Obama urges Myanmar to stop violence against Muslims

By Paul Eckert

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged the president of Myanmar on Monday to halt violence against a Muslim minority but praised economic and political reforms in the formerly pariah nation that is emerging as a U.S. ally in China's backyard.

During the first visit to the White House in 47 years by a leader of the Southeast Asian nation, Obama called for an end to the killings of Rohingya Muslims in western Myanmar's Rakhine state.

Reformist Myanmar President Thein Sein vowed to resolve ethnic conflicts and bring perpetrators to justice.

"I also shared with President Sein our deep concern about communal violence that has been directed at Muslim communities inside Myanmar. The displacement of people, the violence directed towards them needs to stop," Obama said.

At least 192 people died last year in violence between Buddhists in Rakhine and Rohingya Muslims, who are denied citizenship by Myanmar. Most of the victims, and the 140,000 people made homeless in the attacks, were Muslims.

As the Myanmar government eases repression, long-simmering ethnic tensions are on the boil - a dynamic that resembles what happened when multi-ethnic Yugoslavia fractured in the 1990s after communism fell.

Thein Sein appealed for U.S. "assistance and understanding" as Myanmar attempts difficult reforms.

Obama said the Myanmar leader had assured him that he intends to release more political prisoners and institutionalize political reforms that have already begun transforming the country and ending its estrangement from the West.

Rights groups and some U.S. lawmakers fear Obama has moved too quickly since forging a dramatic breakthrough in relations in 2011 after a half century of military rule in Myanmar.

U.S. officials argue that reforms by Myanmar - freeing democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi and hundreds of political prisoners, scrapping censorship, legalizing trade unions and protests - are transformative and deserve support from Obama, who confirmed the end of Myanmar's pariah status with the West with a landmark visit last November.

"What has allowed this shift in relations is the leadership that President Sein has shown in moving Myanmar down a path of both political and economic reform," Obama said in the Oval Office.

Even critics in Congress of Obama's Myanmar policy support the U.S. strategic goal of bringing Myanmar, tucked between China and India, out of its isolation from the West.

The long U.S.-Myanmar estrangement was a drag on America's relations with ASEAN, the 10-nation Southeast Asian regional grouping that looks to Washington as a counterbalance to the more assertive China of recent years.

'MAXIMUM INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT'

In a speech after the White House meeting, Thein Sein described efforts to develop Southeast Asia's poorest economy, overhaul decrepit institutions, undo the habits of decades of authoritarian rule and build a new, inclusive national identity from dozens of ethnic groups, some of which have been at war for decades.

"To achieve all this we need maximum international support, including from the United States, to train and educate, share knowledge, trade and invest, and encourage others to do the same," he told an audience at a Washington university.

He referred to the Muslim killings and said his government "must ensure not only that inter-communal violence is brought to a halt, but that all the perpetrators are brought to justice."

Thein Sein, a retired general, was taken off the U.S. Treasury Department's Specially Designated Nationals visa blacklist last year to facilitate engagement.

The slight, soft-spoken leader was a close confidante of former military ruler Than Shwe, who ran Myanmar for 19 years, a period that saw mass jailing of opponents, the gunning down of pro-democracy protesters and widespread abuses in ethnic minority areas.

Successive U.S. governments have refused to acknowledge the country's change of name from Burma to Myanmar made in the late 1980s by the country's military rulers.

The United States for years deliberately referred to the nation of 60 million people as Burma, so as not to give legitimacy to military governments.

But in a nod to political reforms, the White House acknowledged it is now employing the name Myanmar more often than before.

"We have responded by expanding our engagement with the government, easing a number of sanctions, and as a courtesy in appropriate settings, more frequently using the name Myanmar," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

In a new U.S. measure to support reform, the United States and Myanmar on Tuesday will sign a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement on boosting trade, labor standards and investment, the United States trade representative said.

U.S. business leaders support lifting sanctions more quickly to facilitate access to an undeveloped consumer market in a country rich in oil, natural gas, minerals and timber. Europe, Japan and other parts of Asia have few or no Myanmar sanctions.

"The immediate tasks at hand ... are to remove the remaining U.S. economic sanctions on Myanmar, and to extend duty-free treatment in the United States for the imports of Myanmar," said Bart Fisher, chairman of the new Myanmar-U.S. Trade Council.

(Reporting by Paul Eckert; Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Jeff Mason; Editing by Alistair Bell and Eric Beech)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-urges-myanmar-stop-violence-against-muslims-002528038.html

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Source: http://www.worldlawdirect.com/forum/real-estate-law-matters/71713-squatters-rites-texas-deceased-father-son-keeping-property.html

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The Koch Brothers' Foray into Media Has Already Been a Success

Billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch are quite?entrepreneurial?in their attempts to influence public policy in their favor. They don't just donate to a few like-minded politicians: They have long funded libertarian think tanks like the Cato Institute. They helped fund the Tea Party movement. In the 2012 election, they funded groups like Americans for Prosperity to air campaign ads attacking Barack Obama during the last presidential campaign. While their reported interest in buying the Tribune Company's eight newspapers, which includes the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, has stirred up fears from journalists and activists in those cities that the Koch brothers would extend their influence into media,?their limited involvement with the media has already yielded success.

RELATED: PBS, Now With Commercial Breaks

David Koch is on the board of New York PBS station WNET -- and his status as a mega-donor -- led the station to air a rebuttal to a program that used his apartment building as a symbol for the gap between rich and poor, and to refuse to air a documentary about the Kochs' role in the 2010 governor's race in Wisconsin, The New Yorker's Jane Mayer reports. In the end, it didn't matter for WNET. Koch quit the board and decided against a major donation.

RELATED: Koch Brothers Want to Know Why Their Money Was Wasted

The government funds just 12 percent of PBS's budget, which means it and its member stations are dependent on charitable contributions for the rest. That?means that PBS programming that argues that the middle class ("Viewers Like You") should pay lower tax rates than the very rich (like David Koch and the rest of the donors who get thanked by name) is targeting the people who pay to keep that programming on the air. And that's kind of what happened when New York's WNET and Boston's WGBH, whose boards Koch sits on, decided to air a documentary called?Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream on November 12. It used the residents of the New York City building at 740 Park Avenue to tell the story of income inequality. The Kochs are residents. As the content of the film became clear, the president of WNET, Neal Shapiro, became nervous. He phoned David Koch in advance. He invited Koch to sit on a panel to discuss the film after it aired. Koch doesn't make many public appearances, so he offered a written response. WNET aired a statement from Koch Industries after the film aired, which Mayer describes as an unprecedented move "like appending Letters to the Editor to a front-page article."

RELATED: Koch Brothers vs. Rupert Murdoch: The Fight for Tribune Newspapers Is On

The controversy pushed self-censorship downstream. WNET said it had been blindsided by Independent Television Service, which funded the Park Avenue film and many other documentaries aired by PBS stations. And so a few months after that documentary aired, ITVS decided not to fund?Citizen Koch, a documentary about politics after the Supreme Court's?Citizens United?decision that focused on the Kochs' funding of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

RELATED: The Koch Is Hitting the Fan at the L.A. Times

In the end, the self-censorship didn't save WNET's funding. David Koch quit the board, and decided against a big gift to the station.?"It was going to be a seven-figure donation?maybe more," a source told Mayer. How would editors at Tribune newspapers take in these considerations if the Kochs were directly responsible for their paychecks? It's a question the Koch brothers are probably asking, too. The Kochs are keenly aware of the efficacy of their public advocacy, conducting a review of what went wrong with their ads in the 2012 elections. While Koch might have quit the WNET board, just being a member had undeniable results. Being an owner of eight newspapers?could be?irresistible.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/koch-brothers-foray-media-already-success-184427075.html

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Making ice-cream more nutritious with meat left-overs

May 20, 2013 ? Most of the animal proteins found in the meat industry waste have, until now, been underutilised. The challenge is to transform such waste into food of higher functionality and added value. Thanks to the findings of the EU funded PROSPARE project, it is possible to reuse the protein and lipid fraction of disused food, according to project co-ordinator Arnaldo Dossena, who is the head of the food science department at theUniversity of Parma, in Italy.

Up to 50% of the animal weight processed in the meat industry is discarded as left-overs and ends up composted or incinerated, despite beingrich in proteins and lipids. Turning the lipid fraction of such waste into biodiesel has proven too expensive. So the focus is now on reusing proteins. Today, only 22% is converted by the food industry into feed and barely 3% is consumed as food. The problem is that recovery methods are energy intensive. They also convert the source proteins into meals with poorer digestibility and nutrient properties as well as a low commercial value.

Thanks to a process involving enzymes to digest food, poultry left-overs such as bone and meat trimmings can be converted into proteins dubbed functional animal proteins hydrolyzates. They differ from existing protein hydrolyzates, from eggs, buttermilk, or fish already on the market in that they have a higher content of nutritionally useful amino acids. They can be used as supplements for sports diet, to help build up muscle tissue, and as additives in processed food, for example. So far, some of their properties -- namely prebiotic, antimicrobiotic, antioxidant and hypotensive -- have been demonstrated in vitro.

The technology developed under the project is now being tested by a Belgian food company, called PROLIVER. It is hoping to enhance the nutritional quality of its protein hydrolysates, already sold in dietary, health and sports food supplements. One of the project partners, Mobitek-M, which is a Russian company specialised in production of protein-enriched food stuffs, is also planning on including these products into ice-cream, under the follow-up Rosano Project. They have built a plant in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation, which is about to start of transforming functional animal protein at a capacity of one hundred tonnes per day.

Some see a real advantage in this approach. "I think in Europe the most important part of such an approach is to reduce the impact of the [food] production on the environment," explains Vegard Segtnan, senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Food, Fishery and Aquaculture Nofima, located in Troms?. He also believes that there is also a market for these specialised protein products that are easily assimilated by the body for sick people, the elderly and athletes. "The materials have a one up to two years shelf life," Dossena says, "[they] can be used to increase the protein count where there is a protein deficit since they contain many free amino acids [which are therefore easily absorbed]."

These products aim to complete the gamut of protein-based products present on the market. However, there is currently no EU-wide specific regulations for them. Instead, they are approved on a case-by-case basis in individual EU countries. Protein hydrolyzates approved in national EU markets need to qualify as a specific food product category, according to Karin Verzijden, a food regulatory expert at law firm Axon lawyers, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. For example, these products might qualify as dietary supplements. "It really depends on the emphasis that is put on their ability to be digested much quicker than regular proteins for instance," Verzijden said.

In addition to qualifying as food dietary supplement, experts disagree as to whether they might either qualify as novel foods used as food ingredients, or as additives. It partly depends on whether they were not already used for human consumption within the EU market prior to 1997, when the EU novel food regulation entered into force. Until further clarity regarding the food category these applications would be considered under by the food regulator at EU-wide level, it may be a while before they reach their potential users.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/4YJ_YW2Ii4c/130520094846.htm

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Tea party looks to take advantage of moment

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? Is the tea party getting its groove back? Shouts of vindication from around the country suggest the movement's leaders certainly think so.

They say the IRS acknowledgement that it had targeted their groups for extra scrutiny ? a claim that tea party activists had made for years ? is helping pump new energy into the coalition. And they are trying to use that development, along with the ongoing controversy over the Benghazi, Libya, terrorist attacks and the Justice Department's secret seizure of journalists' phone records, to recruit new activists incensed about government overreach.

"This is the defining moment to say 'I told you so,' " said Katrina Pierson, a Dallas-based tea party leader, who traveled to Washington last week as the three political headaches for President Barack Obama unfolded.

Luke Rogonjich, a tea party leader in Phoenix, called the trio of controversies a powerful confluence that bolsters the GOP's case against big government. "Suddenly, there are a lot of things pressing on the dam," said Rogonjich.

It's unclear whether a movement made up of disparate grassroots groups with no central body can take advantage of the moment and leverage it to grow stronger after a sub-par showing in last fall's election had called into question the movement's lasting impact. Republicans and Democrats alike say the tea party runs the risk of going too far in its criticism, which could once again open the door to Democratic efforts to paint it as an extreme arm of the GOP.

"Never underestimate the tea party's ability to overplay its hand," said Democratic strategist Mo Elleithee. "Just because there is universal agreement that the IRS went too far, that should not be misread as acceptance of the tea party's ideology of anger."

At the very least, furor over the IRS devoting special attention to tea party groups claiming tax-exempt status is giving the tea party more visibility than it has had in months, and it's providing a new rallying cry for tea party organizers starting to plot how to influence the 2014 congressional elections. The law allows tax-exempt organizations to lobby and dabble in politics as long as their primary purpose is social welfare.

The tax-agency scandal ? it has led to the acting IRS commissioner's ouster, a criminal investigation and Capitol Hill hearings ? seems to validate the tea party's long-held belief among supporters that government was trampling on them specifically, a claim dismissed by ousted commissioner Steven T. Miller. He has called the targeting "a mistake and not an act of partisanship."

Nevertheless, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., elected in 2010 with tea party backing, said the IRS scandal "confirms many of the feelings that led to the tea party movement in the first place."

"What's happened here is a reminder of, this is what happens when you expand government," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "That and the disaster that is Obamacare is going to be a real catalyst in 2014 and beyond."

Tea party activists hope they also can drive support ahead of the elections by stoking widespread suspicions that the Obama administration and State Department are hiding key details about the September 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. The seizure of Associated Press phone records also plays into their argument that government is too intrusive.

Tea party activists have tried to take advantage of the issues that have put some of their central tenets ? limited government and civil liberties ? in the spotlight.

From around the country last week, they headed Washington to hold a news conference on the Capitol steps and meet with members of Congress. Those who stayed home jammed House and Senate phone lines with calls urging congressional action as the IRS saga unfolded. An email from Teaparty.org that was sent to activists proclaimed: "We've worked so hard these past few years and it's paying off! We're witnessing the unraveling of a presidency at an unprecedented rate."

Freedomworks, a national tea party group, spent the week circulating petitions for congressional hearings and encouraging leaders of local groups who believe they have been targeted by the IRS to include their story on a national database to build the case against the agency.

"Perhaps all this attention will break something loose," said Jim Chiodo, an activist from Holland, Mich.

It wasn't long ago that the tea party was the hot new political kid on the block, bursting onto the national scene during the contentious summer debate over health care in 2009. Over the next few years, the loosely affiliated conservatives and civil libertarians would leave their mark on the 2010 elections by helping Republican candidates win Senate races in Florida, Kentucky, Utah and Wisconsin and scores of House races.

Those victories resulted in House and Senate Republican caucuses getting pushed to the right in legislative battles, making life difficult for Obama and his Democrats in an era of divided government.

But the movement's success was muted in 2012 when Republicans nominated the establishment-backed Mitt Romney for president, though he did little to inspire the tea party. He lost, and so did many tea party-backed House and Senate candidates.

Now, tea party activists say they are emboldened and won't be afraid to recruit candidates to run in Republican primaries against incumbents who appear to go easy on the Obama administration, particularly in light of the IRS scandal.

"It's one of those issues we should just raise hell about," said Nashville Tea Party leader Ben Cunningham.

Some say they're now even more suspicious of government than before.

"I personally feel so vindicated," said Mark Falzon, a New Jersey tea party leader. But he added: "What's scaring me now is what's going on below the water line that we're not seeing."

Republicans say that the tea party will have an opportunity come 2014 to make its mark again, particularly with Obama not at the top of the ticket. Also, they say that with Obama's health care law going into effect and with the slew of latest controversies, they now have concrete issues to point to when arguing against government overreach.

"Suddenly, this is a very real demonstration of too much power ceded to government bureaucrats," said Matt Kibbe, president of Freedomworks. "This is no longer theoretical."

___

Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in Boston and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Follow Thomas Beaumont on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Tom_Beaumont

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tea-party-looks-advantage-moment-131128674.html

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Bill Hader steals the show in starry 'SNL' sendoff

TV

Aaron Couch The Hollywood Reporter

16 hours ago

Ben Affleck joined the five-timers club as host, but departing castmember Bill Hader stole the show on "Saturday Night Live?s" season 38 finale.

Hader gave a cinematic sendoff to Stefon, that perennially irritating scenester kid. During Weekend Update, he faced his usual dressing down from Seth Meyers. Stefon had finally had enough, and announced he?d met someone else and was leaving Meyers. Meyers -- who was joined at the Update desk by former co-anchor Amy Poehler -- ran after Stefon and found him in a church. What came next was a fantastic (and surprisingly emotional) Graduate-themed segment featuring surprise guest Anderson Cooper as Stefon?s fiancee.

VIDEO: "Saturday Night Live": Watch Bill Hader's finest sketches

In the show?s final sketch, Hader, Fred Armisen, Jason Sudeikis and Taran Killam played a British rock band saying goodbyes on the last night of a tour.

?It?s the last night here,? Armisen said.

?But we?re going to keep playing together,? Hader said.

The band began playing a song, and were eventually joined on stage by Armisen?s Portlandia costar Carrie Brownstein, Sonic Youth?s Kim Gordon, the Sex Pistols? Steve Jones, singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, and Dinosaur Jr.?s J Mascis.

Earlier in the week, a report emerged that Armisen and Sudeikis would be leaving the show, and while NBC has not commented on the report, it's worth nothing that Armisen played the leader of the band. The focus was actually more on Armisen than Hader. Based solely on the sketch, signs point to an Armisen exit in addition to Hader's.

But lest we forget the host, it's time to circle back to Affleck. During his opening monologue, the actor-director addressed his odd "Argo" Oscars speech, in which he thanked wife Jennifer Garner but went on to talk about how marriage takes a lot of work. On "SNL," Affleck brought Garner out to discuss what he really meant. What followed was a marital game of ping-pong, with Garner saying she would have described their marriage as ?a gift,? not work, and Affleck fumbling for a better explanation.

PHOTOS: From live TV to the big screen: 12 "SNL" sketches made into movies

Affleck finally found his footing:

"I want to tell you how I wish I had ended that speech: I couldn?t do any of the things I do without you, without your support. You?re my angel, my wife, my world.?

The moment was shattered when Garner pointed out that he was reading the speech off of a cue card.

"SNL" moved on to imagine what would happen if Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Armisen) were to make a movie about Affleck directing "Argo." The result was spectacular. "Bengo F--- Yourself" saw Ahmadinejad wearing a Red Sox cap, doing a Boston accent and pitching his idea for a totally false CIA story. Affleck himself had a role in the movie as a sound technician.

?Why would I appear in this movie? Well, to be honest I?ve long been looking to appear in a movie worse than 'Gigli,'? Affleck said.

VIDEO: "SNL" recap: Zach Galifianakis plays "Game of Game of Thrones"

Affleck sported a mustache and a paunch to play a member of a family of emotionally repressed police officers attempting to toast the engagement of a young female relative. In a less-than-successful sketch, he portrayed a counselor at a camp designed to turn gay kids straight.

"SNL" was on a gay sketch kick, apparently, with a prerecorded segment advertising anti-anxiety medication for people feeling worried about attending perfect gay weddings over the summer. One man (Hader) feared that he was an inadequate dancer at gay weddings, where he said guests knew choreographed Beyonce dances. Another (Moynihan) never had clothes that were good enough, and a third noted that President Barack Obama had called to congratulate his gay friends at their wedding, while at his wedding, his grandmother had called Obama the N-word. Not quite as classy of an event.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/bill-hader-steals-show-star-packed-saturday-night-live-sendoff-1C9984549

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Wyo. student who threatened to rape self on Facebook was convicted of assault

The 28-year-old University of Wyoming student who allegedly threatened herself with rape in a Facebook hoax in April was convicted of aggravated assault in 2005 after she brandished a gun at an employer who fired her.

Meg Lanker-Simons, now a newly-minted UW graduate, was charged with interference with a police investigation after she allegedly posted on an anonymous Facebook forum that she wanted to engage in angry sexual intercourse ? with someone named ?Meg Lanker Simons.?

The posting on UW Crushes read:

?I want to hatefuck Meg Lanker Simons so hard. That chick runs her liberal mouth all the time and doesn?t care who knows it. I think its so hot and makes me angry. One night with me and shes gonna be a good Republican bitch.?

It turns out that the April 24 incident isn?t the strident leftist?s first rodeo in Wyoming?s criminal system. As the Laramie Boomerang reports, Lanker-Simons had an aggravated assault conviction in 2005 as the result of a bizarre gun-brandishing incident.

After Lanker-Simons was fired from a radio station in the fall of 2005, she returned and pulled a Glock 22 .40 caliber handgun from her purse. She waved the semi-automatic pistol around. She pointed it at the man who sacked her. He testified that he was ?in fear for his life,? notes the Boomerang.

The radio station was evacuated. Police caught Lanker-Simons as she tried to flee the scene in her vehicle. They held her at gunpoint.

In July 2006, Lanker-Simons ? then known as Meghan Michelena ? was sentenced to six years of probation. Her term of probation was subject to a number of conditions. She had to undergo counseling, complete community service, pay fines and apologize to her victims. She was also prevented from owning any guns.

The alleged Facebook hoax brought national attention to the Cowboy State?s flagship college. Initially, the administration stood firmly behind Lanker-Simons. ?No student should have to deal with such threatening language,? said one sternly-worded official statement. A school official also denounced ?rape culture,? according to KOWB.

Concerned fellow feminists also threw a rally for Lanker-Simons ? complete with all manner of signs condemning rape threats ? before police concluded that Lanker-Simons herself was behind the threats.

This month, Lanker-Simons participated in the University of Wyoming?s commencement ceremonies despite the charges against her. She graduated with a bachelor?s degree in psychology.

Lanker-Simons is also a blogger and a local radio host.

In 2010, Lanker-Simons and Bill Ayers sued the University of Wyoming after school officials decided to cancel a speech by Ayers, a former Weather Underground radical and mentor to President Obama. Also in 2010, her husband, Andrew Simons, ran a failed Democratic campaign for Wyoming secretary of state.

According to the Boomerang, the interference charge is a misdemeanor punishable by a prison sentence up to a year and a fine up to $1,000.

Follow Eric on Twitter?and send education-related story tips to?erico@dailycaller.com.
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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wyo-student-threatened-rape-self-facebook-convicted-assault-174802295.html

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GE Capital plans to pay $11 billion in dividends to GE

LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) - Manchester United's outgoing manager Alex Ferguson has criticised neighbours Manchester City for sacking Roberto Mancini. The Italian boss was sacked on Monday having failed to retain the Premier League title he won last season and after losing the FA Cup final to Wigan Athletic. Mancini took out a full-page advertisement in the Manchester Evening News on Saturday, thanking fans for their support during his time in charge. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ge-capital-plans-pay-11-billion-dividends-ge-111009991.html

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Hi there - Health, Fitness, and Sports - Wrong Planet

WP Members: > 70,000 New Today: 15 New Yesterday: 20

nagasunoru Emu Egg Joined: May 19, 2013 Posts: 2 Location: Bremen, Germany Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 4:33 pm?? ?Post subject: Hi there Hey, I say, I'm kinda glad to live in Germany, where good Senseis are teaching just because they choose to teach, without opting to secure a living out of it. There's lots of nitwits around for sure, but I guess there won't be less of them in commercial dojos. Me, I'm shodan Wado, Kyu grade german Jiu Jitsu and mostly hitting the heavy bag in the boxing club nowadays. Since I learned I am an Aspie, I understood why I never got into major scrapes. I just don't care for the stakes. The one time I had to stand up for something was no problem at all, so I guess I shouldn't worry about technical perfection (I'm clumsy to start with, anyway) and just do what suits me. Boxing training (not sparring) is a very good way of getting the physical exhaustion that keeps me from drinking too much and it builds a nice body , too (you never know when it might be useful). Glad to be with you. Back to top

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Refresh Roundup: week of May 13th, 2013

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Teresa on her first AMA River Cruise - WhirlAway Travel & Cruises

I just came off AMA Waterways Romantic Danube Cruise. I stayed in Budapest instead of Prague because of office scheduling.? I met some people who did the Prague extension. They did all the included excursions, including the Nazi camp, Terezin.? They said it was very, very moving.? It was in-depth and they saw where people were shot; if they survived that, they saw where they were hung.? Just so you know.

When I arrived in Munich, there was an AMA representative in baggage claim waiting.? We had a large coach bus so we could see the countryside on the way to Vilshofen (this was about an hour and a half).? When you check-in, they will give you phone contacts for the ship.? Carry them with you all the time (some lady got separated from her sister and was lost), and make your specialty dinner reservations as soon as you can.? Every time you get off and on the ship, you need to pick up boarding passes from the front desk.? They don?t care when you do it; I always did it early to avoid the congestion at the desk.? You return them when you get back on.? They also color code excursions, especially the walking tours.? You go by color on how fast you want to walk.? The active walkers really get on it; they do see the most, though.? They give you a color card and then when you get off the ship, you go to the tour guide with the matching color stick.? Please return the color cards upon return as well.

On the first night they set up an Oktoberfest tent a few steps from the gangway.? They give you German beer and pretzels as well as having a local ?Oom Pa Pa ? band and the guys who snap whips.? I have seen this before as I was in Germany years ago, but it still cracks me up and I loved it! I am a creature of love for foreign culture, you know?.

AMA offers three times for breakfast, early in the lounge, main dining and late in the lounge.? There is much more offered in the main lounge as there is an omelet chef and you can also order from the menu.? I am an early riser and I just loved the coffee machines that were available 24/7.? You can get coffee, lattes, cappuccinos, hot chocolate and teas.? I grabbed my latte every day and went up top to look around.? Lunch is served in the main dining and the lounge as well.? The lounge is a buffet and main dining has buffet as well as a menu.? Dinner is always in the main dining room at a set time.? Keep in mind that the food, wine and beer is regional, however, there are staples such as steak and salmon that you can order instead.? I am an adventurous foodie, so I always had the chef?s recommendations (never disappointed).? I made reservations for the specialty restaurant for the last night on ship.? It only sat 20, so make sure and get your reservations in quick!? You either sat looking out over the water (beautiful) or facing the chef.? I faced the chef and watched him prepare dinner; I thoroughly enjoyed it!? They do offer late night snacks in the lounge as well as cookies all day (I was all up in those cookies).? At breakfast they had complimentary champagne (too early for me), regional wine and beer at both lunch and dinner.? They continually keep your glass full unless you tell them not to, and are happy to fill you up on your way out.? I emailed the office during the journey and told them free wine was bad; they thought I meant quality but what I meant was quantity; so watch out!

You are just a few steps from Vilshofen so you have the option to walk around the same day you get there.? It is very charming.? I walked it the next morning before heading to Passau.? As it was Sunday morning, the town was mostly closed but had a lot of interesting architecture and statues.

Just so you know, you will travel through ten locks on this itinerary.? I had never done that before and the first and second was very exciting to me and I went up and watched.? Then, not so much.? I rode on the top of the ship to see Passau before we docked.? In Passau, I took the walking tour (pre-booked of the three you can) that did the cathedral, wine tasting and marzipan candy making. Just so you know, the candy making becomes a competition where they give you a block of marzipan and a picture of a head.? Then you have to create the head from your block.? Guess who one?? Yep, that was me!? Our guide was great and I had a lot of fun.? Then I just walked around and took it in.? That is beautiful as well; more so than Vilshofen.? That evening they brought in local musicians to play some classical pieces.? We all fit comfortably into the lounge, and the entertainment was top notch.

Linz was not pretty from the water to me.? It was pretty angular.? However, there was a lot of bombing there during the war and the reconstruction was hurried and plain.? I took the bus trip into the Alps/Lake District.? They stop for a little bit in a harbor town before going all the way up.? Then you see the Cathedral, St. Wolfgang (I thought it was fascinating ? it was oddly dark ? almost a little creepy).? Then you head back a different way and hit another cathedral and small town.? I found this very informative; they tell you a lot of history of the salt trade as well.? It was overcast when we were there but very beautiful. They also give you a lot of information about the Von Trapp family.? On the bus on the way back, the guide did a sing a long and had made her own lyrics to ?My Favorite Things?.? This all had to do with being old??

Another agent on the trip went to the Czech town of Cesky Krumlov, she enjoyed that as well.? She shopped, had lunch and indulged in the local beer with her daughter.

I pre-booked the bike tour along the Danube in Melk instead of the tour to the Benedictine Abbey.? I wish I had done the Abbey.? Where I did get some fresh air and exercise, it was not as scenic as I had hoped.? I am also sorry I missed the Abbey; it was magnificent!? The town itself was so quaint and charming; this is where I picked up a small painting.? It was my favorite village.

You will then cruise the Wachau Valley to Krems.? They will invite you up top to give you a narrated tour of the valley; it is beautiful. They will also serve local refreshments up there.? The wine was a little sweet and they served a great onion tart.? You pass a great deal of vineyards as well as having a history lesson.? It is quite beautiful (I know I already said that, but the landscape is breathtaking).? You will pass the castle ruins where King Richard the Lionhearted was held for ransom.? I took the bus into Durnstein (had the option to climb up to the ruins but was too lazy).? The town is really cute but no so much shopping except for apricot products and some souvenirs.? The ice cream shop was great!? That evening, they invited all the passengers to load up on buses and head to a winery and museum.? The winery was a museum; I was hoping for an old school winery, but it is very high tech.? We did tastings in different rooms and saw a 3D movie about wine.? It was interesting; but not what I was looking for (I had been in a winery in Germany years back that had oak barrels as big as me in the basement and sat at a long table for tasting).? You can buy as much wine as you like and the guide is dressed in native garb.

Vienna was just lovely!? I paid for the optional tour to the Schonbrunn Palace, as well as the optional Mozart & Strauss concert.? The concert was only for the AMA passengers. They were both wonderful and very informative; the bus ride also goes through what is to me a beautiful city.? The concert was in an old concert hall which is just magnificent as well.

The ride to Bratislava was scenic as well.? This is where I took the communist tour; I wish I had taken the walking tour instead.? It highlights some buildings (from the bus) and stops at a cemetery and a castle.? I walked into town from the castle (I let the guide know).? I was hoping for more history but I didn?t get much.? The town is pretty when you walk the historic district.? There are many shops as well.? There was a lot of damage from the war, so you will see a great deal of communist block buildings.? They are as dismal as any picture you have ever seen; interesting none the less.

In Budapest, I pre-booked the goulash making class at the Sofitel. That was pretty funny.? We all had to sign waivers because we were handling sharp objects.? Then we all got chef?s hats and aprons and started to chop.? They had the hotel?s top chef with us.? After it was all together, we toured both kitchens and sat down to eat (he had pre-maid a batch as it simmers for several hours).? Then they surprised us with the recipe and paprika; not a bad way to spend the morning!? They then go to the indoor market for a few minutes; it is a ten minute walk to the ship so I stayed there.? The market has fresh food, paprika and local crafts.? I had a great time, but I also knew I was staying and could walk on my own.? The walking tour is comprehensive and there really is a lot to see.? It is quite beautiful and the locals are very friendly.?? They did bring on local musicians and Hungarian folk dancers.? I know I keep saying this, but, I loved it!? You have the option to stay in town or get back on the boat for a special ?Illuminations Cruise?.? You don?t want to miss that; the whole waterfront lights up and it really, really is a thing of beauty!? It is also amazing at just how maneuverable the ships really are, you will note this in the locks and when they go up and down the waterfront as well!

Just so you know, the engines run very quietly.? If I had not heard them start up (still not loud) I would not have noticed them at all.? I am from the south and grew up on the water; the ride the entire way was as smooth as glass.

You can exchange dollars for Euro on the ship.? Euros are not widely accepted in Budapest and you cannot get Fortins on the ship.? There are change places on every block though, so you will be just fine.

Just to touch on the tours; the farthest I had to walk to get on a bus was less than half of a block.? You can see from my photos the shortest?..

Every day you get a newsletter delivered that has the day?s events as well as the weather forecast.? I would suggest a light weight windbreaker as some days it can get windy, especially up top.? Each evening, you come back to a clean room, a towel creature, and chocolate on your pillow.? Don?t forget that most places you where you are touring, you have to pay for the restroom.? I bought sodas in the Burger King in Budapest so I could use the restroom, but no, had to pay.

As far as my opinion on AMA, I definitely would recommend it and would love to do it again in a different region!? The staff is friendly and helpful and it is about as far away from an ocean cruise as you can get.? I loved being able to walk on and off at my leisure instead of worrying about tender schedules and lines, as well as being able to walk right into town.? It is just a huge difference in product ? it really is like being on your own private vessel, docking in smaller, more unusual ports and total destination immersion.

Budapest is interesting and beautiful on both sides of the Danube; easily walkable and a great deal of public transportation.? I stayed an additional two nights at the Sofitel, which is centrally located for walking or taxis (on the Buda side with a river view).

After disembarkation, I went to the hotel early, left my bags and checked with the concierge about a walk.? The architecture is fantastic!? I do like the fact that most of the buildings are built in the keeping with the originals (they are not a fan of the new modern designs or the communist blocks, but you do come upon those as well).? Fish pedicures are all the rage over there?..still on the fence about that one!

I took an evening? Segway tour (booked this on my own) and I just want to say that they are amazing easy to handle and our guide, Tamas Kajtar, made sure we could not only handle the basics but go up and down the curbs as well before we set off.? Tamas was a terrific guide and a very knowledgeable historian.? For any of you reading this, I am not a young woman anymore and I had absolutely no problem!

We saw a lot of different areas and the ghetto.? I did not realize they had the second biggest synagogue in the world or exactly what happened there.? Inside the courtyard is a remnant of a Nazi firing area with portholes and barbed wire.? They lost so many there that they built a tree out of wire with hundreds of leaves, each on bearing the name of one of the lost. You can also tell which buildings survived the bombings and which were rebuilt (even though they kept the original style).

You learn so many things in school about WWll and communism, but it doesn?t really hit home until you see it.? They were liberated from the Nazis by the Russians, but then lived under communism for many, many years.

On a lighter note, we ended up outside of my hotel in a large square that was once called Roosevelt Terrace (it had a sign with a red line through it) ? it was so funny as our guide was telling us who is was now named after and I asked him about that and he kept shaking his head saying ?I just do not know?.? Guess you had to be there!

Tamas was full of recommendations for dinner and I tried one on the way back.? Ended up having a terrific light dinner and wine under the stars.

The next day, I walked across the bridge over to the Pest side to the Buda Castle.? That was very beautiful and I was there in time to see the changing of the guard.? That was interesting and then along the back they had some local vendors and cross bow shooting.? They have funnel cakes that are shaped like funnels and baked on sticks in little vendor wooden houses.? I will say, it was the best I have ever had anywhere and makes a fine, portable lunch!? Crisp on the outside and tender on the inside ? nothing remotely close to what you get here!

I kept walking and ended up at another cathedral.? Some of them have roofs that look like individual colored tiles and are quite striking.? They also had an outdoor caf? area with a string quartet. Then I walked back to the Pest side for a little shopping.? They certainly have a great deal of what we have, but I loved looking at the local crafts.? There are some beautiful embroidered linens and great leather products.? I got tired out and gave up and had dinner at the Hard Rock Caf?.? It was on a busy corner and you could see all kinds of interesting street performers as well as dining outdoors.? The Sofitel includes a full breakfast daily with your room.? I have to say that it was not only the biggest buffet/omelet station/eggs/meats I have ever seen, but the best.? I enjoyed a huge breakfast before heading to the airport.

I flew Lufthansa on this trip, changing in Frankfurt in each direction.? I had a little over an hour and a half to change gates.? I hoofed it (it is a large airport) but still had about 25 minutes at the gate.? I am a big fan of Lufthansa.? They had monitors on the back of each headrest where you had a nice selection of movies, TV shows and news (everyone has complimentary headphones).? They allowed on checked bag free (up to 50 pounds) and all the meals and all beverages were complimentary as well.? They also brought hot towels up and down the aisles three times during the 7.15 hour flight.? I don?t think you could be any more comfortable in economy class than with Lufthansa.

Source: http://www.whirlawaytravel.com/2013/05/teresa-on-her-first-ama-river-cruise/

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Egypt Muslim-Christian clashes leave 1 dead

CAIRO (AP) ? Egyptian security officials say clashes between Muslims and Christians in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria left one man dead of a heart attack.

Officials say the clashes in the city's el-Dekheila suburb erupted when a Coptic man allegedly sexually harassed a Muslim woman.

Residents of the area fired birdshot and threw Molotov cocktails at one another during the Friday night fighting.

Police say Christian resident Sherif Sedky died of a heart attack during the clashes. Police forces were beefed up around the local church Saturday in case of further violence.

Officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population. Sectarian violence has been on the rise in Egypt over the past two years.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-muslim-christian-clashes-leave-1-dead-131111263.html

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Who has the most satisfying customer experience in the UK? That'll be Apple Retail

Leading UK consumer campaigner, Which?, has conducted a survey into customer satisfaction across UK high-street retail stores. While the likes of WHSmith and carrier, EE, scored near the bottom, is there any surprise who topped the table? Apple Retail Stores.

Over 11,000 UK consumers responded to the survey, with Apple coming out on top with an 85% satisfaction score. Apple Retail Stores were praised specifically for their "unique look and feel" and "great customer service."

Apple Retail Stores do stand out among their competitors. The look and feel is indeed unique, but such customer services as EasyPay allowing payment via your iTunes account through your iPhone sets Apple apart from the rest. It's no doubt a great result for Apple, but 11,000 people doesn't come close to the numbers that pass through Apple Retail Stores each and every day.

Personally, I can't recall a visit to an Apple Store that I'd consider unsatisfactory, and though they're often extremely busy, there's never much of a wait to be dealt with by a member of the store team. Not counting the Genius Bar, of course. But how about you, have you ever had a bad experience in an Apple Retail Store?

Source: The Independent

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/53cZxvOYm2k/story01.htm

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NC colleges look to expand advanced manufacturing

You hear a lot of bad news about alcohol abuse, so it?s always a relief to here something good, right? Earlier this year, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol (NIAAA) reported on several hopeful findings that, in their words, ?challenge past perceptions of the nature, course, and outcome of alcoholism.? What does that mean, exactly? Among other things, NIAAA noted that most people do overcome alcohol dependency, and that ?about 75 percent of [those] who recover from alcohol dependence do so without seeking any kind of help, including specialty alcohol (rehab) programs and AA. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nc-colleges-look-expand-advanced-153208024.html

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Dinner with a real African Princess | Rowan Family Tree

The exotic life I lead! In just a couple of weeks I will be back to the African continent again, except this time to the sun and spices of Morocco.

I applied to speak up the World Environmental Education Congress back in the fall, not knowing if they would actually accept my application or not. In fact, I submitted two papers, in hopes that one would be accepted. Well I should?ve known? Murphy?s Law. Both were excepted! And so in a couple weeks I amoff on a whirlwind one-week trip to Marrakesh.

It?s been 16 years since I was last in Morocco. The last time I was staying in three dollar a night hotels, with questionable locations and the occasional bedbug. Not that I?ve become so fancying any year since, however I think that I will for myself at least $50 a night this time.

Morocco, to my recollection, was one of the most wonderful places I visited in the world. I can?t wait to go back.

The design! All the amazing Islamic architecture with the repeated patterns and tile work. The leatherwork, the fabrics, the carpets! And of course? The best part is the food. I have never been anywhere in the world that is as fragrant and exotic has Morocco. Of course I haven?t been to India! But, the smell of the souks in the spice markets are forever emblazoned on my brain. I?m looking forward to eating pigeon and tangine and pistachios and all sorts of delicacies. Although I actually lost several pounds in Ethiopia, I can guarantee that I will be coming home for Morocco a little bit rounder. Which is unfortunate, because I have to fit into a ball gown at the very end of the week.

Super cool! I get to have dinner with the real African princess: Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco. She is the chair of the prince?s environmental charity, and is hosting a formal evening in ancient Moroccan ruins outside that I get to attend into splendid formal attire. Dinner with the real African princess? It doesn?t get better than that.

Of course it goes without saying that I am looking forward to learning in hearing some of the amazing speakers as well. Some people I?ve only met through videotape will be there in person. And I expect, and I will meet some old acquaintances from other conferences as well.

In case you?re interested, I?m presenting on two topics?

Communities of Practice for Green Economy Entrepreneurs: Learning Together and Building a Subculture?s Identity

Sometimes it isn?t easy making a living by being green; however with informal learning communities, eco-minded entrepreneurs interact and improve their business practices. This presentation identifies the learning roles entrepreneurs can play in a green economy, the community?s collective benefits and ways to strengthen the interactions between community participants. Real-life examples from a small Canadian city highlight aspects of knowledge creation, shared values, tribal communications and practical acumen.

Integrating Sustainability Across the Higher Education Curriculum: A Systems Approach for Institutional Deep Change

This session explores the barriers to educational reform within higher education institutions, why traditional organizational change models don?t work, and best practice workarounds from inside and outside the sector. Barriers include traditional discipline silos, missing fundamental sustainability knowledge, a lack of social connectivity and norms between instructors and the power dynamics of the academic system. A whole system approach is suggested to address the decision making processes and communication flows unique to higher education.

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Source: http://rowanfamilytree.com/2013/05/17/dinner-with-a-real-african-princess/

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Wine Drinkers of the World, Unite

The other night, I was having dinner with some friends in a fairly decent restaurant and was at the very peak of my form as a wit and raconteur. But just as, with infinite and exquisite tantalizations, I was approaching my punch line, the most incredible thing happened. A waiter appeared from nowhere, leaned right over my shoulder and into the middle of the conversation, seized my knife and fork, and started to cut up my food for me. Not content with this bizarre behavior, and without so much as a by-your-leave, he proceeded to distribute pieces of my entree onto the plates of the other diners.

No, he didn't, actually. What he did instead was to interrupt the feast of reason and flow of soul that was our chat, lean across me, pick up the bottle of wine that was in the middle of the table, and pour it into everyone's glass. And what I want to know is this: How did such a barbaric custom get itself established, and why on earth do we put up with it?

There are two main ways in which a restaurant can inflict bad service on a customer. The first is to keep you hanging about and make it hard to catch the eye of the staff. ("Why are they called waiters?" inquired my son when he was about 5. "It's we who are doing all the waiting.") The second way is to be too intrusive, with overlong recitations of the "specials" and too many oversolicitous inquiries. A cartoon in TheNew Yorker once showed a couple getting ready for bed, with the husband taking a call and keeping his hand over the receiver. "It's the maitre d' from the place we had dinner. He wants to know if everything is still all right."

The vile practice of butting in and pouring wine without being asked is the very height of the second kind of bad manners. Not only is it a breathtaking act of rudeness in itself, but it conveys a none-too-subtle and mercenary message: Hurry up and order another bottle. Indeed, so dulled have we become to the shame and disgrace of all this that I have actually seen waiters, having broken into the private conversation and emptied the flagon, ask insolently whether they should now bring another one. Again, imagine this same tactic being applied to the food.

Not everybody likes wine as much as I do. Many females, for example, confine themselves to one glass per meal or even half a glass. It pains me to see good wine being sloshed into the glasses of those who have not asked for it and may not want it and then be left standing there barely tasted when the dinner is over. Mr. Coleman, it was said, made his fortune not from the mustard that was consumed but from the mustard that was left on the plate. Restaurants ought not to inflict waste and extravagance on their patrons for the sake of padding out the bill. This, too, is a very extreme form of rudeness.

The expense of the thing, in other words, is only an aspect of the presumption of it. It completely usurps my prerogative if I am a host. ("Can I refill your glass? Try this wine?I think you may care for it.") It also tends to undermine me as a guest, since at any moment when I try to sing for my supper, I may find an unwanted person lunging carelessly into the middle of my sentence. If this person fills glasses unasked, he is a boor as described above. If he asks permission of each guest in turn?as he really ought to do, when you think about it?then he might as well pull up a chair and join the party. The nerve of it!

To return to the question of why we endure this: I think it must have something to do with the snobbery and insecurity that frequently accompany the wine business. A wine waiter is or can be a bit of a grandee, putting on considerable airs that may intimidate those who know little of the subject. If you go into a liquor store in a poor part of town, you will quite often notice that the wine is surprisingly expensive, because it is vaguely assumed that somehow it ought to cost more. And then there is simple force of custom and habit?people somehow grant restaurants the right to push their customers around in this outrageous way.

Well, all it takes is a bit of resistance. Until relatively recently in Washington, it was the custom at diplomatic and Georgetown dinners for the hostess to invite the ladies to withdraw, leaving the men to port and cigars and high matters of state. And then one evening in the 1970s, at the British Embassy, the late Katharine Graham refused to get up and go. There was nobody who felt like making her, and within a day, the news was all over town. Within a very short time, everybody had abandoned the silly practice. I am perfectly well aware that there are many graver problems facing civilization, and many grosser violations of human rights being perpetrated as we speak. But this is something that we can all change at a stroke. Next time anyone offers to interrupt your conversation and assist in the digestion of your meal and the inflation of your check, be very polite but very firm and say that you would really rather not.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=bab5b2495fcc4e309f17fd5073ce9ed3

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GOP Lawmakers Criticize IRS as Hearing Opens (WSJ)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/306466454?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Satellite sees Tropical Storm Alvin's life end quickly

Public release date: 17-May-2013
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Contact: Rob Gutro
robert.j.gutro@nasa.gov
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

The first tropical storm of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season was short-lived. Satellite imagery revealed that Tropical Storm Alvin became a remnant low pressure area 36 hours after it was named.

NASA's GOES Project created an image of Alvin's remnants using infrared data from NOAA's GOES-15 satellite on May 17 at 1200 UTC (8 a.m. EDT). NASA's GOES Project is located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Alvin became a named tropical storm on May 15 at 5 p.m. EDT and weakened into a trough (elongated area) of low pressure by 5 a.m. EDT on May 17.

The GOES-15 satellite image showed that the system has become elongated and did not have a well-defined center. The National Hurricane Center also noted that Alvin's remnant low pressure area had become further embedded within the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone and is no longer a tropical cyclone.

The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone is a broad area of low atmospheric pressure located in the equatorial region where the northeasterly and southeasterly trade winds converge, extending approximately 10 north and south of the equator.

At 5 a.m. EDT, May 17, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued its final advisory on Alvin and does not expect regeneration because of strong wind shear affecting the low pressure area. Alvin's last location was near 10.3 north and 112.0 west, about 790 miles (1,275 km) southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. Maximum sustained winds at that time were near 35 mph (55 kph) and weakening quickly. Alvin's remnants were moving to the west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph), and the minimum central pressure was near 1007 millibars. The NHC expects Alvin's winds should gradually diminish and is not expected to regenerate.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 17-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Rob Gutro
robert.j.gutro@nasa.gov
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

The first tropical storm of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season was short-lived. Satellite imagery revealed that Tropical Storm Alvin became a remnant low pressure area 36 hours after it was named.

NASA's GOES Project created an image of Alvin's remnants using infrared data from NOAA's GOES-15 satellite on May 17 at 1200 UTC (8 a.m. EDT). NASA's GOES Project is located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Alvin became a named tropical storm on May 15 at 5 p.m. EDT and weakened into a trough (elongated area) of low pressure by 5 a.m. EDT on May 17.

The GOES-15 satellite image showed that the system has become elongated and did not have a well-defined center. The National Hurricane Center also noted that Alvin's remnant low pressure area had become further embedded within the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone and is no longer a tropical cyclone.

The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone is a broad area of low atmospheric pressure located in the equatorial region where the northeasterly and southeasterly trade winds converge, extending approximately 10 north and south of the equator.

At 5 a.m. EDT, May 17, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued its final advisory on Alvin and does not expect regeneration because of strong wind shear affecting the low pressure area. Alvin's last location was near 10.3 north and 112.0 west, about 790 miles (1,275 km) southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. Maximum sustained winds at that time were near 35 mph (55 kph) and weakening quickly. Alvin's remnants were moving to the west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph), and the minimum central pressure was near 1007 millibars. The NHC expects Alvin's winds should gradually diminish and is not expected to regenerate.

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/nsfc-sst051713.php

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After tough week, Obama tries to change the subject to jobs

By Roberta Rampton and Mark Felsenthal

BALTIMORE (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday sought to turn the spotlight from controversies threatening to swamp his agenda back to his top priority - the economy - and announced he will try to cut in half the time it takes to get federal approval for large job-creating projects.

Obama traveled to Baltimore, a short helicopter ride from the White House, to talk about steps he is taking to streamline permits for infrastructure, early childhood education, and positive signs in the economy.

He did not mention the trio of storms that have beset his administration in the past week and that some believe could overrun his second-term agenda.

Speaking in front of heavy equipment at Ellicott Dredges, a company that helped dredge the Panama Canal over 100 years ago, Obama took a swipe at the distractions of Washington politics.

"I know it can seem frustrating sometimes when it seems like Washington's priorities aren't the same as your priorities," Obama said in his upbeat speech.

"Others may get distracted by chasing every fleeting issue that passes by. But the middle class will always be my number-one focus, period," he said.

Obama's Baltimore trip is a good idea and a productive change of scene for him, said Chris Lehane, a Democratic strategist who specialized in damage control for the Clinton White House.

"It gets you out of the bunker," Lehane said.

Meanwhile, Washington was fixated on Friday on a Republican-led House of Representatives hearing where the now-fired head of the Internal Revenue Service was grilled about how agents targeted conservative groups for special scrutiny.

The IRS scandal was one of three that forced Obama on the defensive in the past week.

The White House was also doing damage control on what it said in the wake of last year's attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, and the Justice Department's seizure of phone logs of journalists at the Associated Press as it looked for leaks of classified information.

In his speech, Obama recalled advice he received as a young senator from longtime former Maryland Senator Paul Sarbanes.

"I asked him, 'What's your advice?' He says, 'Just keep in mind the people who sent you.' Because here in Washington, sometimes people get distracted," Obama said.

CONTROVERSY NOT FAR AWAY

Obama was warmly received in Baltimore, first visiting an elementary school where he saw 4- and 5-year-olds learning how to spell and describe their favorite zoo animals in a pre-kindergarten class - the type of program he has said should be available to all American children so they get a good start.

Later, he talked about how to get through the rocky times in life at a roundtable with a group of people at the Center for Urban Families, a non-profit that helps people find jobs and training.

He walked through the century-old factory floor of Ellicott Dredges, where men in steel-toed boots were working on a giant corkscrew excavation tool destined for a Bangladesh shipyard.

But even on this friendly tour, political controversy was near at hand.

His tour guide was Peter Bowe, the company's chief executive, who on Thursday told a House of Representatives hearing that his company has been hurt by the protracted federal approval process for the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline from the oil sands fields in Canada.

"For us, it's all about jobs," Bowe said on Thursday, urging speedy approval of TransCanada's pipeline. The company first applied for project approval in 2008.

Obama delayed the project last year, saying it needed further review. A decision is unlikely until late this year or even early 2014.

The pipeline has been championed by Republicans, who blame Obama for the delay, and pilloried by environmental groups who argue Obama's credibility on his vow to address climate change hinges on rejecting the project.

Obama did not mention pipelines in his speech about delays for infrastructure projects.

But he said he had drawn inspiration from someone he met at the plant - Myrna LaBarre, who had worked for the company for 50 years and who described her secret for success.

"She said, 'Be honest, be helpful, accept your mistakes and improve upon them, be good to people, keep a good sense of humor, have the best work ethic possible, and handle the good times and get over the bad,'" Obama said.

"If we keep that in mind, if we just all keep Myrna's advice in mind, keep plugging away, keep fighting, we'll build an even better America than we've got right now," he said.

(Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Jackie Frank and Philip Barbara)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-shifts-focus-jobs-eases-building-permit-process-101033758.html

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