home. He knows everyone living in all 23 homes on the Protestant side and, in fact, helped get many of them get their housing assignment.
"The walls will come down when the people who live in the shadow of these walls, and look to those walls for a sense of security, can feel secure without them. Memories will have to fade. It will take another generation at least," he said.
The two sides mark their cultural divide in ways petty and profound. Each morning, two sets of children depart in different directions, wearing different uniforms, as Catholics head for their own church-run schools, the Protestants for state-run ones. At night, the two sides usually order fast-food deliveries from their own areas, fearful that someone from "the other side" might spit in their food. They use separate taxi companies and favor different newspapers.
Short Strand's community association has erected house numbers bearing each family's name in Gaelic, the little-used native tongue of Ireland that is loathed by most Protestants.
Reflecting their anxiety that the faster-growing Catholic community wants to push them out, the Protestants of Cluan Place have painted the gable end of one house with a mural featuring a massive Union Jack and a list of attacks on their street since 2002. "Still loyalist, always British, no surrender," it says.
The house opposite Currie's, belonging to an aunt, has a dog strutting about sporting a Union Jack collar, and Ulster loyalist music blaring loudly enough from a stereo to carry to Catholic ears beyond the wall.
Across the divide, 56-year-old Maggie McDowell cocks an ear at the sectarian tune. "Och, him again," she said, identifying her Protestant neighbor not by a name or face she's never known, but by his musical taste. Unlike most living on both sides of this wall, she was here for the 2002 rioting ? and credits the wall's extension with ensuring no repeat.
She and her husband, James, keep a collection of the most interesting objects that have crashed into their house or back garden, including one smooth stone used as a doorstop. He points out holes in their home's brick wall marking strikes from past violence. Golf balls, a favored weapon for both sides, she collects by the bucket to give every so often to her golf-enthusiast brother.
When asked if she'd like the wall to come down, Maggie McDowell said, "It's a terrible thing to say, but I wish they could make it higher."
___
Online:
Maps and data of Belfast peace lines, http://bit.ly/11odl3w
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/belfast-keeping-peace-means-city-walls-005438147.html
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Sunday, June 16, 2013
Alleged metallic Nokia EOS body teased again, this time with a dozen of them
That baffling metallic Nokia EOS chassis we saw the other day? It's back, but this time the same leakster from Sina Weibo managed to get a shot of at least 12 of them, meaning the device has likely reached some sort of production stage. In another photo, we can see the same button arrangement -- presumably volume, power and camera -- that's already present on the current Lumia range. The strange thing is we've yet to see a cover plate that will match this seemingly smaller camera opening, but the square shape does make us wonder whether this will fit Pelican Imaging's 16-lens array camera. After all, Nokia did announce its investment in this plenoptic camera technology. Hopefully Elop will personally explain what's going on at his event on July 11th -- maybe with both this and the plastic EOS in his hands.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Nokia
Via: Engadget China
Source: Sina Weibo (login required)
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Sharing Your Web Browser with Random Strangers Is Horrible and Awesome
You're never really alone on the Internet. Chances are if you're on a webpage, someone else is there too; you just don't see them. It doesn't have to be that way though. "We See in Every Direction" is a web browser you can share with dozens of other Internet denizens all at once. It is the best and the worst.
Developed by Swedish artist Jonas Lund?of Paint Your Pizza fame
You can download the browser and give it a try for yourself here, and get your own personal taste of the chaos. That is, assuming enough people are around to really get things kicking. There's only one way to make that happen though, so hop on and give it a whirl. Just steel yourself for all the horrors the Internet has to offer. Also pure bliss. But mostly both at the same time. [We See in Every Direction via Wired]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/sharing-your-web-browser-with-random-strangers-is-horri-513573884
CEO gives jury different portrait of Jackson
FILE - In this March 5, 2009 file photo, Michael Jackson announces several concerts at the London O2 Arena in July, at a press conference at the London O2 Arena. AEG Live LLC CEO Randy Phillips told a jury on Wednesday June 12, 2013, that he saw Jackson as a forceful businessman who knew what he wanted and who he wanted to work with during preparations for his ill-fated ?This Is It? shows. Phillips concluded his testimony after eight days in a case filed by the singer?s mother, Katherine Jackson, over her son?s death, claiming AEG Live should be held responsible for hiring the doctor convicted of giving the superstar a lethal dose of an anesthetic. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, file)
FILE - In this March 5, 2009 file photo, Michael Jackson announces several concerts at the London O2 Arena in July, at a press conference at the London O2 Arena. AEG Live LLC CEO Randy Phillips told a jury on Wednesday June 12, 2013, that he saw Jackson as a forceful businessman who knew what he wanted and who he wanted to work with during preparations for his ill-fated ?This Is It? shows. Phillips concluded his testimony after eight days in a case filed by the singer?s mother, Katherine Jackson, over her son?s death, claiming AEG Live should be held responsible for hiring the doctor convicted of giving the superstar a lethal dose of an anesthetic. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, file)
FILE - In this July 2, 2009 file photo, AEG CEO Randy Phillips speaks to members of the media in Los Angeles. Phillips told jurors hearing a negligent hiring lawsuit filed against him and his company by Jackson?s mother that he did not believe the company was responsible for the King of Pop?s death and that he believed the case was a shakedown by the Jackson family during testimony on Tuesday June 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A look at key moments this past week in the wrongful death trial in Los Angeles between Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, and concert giant AEG Live LLC, and what is expected at court in the week ahead:
THE CASE
Jackson's mother wants a jury to determine that the promoter of Jackson's planned comeback concerts didn't properly investigate Dr. Conrad Murray, who a criminal jury convicted of involuntary manslaughter for Jackson's June 2009 death. AEG's attorney says the case is about personal choice, namely Jackson's decision to have Murray serve as his doctor and give him doses of a powerful anesthetic as a sleep aid. Millions, possibly billions, of dollars are at stake.
WHAT HAPPENED THIS PAST WEEK
? AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips told jurors he received conflicting information about Jackson's health just days before the singer's death, but was reassured by Jackson's personal physician that everything was fine. Phillips also said he thought Jackson looked good during a meeting five days before he died, alleviating his fears.
? Phillips concluded his testimony after eight days on the stand and pointed questions from Katherine Jackson's attorney about his memory of events. The executive also tried to bolster AEG's contentions that it was Jackson's choice to hire Murray, telling jurors that the singer was a sophisticated, forceful businessman.
WHAT THE JURY SAW
? Several minutes of footage of Jackson spinning and dancing during a rehearsal of his song "Billie Jean" during a "This Is It" rehearsal in June 2009.
? A photo of a slender-looking Jackson in a T-shirt being dwarfed by shoulder elements of a costume he planned to wear. The image was shot on June 19, 2009, the day the singer had to be sent home from rehearsals because he was shivering and unable to eat on his own, according to emails from top tour workers.
QUOTABLE MOMENTS
? "We seem to be talking about Michael like he's the 5-year-old lead singer of the Jackson Five. ... That was not the man I dealt with," Phillips said, describing the singer as a forceful businessman who dictated who he wanted to work with on the tour.
? "You can't give up on people ? that's not our job," Phillips said regarding working with entertainers who have documented problems of substance abuse.
OUTSIDE THE COURTROOM
? Authorities released a dispatch call related to the hospitalization of Jackson's 15-year-old daughter, Paris. According to information from sheriff's deputies at the scene, Paris Jackson took 20 Motrin pills and cut her arm with a kitchen knife.
WHAT'S NEXT
? Jurors will likely hear from an expert witness and should see a return of Jackson's makeup artist, Karen Faye, whose cross-examination by an AEG attorney has been delayed by her work schedule and the availability of other witnesses.
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Saturday, June 15, 2013
With Waze, Google Gets Access To Social Mapping Data - And Patent Legal Heat From Nokia
The Google deal to buy Waze — reportedly for $1.1 billion — is a strong move for both companies to enhance their respective mapping services, and to help monetize them better. But it could also serve as the tipping point for Nokia to turn the screws on getting Google to take licenses for certain mapping patents that it owns, or else face legal consequences. According to a source familiar with the situation, Nokia has been eyeing up taking legal action against the search, mobile (and mapping) giant for a while now, and the Waze deal could be the tipping point for that to finally happen. “Nokia has held off on a suit against Nokia for Google Maps for several years just waiting for the right time to approach with an overall suit covering Android and Maps,” our source says. The right time, it seems, could be based on two patents owned by Nokia, 7,628,704 and its extension, 8,070,608, along with a possible third, 7,092,964, which is more related to location-based mobile advertising. Nokia has more than 9,000 patents both filed and granted in the area of spatial relationships (some covering software, some hardware). On the first of these, the ’704, our source notes that this specific patent covers Waze directly, in relation to the fundamental technology behind encouraging users to collect spatial data without paying them via money, with a specific call-out for games. “This is at the core of Waze,” the source says. “It is very likely that they would file on the spatial data side against Google,” our source added. “The Google Maps and Maps API only impacted them somewhat because of what Microsoft, Garmin, Samsung and so many others pay but Waze likely pushed it too far from a risk standpoint.” The ’704 patent was first filed in 2006 and granted in 2009. From the abstract, it looks like it was conceived for gaming first, and location tracking second: A method is disclosed for collecting geographic data during game play. A game scenario includes an activity for the game player to perform. The game player may be given an incentive within the context of the game for performing the activity. The incentive may be of non-monetary, monetary or in-game value. Performing the activity within the context of the game directly or indirectly results in the generation of data that is collected and used for the purpose ofSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/rpZVaaKVyX4/
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The car is the next major tech platform: GM's CEO
By Tim McLaughlin
Boston (Reuters) - The car is the next great proving ground for communications technology, General Motors Co Chief Executive Dan Akerson said on Thursday.
The automobile will become a major platform for tech "and one with far better battery life than an iPhone," he said in prepared remarks to the Chief Executives' Club of Boston.
Developing better in-car technology is critical for automakers like GM to attract younger, tech-savvy buyers. If they can pull it off, the companies will generate new sources of revenue and boost profit margins. One approach may be for GM to sell advertising within the car itself, Akerson said last month.
In mid-2014, the No. 1 U.S. automaker, teaming up with AT&T Inc, will start selling vehicles embedded with 4G LTE mobile broadband, a wireless connection that allows for faster flow of data that GM says would allow passengers in the backseat to watch streaming video.
Akerson, a former top executive with telecommunications companies MCI, Nextel and XO Communications, said automakers have no choice as the average U.S. consumer is spending more than 2-1/2 hours a day on their smartphones and tablets. That tops the 16 hours each week spent in cars as drivers or passengers.
"Marry the two and you have a megatrend that we intend to harness for competitive advantage," he said.
Akerson cited a J.D. Power study that found more than two-thirds of new car buyers own a smartphone, and for 80 percent of them connectivity strongly influences which car they buy.
Moreover, it's not just American consumers who want that, he said, citing similar studies in China, the world's largest auto market.
He said drivers want hands-free calling, navigation and automatic crash warning, in that order. He called those "the bread and butter" of the company's in-vehicle OnStar service that connects drivers to live operators for directions or emergency help. OnStar has more than 6 million subscribers.
As for why consumers with smartphones would want such services, Akerson said GM's features will be integrated to prevent distracted driving.
However, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released a report on Wednesday saying that hands-free technology in cars actually increases driver distraction. AAA urged the auto industry to consider disabling certain functions of voice-to-text technologies, such as using social media or interacting with email, so they are inoperable while the vehicle is in motion.
Citi analyst Itay Michaeli has estimated that OnStar generates about $1.5 billion in annual revenue for GM and the unit is worth between $5 billion and $7 billion as a whole.
Akerson said installing 3G Wi-Fi in vehicles only scratches the surface of what's possible.
"Imagine that your vehicle can predict that it needs a new battery and then automatically schedules a visit to your dealer before it dies on the (Massachusetts) Pike in rush hour," he said.
"How cool would it be to have your car automatically call Dunkin' Donuts when you're a mile away, so your coffee and cruller are ready and paid for when you pull up?" Akerson added.
Some services will need far more bandwidth and much higher download speeds, which 4G LTE will allow, he said. "We're going to turn millions of our cars and trucks into nodes on the Internet through the industry's largest global deployment of 4G LTE."
The tech features will just be the beginning as GM needs to entice thousands of code writers to come up with apps for its cars, he said. That approach made Apple and Android dominant in their field, and Akerson said he hopes a GM App Shop someday will be just as popular.
(Reporting by Tim McLaughlin in Boston, writing and additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/car-next-major-tech-platform-gms-ceo-170324734.html
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Friday, June 14, 2013
7 Insects That Will Bug You
Ah, warm weather. Or is it swarm weather?
Here are seven insects you're likely to encounter this summer that are so terrifying ? at least to some people -- they should star in their own horror movies.
7 Insects That Will Bug You This Summer
Earlier this month, a Texas man was attacked and killed by a swarm of more than 40,000 bees after he drove his tractor into a pile of wood that concealed their hive.
The bees that killed him aren't the friendly, happy European honey bees we know and love. As James Fredericks, the director of technical services for the National Pest Management Association, explained it, the killers are a product of a scientific experiment gone wrong.
Man Attacked and Killed By Killer Bees
"In the 1950s a Brazilian scientist imported bees from Africa to breed with our honey bees in hopes of upping production and creating a more docile insect," he said. "Obviously, it didn't work out that way."
The bees are now a serious threat in warmer states like California, Texas and Florida. Besides being extremely aggressive, they often attack with an element of surprise from a hive hidden underground, in a rotting log or behind a wall.
Fredericks also warned that most people can't tell the difference between a pleasant bee and a grumpy one, so best to steer clear of all bees unless they've been identified by a professional.
If attacked, run. If you can't find shelter, keep running. Cover your face and eyes and don't swat at them since it just makes them angrier. Don't jump into a pool either. They will hover over the surface and wait out your oxygen supply.
7 Insects that Will Bug You This Summer
First Florida was invaded by giant pythons. Then it was giant snails. Now it's giant mosquitoes up to five times the size of the mere mortal pest.
Actually, these "new" mosquitoes are Florida natives, according to Fredericks. "They're known as the shaggy-legged gallinipper, and they've always been around," he said.
Gallinippers are more abundant than usual this year thanks to a rainy spring. Females lay their eggs in shallow dirt divots that are likely to encounter flooding. When there is no rain, the eggs wait it out another season.
Tiger Mosquito Invades U.S.
They're also nothing to get upset about since gallinippers are less nippy than many other mosquito species and aren't known to transmit West Nile or other diseases. Fredericks advised wearing a little insect repellent to keep them at bay.
7 Insects that Will Bug You This Summer
The majority of ant species love nothing better than to follow the leader. Crazy ants run around frantically as if they're late and looking for their keys. Hence the name.
But the really crazy thing about crazy ants is their sheer numbers.
"There can be tens of thousands of individuals in some of the bigger colonies," noted Fredericks.
Although not entirely resistant to conventional insecticides, their nests are often so populous, they can overwhelm eradication efforts.
And one thing about this ant that drives homeowners especially crazy is their love of electronics. Fredericks said these tiny Caribbean invaders love nothing better than to set up shop inside electric housing and circuit boxes then chew through the wiring. They've been known to cause blackouts in Texas and the other Southeast and Gulf states where they reside.
7 Insects that Will Bug You This Summer
For many, the thought of billions of insects laying dormant for nearly two decades and then suddenly bursting forth from the soil creeps the heck out of them. But experts insist periodic cicadas and their yearly cousins are as harmless as kittens.
Watch the Cicada Live Cam!
"They're wonderful. Their song is the music of summer," said Richard Pollack, an entomologist who is the president and chief scientific officer of IdentifyUS in Boston, referring to the cicada's mating call, which can be as loud as a lawnmower or power tool.
Pollack said that cicadas never harm a soul that isn't a tree, though he admitted they've been known to cause a car accident or two by zooming into a windshield. He advised against treating homes and gardens with insecticides to repel them since the chemicals used are usually more harmful to people, pets and wildlife than the insect could ever be.
7 Insects that Will Bug You This Summer
Most ants wish to coexist peacefully with us. Not fire ants. As the jerks of the insect world, this South American invasion species attack en masse any time someone wanders too close to their nest, or simply because they feel like it. Each one of these tiny terrorists bites their unfortunate victim to get a grip, then repeatedly administers painful, blistering stings in a circular pattern.
Fire ants have been terrorizing gardeners in the Southeastern and South Central United States for decades. More recently they've hitchhiked their way as far west as California and as far north as Kansas and Maryland. Experts say their numbers are exploding due to warming temperatures and because most predators fear them. Unfortunately they are virtually indistinguishable from many pacifist species until they swarm, and by then it's too late to escape.
If you encounter a gang of these myrmecological bullies, the Texas Imported Fire Ant Research and Management project recommends running away while brushing off as many of them as possible. Clothing and shoes sprayed with insect repellent may hold off an attack, at least temporarily. Ice up stings immediately and if you develop swelling, pustules or some other type of severe or allergic reaction, seek medical treatment immediately.
7 Insects that Will Bug You This Summer
It isn't bad enough that many species of ticks found in Northeastern states carry Lyme disease. Now they may also harbor another malicious parasite known as babesiosis.
Babesiosis infects the red blood cells and can cause severe, sometimes deadly symptoms including fever, muscle cramps, headaches and anemia. However, unlike Lyme disease, babesiosis doesn't cause the infamous bulls-eye rash and often, it causes no symptoms at all. Many people who are infected don't even realize it.
While babesiosis is still relatively rare, most experts feel its incidence is underreported and on the rise. In 2011, about 1,100 cases were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In some areas there has been a 20-fold increase in infections, studies show. The agency reported about 30,000 cases of Lyme disease that same year.
To avoid being bitten by a tick, you know the drill: Steer clear of them whenever possible, keep covered and wear insect repellent. After tramping through a tick-infested area, do a thorough body check. If you suspect you've been bitten by a tick, contact your doctor immediately.
7 Insects that Will Bug You This Summer
If you see a cloud of insects hovering over a hole in the lawn, a hollow tree or a gap in a wall, proceed with caution. If they are chubby and fuzzy, they're probably peace-loving ground bees that mean you no harm. However, if they are the sleek and shiny wasp known as the yellow jacket, it's best to steer clear.
"Eastern yellow jackets found in the Northeast are particularly pugnacious," said Steve Jacobs, an urban entomologist with the Penn State University entomology department. "They do love any excuse to defend their nest."
Some species of this wasp are present in nearly every state in the country. Populations, as well as sting rates, are on the rise, possibly due to global warming. Currently more than half a million people seek medical treatment for insect stings each year, according to the National Pest Management Association.
If you encounter some while gardening or mowing the lawn, run away. Fast. Fredericks says yellow jackets will come after you but usually won't chase you very far. If you do get stung, treat the area with ice and antiseptic. Seek medical attention for allergic reactions, such as trouble breathing and major swelling.
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/insects-bug-summer/story?id=19385344
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Hot Body Tips From Jennifer Nicole Lee: Bikini Model & Fitness Guru
With the beach season upon us, Jennifer Nicole Lee?s insane weight loss story is the perfect motivation to get you ready to bear it all this summer. After the birth of her second child, she has transformed herself from an ordinary mom to a divalicious fitness guru.? She shed more than 70 lb (from 200 lbs. to 130 lbs!) and ultimately won Miss Bikini America in 2005.
This top fitness model has been the foxy bikini babe on magazines, TV shows, and is known for her signature slogans such as ??Strong is the new skinny?, ??Glutes that salute?, and ?Kiss my abs?.
She?s made history with her Bikini Boot workouts, and CBS called her ?America?s sexiest fitness mom.? JNL?s belief is that a bikini?s body has no expiration date; you can be a mom and still able to rock a sexy bikini without hiding everything under loose tunics and swim skirts.
She says, ??the mind is the strongest muscle in the body,? so with this in mind start training for a fab beach body by following some of JNL?s fit habits:
Workout Tips
- Strength training is a must when it comes to toning and lifting whatever problem areas there are ? as JNL says ??lean muscle tone is the fountain of youth.?? For toning muscles and burning fat, you need to focus on 6 intense circuits of 3 sets of 30 sec strength training followed by 30 sec of fast cardio moves (she likes criss-cross jacks or alternating knees up with dumbbells overhead). Do this routine 3 times a week with one rest day in between.
For toned buttocks and glutes:
- Jumping rope works on the muscles under your butt and, of course, is one of the best cardio activities to lean out fast; 10 minutes of jump rope burns as much fat as running for 30 minutes.
- Plyometric jumps forward and backward using a step (with both legs at the same time) are great for the lower body too.
- Squats with weight on shoulders and squats with leg kick to add some extra work to the inner tights too.
- Booty blasters and butt rear kicks can solve the saggy problem and give to your tushie a perky lift; you need to lay down on a bench or an exercise ball and with your hands placed down in front of you, try to lift simultaneously both legs without moving the upper body to intensify the butt work (this applies for the booty blaster exercise). For the butt rear kick move, lift your legs one by one kicking hard.
For lean legs:
- Do sumo squats and sexy scissors. When doing sumo squats, you can either keep your arms around your body or keep a dumbbell raised in front of you when squatting. For scissors, jump in a front lunge position.
For a smaller waist and tighter abs:
- An hour glass shape is what compliments a gorgeous bikini body, which has a slim waist, but still has great curves. ?That?s why JNL doesn?t want women to build out their middles; instead she?s applied this method to tighten the obliques and get a smaller waist: the super woman stance.
- Starting in a super woman pose, place a light exercise bar behind your head and with the abs locked in, twist from the waste up and down. Do as many reps as your body allows. The bar is optional, but it can help with keeping the form right and not letting your body wiggle.
- Deep lunges with a twist (the bar is optional) works on the legs and the twist chisels the obliques.
To rev up your metabolism fast:
- Divide a 40 minute cardio session into 2 segments: in the morning 20 min and later in the day another 20 min, but not less than 20 min.
Diet Tips:
- Don?t starve yourself and eat when your body asks for, but control the portions at all times: ?Eat breakfast like a queen, dinner like a pauper.?
- Her super ? meal formula is based on: lean protein sources, complex carbs, and fibrous carbs.
- Avoid complex carbs at dinner, and especially don?t eat them after 5 pm: No rice, bread, pasta, or sweet potato. Instead, eat a salad with a grilled piece of fish or poultry.
- Protein shakes are recommended at any time of the day and you need them to replenish the muscles ? get your sugar fix by adding fresh fruits.
- Flatten your belly by eating fibrous foods such as: blueberries, grapefruit, apples, strawberries, watermelon, spinach, and broccoli.
- During bikini season, eat a lot of asparagus: 6-8 stalks for lunch and dinner.? As a natural diuretic, it helps you flush out water weight.
Enjoy this summer season as much as JNL does, and be sure to get your dose of vitamin ?C? ? she calls it confidence!
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iPhone Apps of the Week: Office 365, Skymotion, and More
It was a huge week for Apple?especially anything software related. While we'll have to wait and see how the fruits of WWDC's labor turn out, there's plenty of other app makers out there still churning away. And as you can see in this week's set of apps, they've got some good stuff.
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The Surest Sign Yet That Apple TV Will Be a Gaming Console
This week, Apple released its first-ever instructions for designing and developing a game controller for use with Apple products. The evidence suggests that Apple is gearing up take gaming beyond the confines of its products. It's going to condone console-style game development. And today's game controller for iOS 7 could mean that tomorrow's Apple TV is a full-on gaming platform.
How new peripherals take the game away from Apple's control
Buried within the new pre-release documentation released this week for iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks is a new "Game Controller Framework". The document, which you'll need a developer account to access, describes reference designs for gamepads as well as a simple API that developers can use to connect the gamepads to one of Apple's operating systems and map the different buttons to game controls.
The documentation calls for two different types of controllers. That's them up there at the top of the post. The first is a a formfitting gamepad that connects directly to an Apple product, say an iPhone, leaving the screen visible. The second "extended" gamepad connects wirelessly to a device, say an MacBook, and lets you control what's on the screen.
The designs (pictured above) will look familar to anyone who has ever played a video game on a console before. The formfitted one looks like an old Super Nintendo controllers whereas the wireless one looks more like what we're used to on Xbox or Playstation.
Both controls have a directional D-pad on the left a standard XYAB array on the right. A pair of left and right shoulder buttons sit on top. The extended controller has a pair of thumb joysticks and an extra pair of buttons on top.
Besides defining the method for connecting a controller and receiving inputs from the buttons (or combinations of buttons), the API also specifies an input method for an analog axis control, which could be used to control a gyroscope.
A few other ponts of note: Apple says that games must be playable without controllers. Apple also specifies that just because a game uses a controller, it doesn't mean that it couldn't be used in parallel with a device's touchscreen.
What this could mean for Apple TV
On the surface, standardizing the design for these controllers might not seem like such a big deal. For years, third-party manufactures have been building unlicensed game controllers for the iPad, and developers have been building games to meet the hardware specs of each product. Because there hasn't been a standard API until now, every kitschy new peripheral built for iPad only works with games built with that hardware maker's protocol in mind.
That's a lame experience for consumers not to mention a pretty crappy value proposition.
Apple doesn't let screw ups like that fly. So in light of the problem, you can read the move as Apple opening itself up to a new market it can profit from while at the same time standardizing and improving the experience for its customers. Why wouldn't it want to make money every time someone slaps an iPad badge on a box?
The answer might have something to do with this: A real, physical gamepad is the missing link between the evolution of Apple's currently lackluster Apple TV, and full-on Cupertino assault on your living room.
Indeed, if you've been watching the Apple TV over the last few years, it's hard not to think that it's not living up to its potential
One of the most compelling explanations
At WWDC, we got the latter. There's now a standard. And that's enough for a solid foundation.
With control in hand, all Apple needs to do to have a gaming console is to build an Apple TV with guts at least comparable to an iPhone 4S so that it can support all of iOS 7's features
An Apple TV as gaming console would be huge
Apple supporting game controllers, or especially making them at some point in the future, could mean massive things for gaming. Look at the current landscape: This month, two Android-based game consoles will launch?the Ouya and Nvidia Shield, which cost $100 and $350, respectively.
The Ouya's Tegra 3 and Shield's Tegra 4 processors are the same that you'd find in phones and tablets in this generation and the next. They're consoles, built from phone parts, and they're probably the future, in some form or another. They're also probably not something most people want to spend their money on. They're expensive, unitasking portals into mobile games that, by and large, are rather simple. Apple's entry into that same space?presumably through the $100 Apple TV?would change that. Instead of making mobile games the centerpiece of the purchase, they're an added bonus.
Apple TV might just be an Apple "hobby," but the company has sold over 13 million units over its lifetime, more than half of those in the past year. That's a sizable existing install base, one for whom games would be an additive feature instead of the only one. And that's the kind of audience that gets developers' attention.
The arrival of systems like this for Android or for iOS means we might finally start seeing console-style games arrive on mobile platforms. It's hard to refine controls when you're using touchscreen iPhone controls. The upshot of developing to any platform, like Android or iOS, instead of to specific hardware like an Xbox or 3DS, is that your games will live on, with no worries about backwards compatibility. The downside would be the risk of far more aggressive fragmentation than any gaming console has ever had to deal with.
But those are issues for down the line. For now, all that's clear is that Apple has opened the door, even just a crack, to making Apple TV more than a passive watch-box. It's given itself the means to turning a hobby into one of the most compelling buys around.
Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-surest-sign-yet-that-apple-tv-will-be-a-gaming-cons-513191654
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Thursday, June 13, 2013
This Slow-Mo Test Tube Explosion Barks Like a Guard Dog of Fire
It's one thing when a dog barks, it's another one entirely when a giant pipe full of fire does it. And it's even better in slow motion.
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Saget makes 'creepy' visit to 'Full House' home
Celebs 
22 hours ago
How does Bob Saget spend a few extra minutes while visiting San Francisco? Drop by the house used in his long-running series "Full House," and send proof over Twitter, of course.
"In San Fran," he wrote with the photo from June 7. "Couldn't resist."
Saget, 57, played Danny Tanner on the show from 1987-95 -- and he wasn't the only former "House" cast member with a little nostalgia. Both John Stamos and Dave Coulier replied to the tweet.
"Can you see if my underpants are hanging on the gutter?" asked Coulier.
Meanwhile, Stamos quipped, "cool, the Munsters house."
The next evening, Saget explained his motivation to Us Weekly: "I was going to do a big radio show, and I said to my driver, 'Radio can wait, take me to the 'Full House' house.' It literally was a drive-by. I photobombed the 'Full House' house yesterday. I took like 20 pictures!"
But he recognized that his lingering outside the home was strange. "It was creepy," he said. "Cars were going by, and I was like, 'I gotta get out of here!'" he said. "A couple people kind of looked at me. ... It's nice that it's not a negative memory. It's a home-cooked meal memory. So it was kind of weird being there."
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/bob-saget-visits-full-house-home-it-was-creepy-6C10272073
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Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Chuck Schumer on ?Gang of 8? bill: ?Illegal immigration will be a thing of the past? (Michellemalkin)
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Why iRadio Could Be a Hit for Apple and a Dud for Big Music ...
Asa Mathat | D: All Things Digital
It took a while, but Apple is finally ready to announce its iRadio service. It should get a formal introduction at Apple?s WWDC event today, and a launch later this year.
We don?t know if Apple is actually calling iRadio ?iRadio.? But at this point we do know quite a bit about the streaming music service:
- Apple has been trying to launch it since last fall, but only started getting the formal backing of the big music companies in the last few months. Sony, the last big holdout, signed on late last week.
- iRadio is meant to be a ?Pandora-plus? offering: It will be free, and will give listeners more control over their music than Pandora or other Web radio services, but not as much as paid subscription services like Spotify or Google Play Music All Access (they really call it that).
- Like most digital music services, Apple will pay the music owners a fraction of a penny every time someone plays one of their songs. Unlike most digital music services, Apple also plans to sell advertising, and will give music owners a cut of that, too.
If you?re trying to gauge iRadio?s prospects, it?s that last part that should be most interesting. Because it sets up the possibility that iRadio could work very well for Apple ? by creating a sticky feature that keeps people using its iOS platform instead of jumping ship to Google/Samsung/Amazon/whomever ? but end up disappointing music owners, who are still looking to replace the giant pile of money that Napster and file-sharing evaporated way back in 1999.
The problem: If Apple wants to generate real ad money for iRadio, then that means it has to try to crack the market for radio ads. And that is a very, very un-Appley business.
Radio is a $14 billion industry?that has proven remarkably resilient to digital. It doesn?t really matter what kind of precision targeting the Internet offers ? the bulk of that $14 billion comes from local ad sales, which means you need to get ad reps reaching out to car dealers, grocery stores, etc.
And it?s a slog. Pandora, by far the biggest player in Web radio ads, has been diligently trying to build out an ad business for a long time. It is on track to do something like $630 million this year. Google and Yahoo have both tried digital audio ads, and bailed out.
Meanwhile, Apple?s previous forays into ads, which started off when the company bought Quattro three years ago and launched iAd, haven?t amounted to much. And at the D: All Things Digital conference last month, CEO Tim Cook sounded profoundly unenthusiastic about ads.
Again: Apple could end up with a goose egg for iRadio revenue and still consider the service a success. If iRadio helps sell more iPhones, or keeps iPhone users from ditching their handsets for a Google X phone or whatever, then it?s well worth the hassle. But it?s hard to see this making real money for the people who own the songs.
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Source: http://allthingsd.com/20130610/why-iradio-could-be-a-hit-for-apple-and-a-dud-for-big-music/
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APPLE EVENT: Apple updates software, MacBooks
Apple CEO Tim Cook, right, talks with former Vice President Al Gore before giving the keynote address of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Monday, June 10, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Apple CEO Tim Cook, right, talks with former Vice President Al Gore before giving the keynote address of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Monday, June 10, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
People wait in line outside the Moscone West Center for the start of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Monday, June 10, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Crowds line up around the Moscone West Center for the opening of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Monday, June 10, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Crowds line up around the Moscone West Center for the opening of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Monday, June 10, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering at Apple, introduces the new OS X Mavericks operating system during the keynote address of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Monday, June 10, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Apple announced new MacBooks and changes to its operating systems at the company's annual conference for software developers in San Francisco. It is also expected to reveal a digital radio service.
Among the highlights: Apple showed off a simplified look on iPhones and iPads. It is the most radical design change since the iPhone made its debut in 2007. It's part of iOS 7, the new operating system for mobile devices.
The keynote kicked off at about 10 a.m. PDT. Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference goes through Friday.
Here's a running account of the event, presented in reverse chronological order. All times are PDT.
Presenters include CEO Tim Cook and Craig Federighi, senior vice president for software engineering.
___
11:40 a.m.
Apple takes a jab at one of its rivals, Samsung Electronics Co. The South Korean giant has been touting Android phones that let you share photos and other content by bumping phones together. Samsung phones have a near-field communication chip that iPhones lack.
Federighi says iOS 7 will let you share content wirelessly with a feature called AirDrop.
He says, "No need to wander around the room bumping your phone with others."
___
11:35 a.m.
Apple shows off new features in iOS 7.
Apple demonstrates a new weather app with animation: It shows thunder when a thunderstorm is forecast, for instance. The calendar has been cleaned up and looks more streamlined. You can also get to your contacts list quickly while reading messages by swiping from the left of the screen.
Also coming to iOS 7: full multitasking. In the past, the ability to use multiple apps at once was limited.
You can also swipe up from the bottom to access a control center, for such functions as turning on the airplane mode and adjusting brightness. It's similar to a feature available at the top on rival devices running Android.
Apple's software will also figure out which apps you tend to use and make sure content is regularly updated for those.
___
11:20 a.m.
Cook touts the advantages of Apple's iOS software for mobile devices and introduces a new version, iOS 7. He says it's the biggest change to the system since the iPhone's introduction in 2007.
Apple's design chief, Jonathan Ive, appears in a video showing a unified look that is applied across the system.
Icons in iOS now have a three-dimensional look that tries to mimic the real-world counterparts of certain apps. For instance, the icon for the Notes app looks like a yellow notepad and the Contacts app is represented by a leather-bound address book.
With iOS 7, Apple is favoring simplicity and consistency. Ive says Apple is introducing a new structure to bring order to complexity.
While design modifications could help Apple distinguish its devices from rival phones and tablets, they risk alienating longtime users. However, the audience cheered after seeing a video on the changes.
___
11:10 a.m.
Apple unveils a long-overdue upgrade to its iWork suite of productivity software. The new version will tap Apple's iCloud online syncing service and will let you run the programs from a Web browser.
The current version dates back to 2009. The suite includes Pages for word processing and Numbers for spreadsheets. It's cheaper than Microsoft's Office, but has worked only on Apple devices. Because the new version works on a Web browser, you can now use it on a Windows computer, too.
___
11 a.m.
Apple shows a video previewing an upcoming MacBook Pro. It promises faster connectivity through Thunderbolt 2 ports and better graphics performance.
It will be available later this year and will be assembled in the United States, consistent with Apple's previous pledge to move manufacturing of one of its existing lines of Mac computers to the U.S.
___
10:55 a.m.
Apple announces new MacBook Airs with better battery life. The 11-inch model will have nine hours of battery life instead of five, while the 13-inch model will have 12 hours, instead of seven.
The new MacBook Airs start shipping Monday: The 11-inch one starting at $999 and the 13-inch model starting at $1,099. The Airs are thinner and lighter than traditional laptops.
___
10:50 a.m.
Federighi says the maps team has been making improvements to the service, which had been panned when it came out last fall. You can search for directions on a Mac and have it sent to the iPhone, for instance. Apple will be competing with Google Maps, Microsoft's Bing and others on desktop and laptop computers. Apple's Maps app currently is available only on Apple's mobile devices.
The Mac is also getting the iBooks app previously available on iPhones and iPads. It's the latest evidence of Apple's software for mobile devices and traditional computers converging, although Apple has said it prefers to keep the two separate because the Mac software is designed for non-touch devices such as desktops and laptops.
The new Mac operating software will be out this fall.
___
10:40 a.m.
Federighi unveils improvement in the Safari Web browser coming in the next version of Apple's Mac operating system. He demonstrates Apple's power-saving technology while browsing and announces one-click bookmarking. There's also an infinite scrolling feature ? when you get to the end of an article, it will simply go to the next one as you scroll downward.
Need help remembering all your website passwords? Apple has a new feature on its iCloud file-storage service. It will keep track of all your passwords ? encrypted for security ? across your various devices.
And when you're shopping, it will automatically suggest credit card numbers you've used in the past. You will still have to enter the security code on the back of your card, though.
___
10:30 a.m.
Apple has had a practice of naming Mac operating system updates after cats. But Federighi worries that the company is running out of names. After joking that Apple will call the next one Sea Lion, Federighi says the next will actually be called Mavericks, a reference to a big wave area in the San Francisco area.
The new operating system will support tagging to help you find files more easily. Simply assign one or more tags such as "important" or "movies" to a particular document as you save it.
Mavericks will also work with multiple monitors, with docks and menus going across the various display screens. TVs connected via Apple's AirPlay can serve as one of those displays.
The new system also promises better battery life.
___
10:10 a.m.
Cook opens the keynote by talking about the status of Apple's more than 400 retail stores worldwide. He says Apple's newest store is in Berlin, at a century-old building that was one of the city's first theaters.
He also touts Apple's online store and says the company has 900,000 apps there, including 375,000 specifically designed for the iPad and its larger screen compared with the iPhone.
___
10 a.m.
Cooks walks on stage to applause from an audience of software developers and other Apple fans.
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