stickily arrogation: November 2011

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Nokia links up with Bluetooth 4.0 for indoor positioning, because anything Google can do, it can do better

Not to be outdone by the mobile mammoth that is Google, Nokia's prepping its own version of indoor maps for wireless users. Rather than run the risk of being a me too! product, Espoo's Research labs have chosen Bluetooth 4.0 as the main ingredient for its in development location service. The Finnish company's hoping to get a slew of partners onboard so it can begin outfitting retail shops, malls and other well-trodden public spaces with inexpensive antenna arrays that would track a user's movements via device-embedded Bluetooth tags. But indoor positioning for mobile-wielding users isn't the only endgame here, as the tech could also find its way into shopping carts -- useful for gathering analytics on consumer habits. It's certainly a privacy trade-off, but by now you should be well comfy with the notion that digital convenience always comes at a cost. Hit up the source below to take a peek at the proposed equipment.

Nokia links up with Bluetooth 4.0 for indoor positioning, because anything Google can do, it can do better originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

PhoneArena, The Nokia Blog | source

EE Times | Email this | Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/1HtmU8hJG4c/

santonio holmes john edward psychic john edward psychic brandon marshall headless horseman headless horseman brandon lloyd

Study shows deeper meltdown at Japan nuke reactor (AP)

TOKYO ? Radioactive debris from melted fuel rods may have seeped deeper into the floor of a Japan's tsunami-hit nuclear reactor than previously thought, to within a foot from breaching the crucial steel barrier, a new simulation showed Wednesday.

The findings will not change the ongoing efforts to stabilize the reactors more than eight months after the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant was disabled, but they harshly depict the meltdowns that occurred and conditions within the reactors, which will be off-limits for years.

The plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said its latest simulation showed fuel at the No. 1 reactor may have eroded part of the primary containment vessel's thick concrete floor. The vessel is a beaker-shaped steel container, set into the floor. A concrete foundation below that is the last manmade barrier before earth.

The fuel came within a foot of the container's steel bottom in the worst-case scenario but has been somewhat cooled, TEPCO's nuclear safety official Yoshihiro Oyama said at a government workshop. He said fuel rods in the No. 1 reactor were the worst damaged because it lost cooling capacity before the other two reactors, leaving its rods dry and overheated for hours before water was pumped in.

The nuclear crisis following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami caused massive radiation leaks and the relocation of some 100,000 people.

Another simulation on the structure released by the government-funded Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization, or JNES, said the erosion of the concrete could be deeper and the possibility of structural damage to the reactor's foundation needs to be studied.

JNES official Masanori Naito said the melting fuel rods lost their shape as they collapsed to the bottom of the vessel, then deteriorated into drops when water pumping resumed, and the fuel drops spattered and smashed against the concrete as they fell, Naito said.

TEPCO and government officials are aiming to achieve "cold shutdown" by the end of the year ? a first step toward creating a stable enough environment for work to proceed on removing the reactors' nuclear fuel and closing the plant altogether.

The government estimates it will take 30 years or more to safely decommission Fukushima Dai-ichi.

Wednesday's simulations depict what happened early in the crisis and do not mean a recent deterioration of the No. 1 reactor. Oyama said, however, the results are based only on available data and may not match the actual conditions inside the reactors, which cannot be opened for years.

Some experts have raised questions about achieving the "cold shutdown," which means bringing the temperature of the pressure vessel containing healthy fuel rods to way below the benchmark 100 Celsius (212 Fahrenheit). They say the fuel is no longer there and measuring the temperature of empty cores is meaningless, while nobody knows where and how hot the melted fuel really is.

Kiyoharu Abe, a nuclear expert at JNES, said it's too early to make a conclusion and more simulations should be done to get accurate estimates.

"I don't think the simulation today was wrong, but we should look at this from various viewpoints rather than making a conclusion from one simulation," Abe said. "It's just the beginning of a long process."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111130/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_nuclear_crisis

tay sachs tay sachs watch the walking dead giuliana and bill giuliana and bill 2012 camry endometriosis

Eurozone ministers meet to build euro rescue plan (AP)

BRUSSELS ? The 17 finance ministers of the countries that use the euro converged on EU headquarters Tuesday in a desperate bid to save their currency ? and to protect Europe, the United States, Asia and the rest of the global economy from a debt-induced financial tsunami.

The ministers were discussing ideas that would have been taboo only recently, before things got as bad as they are: countries ceding fiscal sovereignty to a central authority; some kind of elite group of euro nations that would guarantee one another's loans ? but require strong fiscal discipline from anyone wanting membership.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated her support for changes to Europe's current treaties in order to create a fiscal union, that will include binding and enforceable commitments by all euro countries.

"Our priority is to have the whole of the eurozone to be placed on a stronger treaty basis," Merkel said Tuesday in Berlin. "This is what we have devoted all of our efforts to; this is what I'm concentrating on in all of the talks with my counterparts."

Merkel acknowledged that changing the treaties ? usually a lengthy procedure ? won't be easy because not all of the European Unions 27 member states "are enthusiastic about it." But she dismissed reports that the eurozone, or some nations within the bloc, might go ahead with a swifter treaty between governments.

Changes to existing eurozone rules are being touted as one way the eurozone can get out of its debt crisis, which has already forced bailouts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal, and is threatening to engulf bigger economies such as Italy, the eurozone's third-largest. If Italy were to default on its debts of around euro1.9 trillion ($2.5 trillion), the fallout could spell ruin for the euro project itself and send shockwaves throughout the global economy.

Even countries outside the eurozone were ratcheting up pressure on the ministers to find a solution. President Barack Obama, meeting with top EU officials on Monday, said a European failure to resolve its debt crisis would complicate his own efforts to create jobs in the U.S. And even Poland, historically wary of German dominance beyond its borders, appealed for help.

"I will probably be the first Polish foreign minister in history to say so, but here it is," Radek Sikorski said in Berlin. "I fear German power less than I am beginning to fear German inactivity. You have become Europe's indispensable nation."

Illustating the urgency is the fact that Eurozone goverments have euro638 billion in past debts coming due in 2012, of which 40 percent needs to be refinanced in the first four months of the year, according to a Barclays Capital estimate last week.

In a reminder of the urgency, Italy's borrowing rates shot up Tuesday to rates above 7 percent, an unsustainable level on a par with rates that forced the others to seek bailouts. Markets rose generally for the second day on the expectation that the enormous pressures on European ministers would produce results.

At the top of Tuesday's agenda is finding a means to more fully integrate the eurozone's disparate nations ? ranging from powerful Germany to tiny Malta ? both politically and financially. And the ministers must do it fast, without the delays caused by democratic niceties like referendums that have led many EU reforms to take years to implement.

France's finance minister, Francois Baroin, said Tuesday on France-Info radio that countries should integrate their budgets more closely and monitor one another's spending.

"We have to modify eurozone governance," Baroin said. "We definitely have to move toward more integrated budgetary consolidation, fiscal convergence with our neighbors."

He said France and Germany ? which have largely been calling the shots on efforts to overcome the crisis ? will make proposals on how eurozone countries can monitor one another under such a new system.

The 17 ministers are expected to discuss jointly issuing so-called eurobonds ? an all-for-one, one-for-all way of having the different countries guarantee one another's debts. Right now each nation issues its own bonds, meaning that while Italy pays above 7 percent, Germany pays about 2 percent.

Having stronger countries like Germany stand behind the general European debt would lower Italy's borrowing rates ? and perhaps avoid a debt spiral that leads to a national bankruptcy. At the same time, it would raise Germany's cost of borrowing, and that's why Germany has been fiercely opposed to the eurobond proposal.

A French official said Tuesday that France may propose joint bonds among a subset of eurozone countries ? those with "triple A" credit ratings ? although Germany has said it opposes the idea. The French official said discussions about such so-called "elite bonds" is under discussion ahead of a summit of European Union heads of government in Brussels next week.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the sensitive, closed-door talks are still under way.

Proponents of elite bonds say the proceeds could be used to help the eurozone's weaker countries deal with their debts, in return for strict conditions being imposed on their budgets. Critics argue that further fragmenting the eurozone into strong countries and weak countries would benefit no one.

On Monday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble dismissed reports that such bonds were under serious consideration.

The whole world is watching the developments. It's not just a currency used by 332 million people that is at stake. As German Chancellor Angela Merkel and others have said, if the euro fails, so too does the 27-nation European Union, a rousing diplomatic success that united a continent ripped apart by two world wars.

"The biggest threat to the security and prosperity of Poland would be the collapse of the eurozone," Poland's Sikorski said Monday. "And I demand of Germany that, for your own sake and for ours, you help it survive and prosper. You know full well that nobody else can do it."

If the euro fails, bank lending would freeze, stock markets would likely crash, and Europe's economies would crater. Nations in the eurozone could see their economic output fall temporarily by as much as 50 percent, according to UBS forecasters. The financial and economic pain would spread west and east as the U.S. and Asia get ensnared in the credit freeze and their exports to Europe collapse.

_____

Angela Charlton in Paris, Melissa Eddy and Juergen Baetz in Berlin contributed to this report. Don Melvin can be reached at http://twitter.com/Don_Melvin

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111129/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_europe_financial_crisis

nexus prime nexus prime new iphone new iphone tmobile iphone van jones van jones

Ford Holiday River Parade & Lighting Ceremony 2011

A float called "Las Nuevas Tamaleras," by the San Antonio Street Dance & Drum Company, passes the colorful new LED lights adorning River Walk trees during the Ford Holiday River Parade on Friday, Nov. 25, 2011.

Photo: SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, EDWARD A. ORNELAS / ? SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (NFS)

A float called "Las Nuevas Tamaleras," by the San Antonio Street...

Source: http://www.mysanantonio.com/slideshows/holidays/slideshow/Ford-Holiday-River-Parade-Lighting-Ceremony-2011-32305.php

weather los angeles caleb hanie nascar bcs bcs standings 2011 rhodes scholarship rhodes scholarship

Senate votes to expand Joint Chiefs of Staff (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Senate has voted to expand the Joint Chiefs of Staff to include the National Guard despite the opposition of the current chairman and service chiefs.

The Senate approved an amendment to the sweeping defense bill by voice vote Monday night. The effort led by Sens. Patrick Leahy and Lindsey Graham had overwhelming support with some 70 co-sponsors.

Leahy argued that the roles of the Army National Guard and Air National Guard have changed significantly in a post-Sept. 11 world. Significant numbers of guardsmen and reservists have seen combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The service chiefs had testified earlier this month against expansion, saying there was no compelling reason to alter the status quo.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111129/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_national_guard

google ice cream sandwich soulja boy jason campbell android ice cream sandwich shia labeouf teleprompter ashley greene

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Gingrich wins NH backing as Romney plugs along

FILE - In this Nov. 22, 2011, file photo, Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during the Republican presidential debate in Washington. Newt Gingrich landed editorial endorsement of NH Union Leader Sunday Nov. 27, 2011, 45 days before GOP primary. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2011, file photo Republican presidential hopeful, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, right, greets a young supporter during a town hall event in Peterborough, N.H. Romney enjoys solid leads in New Hampshire polls and remains at the front of the pack nationally. A poll released last week showed him with 42 percent support among likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire. Gingrich followed with 15 percent in the WMUR-University of New Hampshire Granite State poll. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich landed the endorsement of New Hampshire's largest newspaper on Sunday while rival Mitt Romney earned a dismissive wave, potentially resetting the race in the state with the first-in-the-nation primary.

For Gingrich, the former House speaker, the backing builds on his recent rise in the polls and quick work to build a campaign after a disastrous start in the summer. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who has a vacation home in the state and has been called a "nearly native son of New Hampshire," absorbed the blow heading into the Jan. 10 vote that's vital to his campaign strategy.

"We don't back candidates based on popularity polls or big-shot backers. We look for conservatives of courage and conviction who are independent-minded, grounded in their core beliefs about this nation and its people, and best equipped for the job," The New Hampshire Union Leader said in its front-page editorial, which was as much a promotion of Gingrich as a discreet rebuke of Romney.

The Union Leader's editorial telegraphed conservatives' concerns about Romney's shifts on crucial issues of abortion and gay rights were unlikely to fade. Those worries have led Romney to keep Iowa's Jan. 3 caucuses ? where conservatives hold great sway ? at arm's length.

At the same time, the endorsement boosts Gingrich's conservative credentials. He spent the week defending his immigration policies against accusations that they are a form of amnesty. On Monday, Gingrich takes a campaign swing through South Carolina, the South's first primary state.

Romney, taking a few days' break for the Thanksgiving holiday, has kept focused on a long-term strategy that doesn't lurch from one development to another. Last week, he picked up the backing of Sen. John Thune, a South Dakota conservative, to add to his impressive roster of supporters.

The Union Leader's rejection of Romney wasn't surprising despite his efforts to woo state leaders. The newspaper rejected Romney four years ago in favor of Arizona Sen. John McCain, using front-page columns and editorials to promote McCain and criticize Romney.

"It helped McCain a lot because it buttressed the time he spent there. McCain camped out in New Hampshire and was able to make good with The Union Leader," said Craig Stevens, a spokesman for Romney's 2008 bid who is not working for a presidential candidate this time.

"Now, the speaker has to spend the time there, too," Stevens said.

Since his first run, Romney courted publisher Joseph W. McQuaid. Earlier this year Romney and his wife, Ann, had dinner with the McQuaids at the Bedford Village Inn near Manchester, hoping to reset the relationship. It didn't prove enough.

Romney's advisers were quick to point out that Gingrich went into October with more than $1 million in campaign debt. Romney, meanwhile, was sitting on a pile of cash and only last week began running television ads ? a luxury Gingrich can't yet afford.

The duo's rivals, meanwhile, tried to gain traction.

Herman Cain on Sunday criticized any immigration proposal that included residency or citizenship but struggled to explain how he would deal with the millions of people estimated to be currently living illegally in the United States.

Cain, who had enjoyed a polling surge, has seen his luster fade as his seemed to have trouble articulating the nuances of his policy positions. For instance, he was unable to explain the difference between "targeted identification," which he says would determine common characteristics of people who want to harm the United States, and racial profiling.

At the same time, Cain acknowledged that accusations that he sexually harassed several women during his days running the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s have pulled him from among the front-runners. He has flatly denied the allegations repeatedly.

While Romney enjoys solid support in national polls, many Republicans have shifted from candidate to candidate in search of an alternative. That led to the rise ? and fall ? of potential challengers such as Cain, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Romney enjoys solid leads in New Hampshire polls, too. A poll released last week showed him with 42 percent support among likely Republican primary voters in the state. Gingrich followed with 15 percent in the WMUR-University of New Hampshire Granite State poll.

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas posted 12 percent support and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman found 8 percent support in that survey.

Those numbers could shift based on the backing of The Union Leader, a newspaper that proudly works to influence elections, from school boards to the White House, in the politically savvy state.

"With Newt, the endorsement alone won't get him closer to Romney. But if The Union Leader kicks the you-know-what out of Romney, that could help Gingrich," said Mike Dennehy, a Republican consultant and former McCain aide who is neutral in the presidential contest.

Huntsman, President Barack Obama's former ambassador to China, said the endorsement points to how competitive the New Hampshire contest is.

"A month ago for Newt Gingrich to have been in the running to capture The Union Leader endorsement would have been unthinkable," Huntsman said in an interview Sunday during a break in campaigning.

The endorsement, signed by McQuaid, suggested that New Hampshire's only statewide newspaper was ready to assert itself again as a player in the GOP primary ? even if the newspaper has reservations.

"We don't have to agree with them on every issue," McQuaid wrote. "We would rather back someone with whom we may sometimes disagree than one who tells us what he thinks we want to hear."

With six weeks until the primary, The Union Leader's move could again shuffle the race, further boosting Gingrich and driving a steady stream of criticism against his rivals. In recent weeks, Gingrich has seen a surge in some polls as Republicans focus more closely on deciding which candidate they consider best positioned to take on Obama.

He has also started to put together a campaign organization in New Hampshire. He brought on respected tea party leader Andrew Hemingway and his team has been contacting almost 1,000 voters each day. Gingrich hasn't begun television advertising and has refused to go negative on his opponents.

The newspaper has a decidedly mixed record of picking candidates. It backed Steve Forbes in 2000 and Pat Buchanan's 1992 and 1996 bids. Neither candidate won the Republican nomination.

Gingrich, who left the House in 1999 after disastrous midterm elections for the GOP, has faced skepticism about his personal life. He is married to his third wife and acknowledged infidelity during his first two marriages.

Even so, voters are giving Gingrich a look ? and the timing appears to be ideal for him.

"Romney is a very play-it-safe candidate. He doesn't want to offend everybody or anybody," said Drew Cline, the op-ed editor of The Union Leader. "He wants to be liked. He wants to try to reach out and be very safe, reach out to everybody, bring everybody on board."

That isn't the brand of candidate The Union Leader was looking to back, he said.

___

Cain and Cline spoke on CNN's "State of the Union." Huntsman appeared on "Fox News Sunday."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-27-Campaign-2012/id-41726f41e2794ccdaa0d4491e745ce91

lawrence o donnell fresno state fresno state psa test psa test real steel real steel

Iraq emerges from war a society divided by sect (AP)

BAGHDAD ? The sounds of cars honking, shoppers shuffling and children laughing and playing drums fill the air in Hurriyah, a Baghdad neighborhood where machine-gun fire and death squads once kept terrified residents huddled in their darkened homes.

But normalcy has come at a price: Few Sunnis who were driven from what was once a religiously mixed enclave have returned five years after Hurriyah was the epicenter of Iraq's savage sectarian war. With Shiite militias still effectively policing the area, most Sunnis will not dare move back for years to come.

Hurriyah ? the name means "freedom" in Arabic ? is symptomatic of much of Iraq: far quieter than at the height of the war but with an uneasy peace achieved through intimidation and bloodshed. The number of Iraqi neighborhoods in which members of the two Muslim sects live side by side and intermarry has dwindled.

The forced segregation, fueled by extremists from both communities, has fundamentally changed the character of the country. And it raises questions about whether the Iraqis can heal the wounds of the sectarian massacres after American forces leave by the end of this month.

"It's quiet now, but from time to time there are problems," said a Shiite man in a pinstriped dishdasha, or traditional Arabic shirtdress, who stopped to chat outside a grocery store.

"Back then, the people were in a panic, we were in fear of everybody because of the killings," said the man who would identify himself only by his nickname of Abu Ahmed ? a sign of the fear that still pervades the neighborhood. "Many families left when they were afraid for their lives."

Getting to Hurriyah ? a middle-class neighborhood of modest, single-family homes and shops just west of the Tigris River ? is not easy.

Thick blast walls and a security checkpoint protect the entrance. Guards check drivers' IDs.

On the neighborhood's main road, a visitor can see banners of Shiite saints posted on concrete walls, along with a painted mural of Snow White whistling to a bird.

The streets are also lined with billboards depicting slain soldiers of the Mahdi Army, the Shiite militia controlled by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr that made up most of the death squads. Their pictures are shown under the glowering faces of al-Sadr and his revered father, Mohammed al-Sadr, who was killed in 1999 by Saddam Hussein's henchmen.

Gaggles of boys roam the wide streets littered with rubble, playing drums and laughing. On a recent sunny Sunday morning, men were sipping tea at cafes while women shopped. A cheerful, elderly woman in a black head-to-toe abaya greeted a reporter with kisses but then hurried away when asked for her name.

Deadly bombings remain common in Hurriyah, although far less frequent than a few years ago. It's the Shiite militias, who kill those they deem traitors, that spur the most dread.

"Even though there are police and Iraqi soldiers in Hurriyah, we still consider the security situation there unstable," said Iraqi police Capt. Hassan Hadi. "Militias and criminal gangs are behind this instability, which needs more time, checkpoints and inspections, and tighter security measures, before it will get better."

U.S. and Iraqi intelligence officials believe Hurriyah is now a haven for a Mahdi Army splinter group: Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or Band of the People of Righteousness. They say the militia does not have al-Sadr's backing, relying instead on Iranian support of about $5 million in cash and weapons each month. Iraqi officials confirm Iran's role in the militia, although Tehran has repeatedly dismissed the accusations.

Ali Hussein, 49, a local electrician, said the militias like Asaib Ahl al-Haq have morphed from protectors into Mafia-type organizations in Hurriyah, shaking down businesses for cash.

Asaib Ahl al-Haq "takes millions from these entrepreneurs and businessmen," Hussein said. "Because if they refuse to pay, the Asaib group would send their agents to destroy their businesses."

Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, chief spokesman for the departing American military in Iraq, said Asaib Ahl al-Haq militiamen based in Hurriyah were behind recent attacks on the fortified Green Zone, which houses government headquarters and foreign embassies. He also accused the group of launching indirect fire and armor-piercing explosives known as EFPs on the sprawling Victory Base Camp, which until recently housed tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers.

Buchanan predicted the Shiite militias will keep Sunnis from moving back to their old homes.

"Hurriyah was all about ethnic cleansing," he said. "For them (Sunnis) to overcome all of that would take a heck of a lot of motivation. And I just don't see it anytime in the near future. We might get there eventually."

For generations, Shiites and Sunnis lived together in Hurriyah, their families mixing and often marrying. There were also tensions: Under the protection of their patron, Saddam, some Sunnis derided Shiites and their religious rituals. Sunnis dominated the northern part of the neighborhood, with Shiites forming the majority in the south. The area in the middle was religiously mixed.

After Saddam's fall in 2003, Sunni insurgents moved into the neighborhood to attack Shiites. That prompted Shiite militias from across Baghdad to rush to Hurriyah, where they roamed the streets, intimidating, kidnapping and killing Sunnis.

On one particularly violent day, Nov. 24, 2006, Mahdi militiamen stormed Hurriyah with machine guns and shoulder-fired rockets to avenge an al-Qaida attack that killed hundreds of Shiites in Sadr City. The militiamen burned homes and attacked Sunni mosques. Twenty-one Sunnis died. Fellow Sunnis insisted they were innocent worshippers. Shiites believed they were fighters using the mosques as bases. The truth remains in dispute to this day.

Sunnis fled en masse. Some moved elsewhere in Baghdad, others went to refugee camps in western Iraq and still others left the country altogether. What had been one of the most religiously diverse areas in the capital turned almost exclusively Shiite over the span of one year. Only one other neighborhood was as upended: Dora in southern Baghdad, which today is nearly completely Sunni.

A few Sunnis braved it out and still live in Hurriyah.

Abu Muhanad, a 53-year-old government worker, said he moved his oldest son out of the neighborhood in 2006 but was less afraid for himself.

"I had big faith in my Shiite neighbors and I was sure that they would protect me and my family," he said. "Now, the situation is better and I still have my good Shiite neighbors who love me. I am even rejecting requests by my sons now to leave Hurriyah and buy a bigger house somewhere else in Baghdad."

The remains of what were once thriving Sunni mosques ? still in ruins five years later ? are reminders of how the war has fundamentally changed Iraqi society.

Half the dome of the Nidaa Allah mosque was sheared off in the Nov. 24, 2006, assault, and what remains is still pimpled with bullet holes. Across the street, grocer Amir Salman remembers shuttering his shop for six months.

"At that time, everyone was hiding in their homes," said Salman, a Shiite. "It is better now, and there are still some Sunnis here, but they are few. It used to be about 50-50, with Sunnis and Shiites."

He shrugged. "Maybe it will get better," he said.

___

Associated Press Writers Sameer N. Yacoub, Bushra Juhi and Mazin Yahya in Baghdad contributed to this report.

___

Follow Lara Jakes on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/larajakesAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111127/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_peace_at_a_price

bob costas krzyzewski patti labelle childish gambino chris hansen sandusky interview with bob costas sandusky interview with bob costas

Muslim Medical Students Boycott Darwin Lectures

The problem is that in the social 'sciences', this is often treated as a 'everybody is right' instead of the approach of the physical sciences: "I'm right, and if you don't believe me, go do the experiment yourself".

That's a monumental difference that a lot of people just fail to grasp, even in serious fields of study. Just read this essay [columbia.edu] by Richard Feynman where he explains what it means to be properly scientific.

Nonetheless, students questioning their professors is not seen as a problem even in the physical sciences. For example, I had a very vocal disagreement with one of my Physics professors once. I simply refused to believe that what he was saying was possible. He was so impressed that he offered me a research position based on that one interaction.

Of course, this comes with a huge caveat -- I didn't 'just' disagree.

What had happened was that we were studying solid-state lasers, like the type you get in your DVD player or a laser pointer. They are made from crystals of semiconductors, like silicon, germanium, arsenic, etc... He was specifically discussing silicon lasers emitting light at about 650nm. I sat straight up and thought that's crazy -- I've held pure silicon in my hand before, and it looks like metal. Sure, it's a bit dark, but I just couldn't imagine how light that's "just barely infra-red" could go straight through the thing with nearly 0% loss, which is what a laser requires to operate. I argued with him -- surely it's very heavily doped and it's actually a compound of silicon that transmits the light? No. Maybe it's just a very thin surface layer, like transparent gold leaf? No.

The day after that, I was in the lab, and there was a piece of silicon there -- scrap from the chip lab. I took an incandescent lamp that I knew put out most of it's heat energy in the right infra-red range, put my hand in front of it, and then I waved the silicon wafer back and forth between my hand and the light. It's like it wasn't even there -- it blocked none of the IR light. There was no visible light going through, but I could feel the heat on my hand. I compared it to glass and various thicknesses of paper and plastic sheets. Only silicon transmitted all of the IR heat energy. It was like it was made of smoke. Sure, it was a primitive experiment, but very convincing in a I-can-feel-it-with-my-own-hands kind of way.

The next day, we were back in the lecture hall, continuing the topic of silicon lasers, and the lecturer jokingly asked me if I still had problems believing that silicon was transparent to infra-red light. I said no, I tried passing IR light through a piece of silicon in the lab. It doesn't look like it should, but it does.

That change in my position is the very essence of science -- not that disagreeing is bad, but there ought to be a method by which we can all become convinced of the truth and agree on it.

Sadly, the scientific method is not followed rigorously in many fields. Psychology and some areas of medicine come to mind. Just read: Why Most Published Research Findings Are False [plosmedicine.org] for an idea of just how far it's possible to stray from the truth because of only small errors in the application of the scientific method.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/V_ZEy9Pkwao/muslim-medical-students-boycott-darwin-lectures

desean jackson music awards 2011 music awards 2011 jill biden jill biden al mvp ama awards 2011

watchsundaynightfootballonlinelivehd: "Watch Sunday Night Football Online" http://identi.ca/bookmark/a55cd7de-2c7a-4ace-a246-30139b96fa78 #fb #identica #gmail #google

Help
About
FAQ
TOS
Privacy
Source
Version
Contact

Identi.ca is a microblogging service brought to you by Status.net. It runs the StatusNet microblogging software, version 1.0.1, available under the GNU Affero General Public License.

All Identi.ca content and data are available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.

Switch to mobile site layout.

Source: http://identi.ca/notice/85853898

guy fawkes day jesse ventura stevie williams steve williams mike wallace mike wallace koch brothers

[OOC]

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Ben-to?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.

if anyone has any questions ask away

Akionakamura: Member for 0 years

Return to Out of Character

Post a reply

RolePlayGateway is a site built by a couple roleplayers who wanted to give a little something back to the roleplay community. The site has no intention of earning any profit, and is paid for out of their own pockets.

If you appreciate what they do, feel free to donate your spare change to help feed them on the weekends. After selecting the amount you want to donate from the menu, you can continue by clicking on PayPal logo.

Who is online

Registered users: 13lazer31, affliction, Aika, alles-ist-gut, Alucroas*, AmiOfTheRain*, Andaho*, Aniihya*, AnimeGirl, animetaco1, Annalysa Jones, asylumoftears, austyn101, Averagebear, awesomeskaterdude, AxelZero93*, AzricanRepublic*, bananaramma*, barney_fife, BekaL101, Beta Type Jakuri*, birdguard, Blackfridayrule, BlueWind_22, Breyerluv*, BriBriBearx, Calvazara, candykitten, Carrelio, CherryRed, Cloasse*, CriminalMinds, danm36, DarknessToDeath23*, dealing with it*, DemiKara*, demonpuppluto*, desire99600, dig17*, draketemple*, drampire, dudedude889, emotionless, Ersatz Creed, Everscale, Ezzonic*, feralfairy, Firewind*, Forget~Me~Not, freakofnature, freemixer25*, Google [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot], Google Feedfetcher, GracieGray, Harlequin Smile, hawk10002002, Hazezon, HeroOfAwesomeness*, Hinasil*, Horseygirl, Hushh, ifihavewingstofly*, Irish Wolf*, Isra*, Jack Winters, jackrules158*, Jaybt9*, JayZeroSnake, Jedimaster_Dukon*, Jerico Do'Lantul, Jinx911*, Just Sayin', Kaida*, KeiraHigurashi*, Kenta147, Kenzi*, Kiina, kingjpc*, KumoriRyuu, lexileigh, Litria Death, Lovely ?*, Loxley, macfluffers, Magix, Makkenji, MaxStokes, Mid*, Midnight's Work*, Mike53210*, Moonscar*, Mr. Crow, Mr. Fly on the wall, Mr_Doomed, MSN [Bot], MSNbot Media, Nevan*, Nightgem, NotAFlyingToy*, oetunianne*, Ottoman*, PandoraBox, peachyme123, Princess Awinita*, PrincetheRipper, QueenShibby, Queer 8D, RainWish*, Raize*, Rarikou, Ravelin, rebal2, Rem?us*, Renmiri, rockerr69, Ropeburn*, Ryand-Smith*, Script*, Sehnsucht., SeraphicStar*, Serenade-, ShadowWake, Shaodow*, shmband, Shpleem, Skuld*, SkullsandSlippers, SkyRight, Smokescreen, Sora112112, souloe*, StandardFiend, Steppin' Razor*, stevatox, Stilts, SunshinexDeath, super-6-1, Sweet Angel Jocelyn, sweetgal, Talisman, Thadine, the_judged, Trickster, UltimateGM, utahann, Vampiric-Rage, VampWiz08, Verloren, victim130, VitaminHeart*, WadeJackel, Wake, waterbabe1, wednesdaysun, Wheatley*, William Krypt*, wolfKaliegh, Wudgeous, x_Sunny_x, XavierDantius32*, Xephos, xXChocobeanXx, xXMcDumbassXx, xXxCryptic-AngelxXx, Ylanne, yogitheambrangyl, Yoru-Senpai*, Zenia, Zetta, Zitacamron95, ~*NovaleeTehNinja*~

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/l5o-iNfTU6E/viewtopic.php

amzn tommy john surgery colorado weather alcohol poisoning alcohol poisoning mark ingram mark ingram

Internal Affairs: Gov. Jerry Brown may be incommunicado, but he's not out of touch (San Jose Mercury News)

Share With Friends:

| Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/166815502?client_source=feed&format=rss

brandon marshall headless horseman headless horseman brandon lloyd brandon lloyd publishers clearing house scare tactics

Monday, November 28, 2011

Filipino police arrest 4 suspected AT&T hackers (AP)

Four people have been arrested in the Philippines for allegedly hacking into AT&T customers' phones as part of a plan to funnel money to a Saudi-based terror group, according to police.

The Philippine Criminal Investigation and Detection Group said it worked with the FBI to arrest the suspects last week. The hackers, according to investigators, worked for a group that helped finance a deadly 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai, India.

AT&T's systems weren't compromised but some of its customers were targeted, spokeswoman Jan Rasmussen said Saturday. AT&T cooperated in the investigation with the FBI, she said.

AT&T wrote off some fraudulent charges on customers' bills, but Rasmussen wouldn't say how much. Philippine police put the alleged hacking cost AT&T $2 million.

Last Tuesday, AT&T said that hackers unsuccessfully attempted to link mobile numbers with online customer account, but it wouldn't say on Saturday if that incident was linked to the arrests of the four people in the Philippines.

The hackers were working on commission for a terrorist group linked to Muhammad Zamir, according to the Philippine police. Zamir, a Pakistani, was arrested in Italy in 2007, where he was running a call center that collected money from callers but then routed the calls through hacked phone lines. He also allegedly sold international access codes for long distance calls that were gathered by Filipino hackers.

Since then, police said, Zamir's group has been taken over by a Saudi national. Philippine police didn't name the group, but India has blamed Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant organization, for the Mumbai attacks. Three years ago Saturday, 10 Pakistan-based gunmen laid siege to India's financial hub, killing 166 people.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111126/ap_on_bi_ge/us_at_t_hacking

pumpkin seeds mark herzlich malawi malawi angela davis angela davis zombie apocalypse

Shame 2011

Shame ( 2011) DVD DVDRip 1 Link NO RAR

Click the image to open in full size.

IMDB Rating: Shame (2011) - IMDb
Genre: Drama
Director: Steve McQueen
Writer: Abi Morgan, Steve McQueen
Stars: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan and Hannah Ware
Trailer: Shame (2011): trailer - YouTube
Spoken language: English
Texted language (subtitles): English/Spanish

Plot:
In New York City, Brandon's carefully cultivated private life -- which allows him to indulge his sexual addiction -- is disrupted when his sister Cissy arrives unannounced for an indefinite stay.

DOWNLOAD LINK:

>>>DOWNLOAD Full Movie HERE!!!<<<

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/lern2play/~3/PnB_NrFL6pQ/123799-shame-2011-a.html

breast cancer awareness breast cancer awareness guinea worm the others the others kristin cavallari los angeles weather

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Cowgirls play 1st game since death of coaches

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) ? Oklahoma State's women's basketball team is set to play its first game since a plane crash killed coach Kurt Budke, assistant coach Miranda Serna and two others.

Budke, Serna, former state Sen. Olin Branstetter and his wife, Paula, died in the crash in Perry County, Ark., on Nov. 17. Reminders of the four are on display throughout Gallagher-Iba Arena before the Cowgirls' game with Coppin State.

In the lobby, at a memorial for 10 men connected with Oklahoma State's men's basketball program who died in a plane crash in Colorado in January 2001, a bouquet of orange and white flowers sits, along with a basketball balloon.

Inside the arena, the Branstetters' two seats are adorned with orange-and-black ribbons.

The Cowgirls are wearing a uniform patch with the number "4'' on it. Coppin State players are wearing orange T-shirts emblazoned with the number "4'' during warmups.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-11-26-Coppin%20St-Oklahoma%20St/id-60203a0ab3f444b2a33329d3d1e62cfc

will rogers gabby giffords gabby giffords hunger games trailer hunger games trailer gabrielle giffords austin rivers