Thursday, February 28, 2013

On The Job: Schatz Encourages Health Insurance Transparency ...

US Sen. Brian Schatz, courtesy photo.

US Sen. Brian Schatz, courtesy photo.

By Wendy Osher

US Senator Brian Schatz of Hawai?i participated in his first committee hearing in his official congressional capacity today.

The hearing, entitled, ?The Power of Transparency: Giving Consumers the Information They Need to Make Smart Choices in the Health Insurance Market,? was hosted by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

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Sen. Schatz joined Chairman Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia in expressing that transparency in health insurance policies is needed for consumers to better understand policies and carefully select a health care plan.

?It is critical for Hawai?i families to have access to the right information when making important decisions about their health insurance,? said Sen. Schatz.

?Whether it?s individuals that are Limited English Proficient or lower income households that don?t have the means to access the internet to research health care plans, we must ensure that all consumers have access to the information they need,? said Sen. Schatz.

Relevant information, he said, helps consumers better understand complicated health insurance policies so that they can select a plan that is appropriate for their family.

Related Stories:

Source: http://mauinow.com/2013/02/27/schatz-encourages-health-insurance-transparency/

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Dot Earth Blog: Tough Truths From China on CO2 and Climate

I?m way overdue to post excerpts here from an extraordinary recent China Dialogue with Zou Ji, the deputy director of China?s National Center for Climate Change Strategy. (China Dialogue is a fascinating independent dual-language blog with offices in London, Beijing and San Francisco that is supported by several foundations and other institutions.)

The interview is blunt and crystal clear in laying out the demographic and economic realities that will, for many years to come, slow any shift from Chinese dependence on coal.

[Feb. 27, 8:19 a.m. | Update | A new post describes some progress on meshing economic and emissions policies.]

Zou Ji has a remarkable resume for someone now working inside the Chinese establishment, having worked previously as the China director for the World Resources Institute.

Here?s a snippet, followed by a link to the rest of the piece:

CD: Cutting emissions isn?t easy for an industrializing and urbanizing economy. Is the rest of the world asking too much? Forget for a moment the political tussles over how much CO2 can and should be cut ? what?s China?s actual ability to reduce emissions?

ZJ: China does have some advantages, such as the opportunity for adjustments in the world economy due to the financial crisis. Also, China has become the world?s second largest economy and the gap with the U.S. is shrinking. Spending on institutional measures and research and development that in the past would have been unthinkable is becoming feasible.

Although the world is still led by the developed nations, the status and negotiating strength of the developing world is also on the increase.

But at the same time, China suffers from some obvious disadvantages.

The international community has some misconceptions, such as believing China is now a developed nation. This could mean China ends up taking on more global responsibility than its capabilities allow. We?ve held the Olympics and?sent astronauts into space, but you can?t look at the richest parts of Beijing and Shanghai and assume the whole country is like that. The welfare of hundreds of millions of rural residents isn?t yet assured. Healthcare, unemployment benefits, pensions, all of these are weak. Many Chinese people have no safe drinking water, and our per-capita GDP ranks ninety-something globally. Overall, China is still a developing nation.

Another important disadvantage is the make-up of our natural resources.

Brazil gets 90% of its energy from hydropower. It is fortunate enough to have those resources. If China could replace coal with oil as a primary source of energy, emissions would drop by one third. If we could replace coal with natural gas, they would drop by two thirds. But China?s main resource is coal. We only have limited amounts of other sources of energy, and obviously a reliance on imports is unrealistic. Moving to clean energy is a massive challenge.

Meanwhile, we still need to urbanize and educate hundreds of millions of rural residents. Quality of life needs to be improved. There can be no disagreement about that.

Domestically, there are two dangerous trends we need to steer clear of. One is sticking too rigidly to our traditional way of doing things. The other is changing too quickly, trying to create a low-carbon economy in a Great Leap Forward manner and misjudging China?s circumstances and technological ability.

China can only do its best as it is able. Moving too quickly will actually hold back low-carbon development.

CD: Will China take a different path to that of the?Kuznets curve?(the idea that certain environmental indicators start to improve once development has reached a certain stage)? [Click here for a fine 2009 John Tierney explanation of this "richer is greener" curve with a couple of examples.]

ZJ: In the current world economic system, it is difficult for a developing nation to cut emissions. China currently accounts for 70% of new emissions each year, and the pressure and expectations it faces are increasing. But China is still on the left-hand side of the Kuznets curve, while the EU is on the right-hand side, beyond the peak. The type of emissions of the two different stages aren?t the same, they can?t be compared. China?s high emissions come mainly from industry and are driven by investment. The EU?s emissions come mostly from building and transportation, and are due to consumption.

At their peak, France?s per-capita emissions were 19 tonnes, while Germany?s approached 15 tonnes. We shouldn?t forget that. You can?t ask China to get to 7 tonnes and level off or fall. It goes against the basic laws of developmental economics. Japan and Australia have per-capita GDPs of US$40,000, but their emissions still haven?t peaked. China?s per-capita GDP is US$5-6,000. The curve is still going up.

China can peak at a lower level than the US and EU did historically. But even a per-capita peak of 10 tonnes means total emissions of 13 billion tonnes. That?s more than I can imagine. It?s a huge challenge for China?.

[Read the rest here.]

Source: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/tough-truths-from-china-on-co2-and-climat/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Outsourcing Accounting & Bookkeeping | Langdon & Company

North Carolina CPA FirmAccurate bookkeeping and accounting are not optional for successful businesses, but hiring a full time accounting staff to keep your company?s books can be expensive.

While every business needs the financial data that accountants and bookkeepers prepare in order to fulfill regulatory obligations and make solid business decisions, incurring the cost of a full time staff to prepare that data may not be a very good business decision at all.

Outsourcing this work to a Raleigh CPA firm can mean having the expert financial services that you need anytime while enjoying significant savings.

It should come as no surprise that outsourcing your accounting and bookkeeping work to a third party provider can cost a lot less than hiring a full time employee. The cost of health insurance, paid time off and payroll taxes for just one employee can add tremendously to the cost of hiring someone. Outsourcing your financial accounting and bookkeeping needs means that you can even save on the cost of office space.

The savings that you can enjoy does not end when you eliminate social security and medicare taxes. There are significant time savings that you will reap when you no longer have to devote time to managing an in-house accounting and bookkeeping team. Even managing just one employee takes up time that you can spend furthering your company?s goals. When you outsource your work to a professional North Carolina CPA firm, you are handing off all the headaches of hiring, retaining, training and terminating employees. Instead, you are free to focus on building your business.

Some businesses decide not to use the high quality services that a CPA offers. Instead, they find themselves hiring inexperienced employees with little to know experience using accounting software, correctly classifying assets, revenue and expenses, and in need of a great deal of training.

A Certified Public Accountant, however, provides a high level of quality with all of his or her services. This means that they have the skills necessary to provide you with accurate and complete financial analysis, including tax returns, quarterly reports, audits and compilations. While hiring a CPA to work for your business full time may not be affordable, it is affordable to outsource your work to one. You can enjoy all of the experience and technical expertise that a CPA has, at a cost that is a fraction of hiring a full time employee.

Contact Langdon & Company LLP today as they are a leading North Carolina CPA firm offering a broad range of audit, accounting, tax and advisory services in the southeastern U.S.

Source: http://www.langdoncpa.com/blog/index.php/2013/02/benefits-of-outsourcing-accounting-and-bookkeeping/

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Bowie is back to best on new album, critics say

LONDON (Reuters) - David Bowie's first album of new music in a decade sees the influential musician back to his best, critics said in reviews rushed out on Tuesday, two weeks before its release.

"The Next Day", which hits stores in Britain on March 11 and a day later in the United States, could even be the "greatest comeback in rock'n'roll history", according to The Independent's Andy Gill.

As well as a series of glowing reviews, this week also saw the launch of the second single from the 14-track album called "The Stars (Are out Tonight)", accompanied by a surreal video starring the Starman himself and Tilda Swinton as his wife.

In it the middle-aged couple's daily routine is upset by the arrival of a group of mysterious, androgynous celebrities next door who enter their dreams and reawaken old desires and fears.

"They burn you with their radiant smiles/Trap you with their beautiful eyes" read the lyrics on Bowie's official website.

As befits an "event" album with so much hype surrounding it, several newspapers gave The Next Day a track-by-track analysis.

"David Bowie's The Next Day may be the greatest comeback album ever," said Gill in his five-star assessment.

"It's certainly rare to hear a comeback effort that not only reflects an artist's own best work, but stands alongside it in terms of quality," he added.

Neil McCormick of the Telegraph also gave the record top marks, calling it "an ... emotionally charged, musically jagged, electric bolt through his own mythos and the mixed-up, celebrity-obsessed, war-torn world of the 21st century."

BOWIE MANIA

Even in an age when veteran musical comebacks are a daily occurrence, the fascination with Bowie appears to be huge.

Music magazine NME is dedicating a six-page cover feature to the singer, while the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is staging a major exhibition looking at his music, art and groundbreaking fashion.

More than 26,000 tickets have already been sold to the show, which opens on March 23.

Alexis Petridis, writing in the Guardian, argued that, while containing references to Bowie's past work, it largely avoided becoming a sonic memoir of a stellar musical career.

And he said that the secrecy surrounding the making of the album, and genuine media surprise when it was announced on Bowie's 66th birthday last month, risked overshadowing the quality of the music itself.

"That doesn't seem a fair fate for an album that's thought-provoking, strange and filled with great songs," he said. "Listening to it makes you hope it's not a one-off, that his return continues apace."

Songs singled out by critics included "Valentine's Day", couched, according to Gill, "in one of the album's most engaging pop arrangements", and "Dancing Out In Space", described by Will Hodgkinson of The Times as a "nightclub smash".

"You Feel So Lonely You Could Die", the penultimate track, provides the climax which McCormick calls "fantastic, a lush companion piece to Ziggy's Rock'n'roll Suicide that drips vitriol in place of compassion."

Now that the album is complete, the question on many fans' lips is whether Bowie will return to the stage to perform live.

The singer himself has dodged the limelight altogether since the comeback, but guitarist Gerry Leonard told Rolling Stone magazine that he thought it was "50-50" that Bowie would tour.

The glam-rock star, born David Jones in south London in 1947, shot to fame with "Space Oddity" in 1969, and later with his alter ego Ziggy Stardust, before establishing himself as a chart-topping force in the early 1980s.

His long absence from the music scene led to speculation he had retired, with British newspapers reporting as recently as October that he had disappeared from the limelight for good.

Bowie's last album of new material was "Reality", released a decade ago, and he underwent emergency heart surgery while on tour in 2004. His last stage performance was as a guest at a charity concert in New York in 2006.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bowie-back-best-album-uk-critics-161857913.html

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Repeal of the North Carolina Estate Tax?

north carolina death taxRecently we wrote about North Carolina potentially joining several other states that are?repealing state estate tax (or ?death tax?). Last week, the North Carolina House Finance Committee approved repeal of the state?s death tax. If the repeal is enacted into law, soon there will no longer be any states in the Southeast that impose a death tax. (Tennessee?s death tax will expire in 2016.)

The repeal is the start of a larger tax plan that North Carolina legislators are planning to complete by the end of 2013. The rationale behind eliminating the estate tax is to try to keep wealthy families from moving to lower-tax states.

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With the federal estate tax exemption up to $5.25M and North Carolina estate tax repeal on the horizon, heirs will have the lowest tax liabilities in years. However, there are many reasons to engage in estate planning. Even though the North Carolina death tax will be gone, regular updates to your estate plan should not expire with it.

Source: http://www.ncestateplanningblog.com/2013/02/articles/tax/estate-tax/repeal-of-the-north-carolina-estate-tax/

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Iran scoffs at Oscar-winning 'Argo'

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iranian officials on Monday dismissed the Oscar-winning film "Argo" as pro-CIA, anti-Iran propaganda, but some young, moderate Iranians welcomed it as a fresh view of recent history.

The movie, based on the escape of six American hostages from the besieged U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979, has not been screened in any Iranian theaters.

But many Iranians have seen it nevertheless. In downtown Tehran, bootleg DVDs of "Argo" sell for about 30,000 rials, or less than $1.

The movie has set off a spirited debate that exposed a generational divide.

Iranians who took part in the 1979 Islamic Revolution picked apart the portrayals of Tehran at the time. But those too young to recall the events had a different view.

"I want to know what the other side is saying," said Shieda, a 21-year-old University of Tehran student, who gave only her first name for fear of a possible backlash for speaking with foreign media.

Tehran City Council member Masoomeh Ebtekar ? who was one of the students who occupied the U.S. Embassy and acted as the spokeswoman for the captors? says the film exaggerates the violence among crowds that stormed the compound in November 1979.

Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for 444 days, but a handful of Embassy staff were sheltered by the Canadian ambassador. Their escape, using a fake movie as a cover story, is recounted in "Argo."

Ebtekar insists the hostage-takers were mostly students. But other accounts suggest militants and members of the country's powerful Revolutionary Guard were involved.

Iranian Culture Minister Mohammad Hosseini criticized the film.

"The movie is an anti-Iran film. It is not a valuable film from the artistic point of view. It won the prize by resorting to extended advertisement and investment," he said, according to the official IRNA news agency.

He said Hollywood has "distorted history" as part of what Iranian officials call a "soft war."

Iran's state TV called the movie "an advertisement for the CIA."

The semiofficial Mehr news agency called the Oscar "politically motivated" because first lady Michelle Obama at the White House joined Jack Nicholson via video link to Los Angeles to help present the best picture prize.

In contrast, retired teacher Reza Abbasi who saw the Revolution first hand, said the film was realistic.

"I know Hollywood usually changes reality to make it attractive for movie lovers, but more or less it was close to the realities then."

Others said "Argo" shows the need for Iranian filmmakers to deal more with issues from the Revolution.

The moderate Hamshahri newspaper said the movie "targeted the culture and civilization of Iran," but it is worthwhile for Iranians to see a different perspective of the events that led to the collapse of relations between the U.S. and Iran.

"Iranian audiences are seeing a new version of the events for the first time," said a commentary in the newspaper. "This has been a weak point for our TV and cinema industry, which has not produced anything about the (U.S. Embassy takeover) after more than three decades."

Behnam Farahani , 28, a student in Tehran Art University said, he thought competing films "Django" and "Lincoln" were better than "Argo" in terms of structure and theme.

"They deserved more attention. Argo was just a political movie, it was a narration of a political event."

Mohammad Amin Sharifi, a movie fan in Tehran, was less harsh.

"In my opinion, it's a nice movie from technical aspects, and it was on the scale of Hollywood movies. But I don't think it was worth a nomination for Oscar and other awards," he said.

Iran's state-run film industry boycotted this year's Oscars in the wake of an Internet video clip made in the U.S. denigrating the Prophet Muhammad that set off protests across the Muslim world.

The affair was not related to "Argo."

Last year, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi won the Oscar for best foreign film for "A Separation," Iran's first Oscar.

A month before it won, Iranian authorities ordered the closure of the House of Cinema, an independent film group that operated for 20 years and counted Iran's top filmmakers, including Farhadi, among its members.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-scoffs-oscar-winning-argo-094025276.html

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Aren't Seeing Results? Why You Should Hire a Personal Trainer ...

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Source: http://www.kickstandfitness.com/2013/02/25/arent-seeing-results-hire-a-personal-trainer/

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DNN Training can turn you into a web guru - Your Business ...

With Dot Net Nuke, DNN, growing as the fastest Cms, CMS, on the web CCF Consulting has added DNN training being a cool product.

?A Content Management System is suppose to create your web site an easy task to operate,? said CCF Consulting President chad Clarke. ?But you have to know how to change this software to make the necessary changes and we feel that private training is the easiest method to go.?

DNN training emerged directly and remotely over the Internet.

?We?ve got trained clients throughout the usa as well as trained one client in Switzerland,? said Clarke. ?This is the beneficial service for those that want an online site they control and will make changes to.?

?In the past we have found out that clients which might be in charge of their particular site which manage to make changes automatically have a greater recovery rate using projects,? he added.

DNN training covers these:

  • System Overview
  • Using the DNN Toolbar
  • Adding Pages
  • Modifying Page Settings
  • SEO Page Optimization
  • Adding Modules (new and existing)
  • Managing Users and Roles (if required)
  • With all the Text HTML Module
  • Using Additional Modules (training out of stock for all those DNN modules)

The objective of Website Cms is to become proficient for web site keepers to change content on his or her internet site without the hassel of putting in and running software on their own pc or laptop. Cms are online so every one of the software sits on the server and is also maintained by the host ? clients only require a password to logon with their site.

Other CMSs include WordPress and Joomla, both are Linux based applications while DNN runs on the Microsoft .NET platform.

?When these folks which CMS for our clients and development projects, DNN had easy and simple to make use of interface for users with no familiarity with web site design,? Clarke said. ?The fundamental text/html module that is used on every DNN site feels and looks like Ms Word, and also since just about everyone has used Ms Word it can make training easy.?

CCF Consulting offers instructional documents and videos for DNN, but believes that on the job training is the foremost approach. Most services take 1-a couple of hours.

To learn more or set-up DNN training contact CCF Consulting at 228.867.6008 or 888-445-8694.

Source: http://yourbusiness.pro/2013/02/26/dnn-training-can-turn-you-into-a-web-guru/

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2 adults and 2 kids missing off N. Calif. coast

MONTEREY, Calif. (AP) ? Four people missing after reporting their sailboat was sinking south of San Francisco are a husband, wife, their 4-year-old son and his cousin, also a child.

Coast Guard Lt. Heather Lampert says the agency was able to gather that information from broken distress calls the family began making around 4:20 p.m. Sunday.

The boaters said their 29-foot sailboat was taking on water and the electronics were failing. Lampert says investigators using the boat's radio signal and radar now believe the call came in from an area about 60 miles west of Monterey, farther south than earlier reported.

The boat and air search focused there Monday morning. Lampert says the sailboat did not have a working GPS system.

She says the Coast Guard has not received any missing persons' reports.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/2-adults-2-kids-missing-off-n-calif-153423848.html

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Scientists show off stretchy battery

Researchers have demonstrated a flat, "stretchy" battery that can be pulled to three times its size without a loss in performance.

While flexible and stretchable electronics have been on the rise, powering them with equally stretchy energy sources has been problematic.

The new idea in Nature Communications uses small "islands" of energy-storing materials dotted on a stretchy polymer.

The study also suggests the batteries can be recharged wirelessly.

In a sense, the battery is a latecomer to the push toward flexible, stretchable electronics. A number of applications have been envisioned for flexible devices, from implantable health monitors to roll-up displays.

But consumer products that fit the bendy, stretchy description are still very few - in part, because there have been no equally stretchy, rechargeable power sources for them.

"Batteries are particularly challenging because, unlike electronics, it's difficult to scale down their dimensions without significantly reducing performance," said senior author of the study John Rogers of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

S for stretch

"We have explored various methods, ranging from radio frequency energy harvesting to solar power," he told BBC News.

In recent years, Prof Rogers worked with colleagues at Northwestern University, focusing on stretchy electronics of various sorts made using what they termed a "pop-up" architecture. The idea uses tiny, widely spaced tiny circuit elements embedded within a stretchy polymer and connected with wires that "popped up" as the polymer was stretched.

But batteries do not lend themselves to this idea; traditionally they are much larger than other circuit elements. They could be made from smaller elements wired together, but to create a small battery with sufficient power, the elements must be spaced more closely than those of the pop-up circuits.

The team's new idea was to use "serpentine" connections - wires that loop back on themselves in a repeating S shape, with that string of loops itself looped into an S shape.

Stretching out the polymer in which the tiny solar cells were embedded first stretches out the larger S; as it is stretched further, the smaller turns straighten - but do not become taut, even as the polymer was stretched to three times its normal size.

The team says the stretchy battery can be charged "inductively" - that is, wirelessly over a short distance. Prof Rogers said that the uses for such batteries and the stretchy circuits they power were myriad.

"The most important applications will be those that involve devices integrated with the outside of the body, on the skin, for health, wellness and performance monitoring," he explained.

However, the prototype batteries described in the paper were only run through 20 charge/discharge cycles, and Prof Rogers said that "additional development efforts to improve the lifetime will be required for commercialisation".

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21585817#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The Plugged-In Portable - Disappearing Days of the Desktop

Just three years ago, I?d book the computer lab if I wanted my students to have access to technology. Then, I was fortunate enough to acquire a dozen computers for use in my classroom, rendering my visits to the computer lab to a thing of the past. However, this year may mark the beginning of the end of most board-owned, desktop computers in my classroom. This couldn?t have been more evident this past week when I asked my students to use Edmodo to post a reflection pertaining to the book they?re reading. Only a very small number of students used board-owned equipment to post their response, everyone else used their personal mobile device that they bring to school each day. Colleagues often look around my classroom and assume that they cannot?integrate technology in their programming to the extent that I have because they don?t have enough computers. However, the computers that they require are brought to school each day in the pockets of their students. I believe that this paradigm shift is going to become increasingly clear in our classrooms in the very, very near future. Perhaps finally the classroom of 2013 won?t resemble the classroom of 1913.

Source: http://thepluggedinportable.edublogs.org/2013/02/24/disappearingdaysofthedesktop/

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Outbox Pours Salt On Snail Mail By Launching Its Digitizing Service In San Francisco

outbox ipad and browserMail digitizing startup Outbox is launching in San Francisco today, the first step in what co-founder Will Davis is a broader national rollout. If, like me, you find physical mail to be an annoyance, this is good news. Basically, Outbox swings by your real-world mailbox three times a week, digitizes the content, and makes it accessible on the Web, iPads, and iPhones. That means you're less likely to dump an important document into the recycling bin (hell, my initial, physical Outbox invite ended up in my laundry hamper, and they had to email me another copy), and your desk/kitchen table/whatever doesn't get cluttered with piles of junk mail.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Amhcor1vQTI/

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Lawmakers dispute records for private gun sales

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A dispute over whether to require record keeping for private gun sales is holding up a compromise between Republican and Democratic senators over expanding background checks for firearms transactions, one of President Barack Obama's top gun control priorities, people familiar with the private talks said Sunday.

Two GOP and two Democratic senators have been looking for a compromise on requiring more of the checks, currently required only for transactions by federally licensed dealers. Private transactions at gun shows, online and elsewhere are not covered by the system, which is designed to keep firearms from criminals, people with serious mental problems and others.

The senators have been bargaining quietly over ways to expand the checks to private sales. But Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., a conservative who has taken a leading role in the talks, has opposed requiring record keeping for private transactions because of a concern it could lead to a national registry of gun owners, which is vehemently opposed by the National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups.

Democrats say keeping records of private sales is the only way to ensure the checks are performed, and say fears of the creation of a federal gun registry are unfounded. They have offered to have gun manufacturers or other private entities, not the government, keep those records.

The talks were described by a Senate aide and a lobbyist who spoke on condition of anonymity because the senators' talks are private and considered extremely politically sensitive.

The other senators participating in the bargaining are liberal Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., moderate Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and moderate Mark Kirk, R-Ill.

An agreement involving the influential Coburn could be pivotal because it could pave the way for other Republicans to support a background check bill.

Coburn said Sunday that he opposed keeping records on "legitimate, law-abiding gun owners."

"All they have to do is create a record keeping and that will kill this bill," he said on "Fox News Sunday."

The bargainers are close to agreement on other parts of the background check compromise, including carving out exemptions for sales between close relatives and for people who have already been cleared to receive concealed carry permits. They are also working toward creating an appeals process for veterans initially denied guns because they have been treated for traumatic stress disorder.

Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., of the Senate Judiciary Committee is hoping his panel can begin writing gun control legislation this week, but that is considered likely to slip until the following week. His panel is expected to approve legislation on background checks and stiffer federal penalties against illegal gun trafficking.

It is unclear whether there will be enough votes to approve two other Obama priorities: bans on assault weapons and magazines carrying more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lawmakers-dispute-records-private-gun-sales-004021428--politics.html

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Monday, February 25, 2013

Google Glass Is As Much About Working With Our Past As Our Future

Mr. Rounder Makes the RoundsGoogle Glass? is here but not quite here yet. What it will do to the way we live and work sometimes feels like a page out of an illustration of a man with a mechanical eye, who works according to a vision of what appears in the medium in the display he sees, entirely programmed by software.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/10NTGLpBGqk/

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News Analysis: Proposed Brain Mapping Project Faces Significant Hurdles

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The Obama administration has set an ambitious goal to map the 85 to 100 billion neurons in the human brain, but scientists say they are long way from developing the necessary tools.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/science/proposed-brain-mapping-project-faces-significant-hurdles.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Jessica Chastain Oscars Dress: Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/jessica-chastain-oscars-dress-happy-birthday-mr-president/

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Kerry makes first foreign trip as top U.S. diplomat

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - John Kerry views his first trip as U.S. secretary of state as a listening tour, but the leaders he meets will want to hear whether he has any new ideas on Syria, Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Kerry leaves on Sunday for London, the first stop on a nine-nation, 11-day trip that will also take him to Berlin, Paris, Rome, Ankara, Cairo, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Doha before he returns home on March 6.

It is an introductory trip for a man who needs little introduction abroad after spending 28 years in the U.S. Senate, all of them as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the last four as its chairman.

After talks with allies in London, Berlin and Paris, Kerry travels to Rome to meet members of the Syrian opposition as well as a wider group of nations seeking to support them in their nearly two-year quest to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

While the opposition Syrian National Coalition is willing to negotiate a peace deal to end the country's civil war, members this week agreed that Assad must step down and cannot be a party to any settlement.

The political chasm between the sides, along with a lack of opposition influence over rebels on the ground and an international diplomatic deadlock preventing effective intervention, has allowed fighting to rage on. Almost 70,000 people have been killed in 22 months of conflict, according to a U.N. estimate.

U.S. President Barack Obama has limited U.S. support to non-lethal aid for the rebels who, despite receiving weapons from countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are poorly armed compared to Assad's army and loyalist militias.

Although the Obama administration appears to be rethinking the question of arming the rebels, there are few signs it is on the verge of a new approach toward Syria, said Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank.

"I have a hard time imagining that this is the time to float a new American strategy because he (Kerry) still doesn't have a counterpart in the Department of Defense (and) the new administration is still getting set up," Alterman said.

"I don't see any sign that there is a new strategy but I do see signs that he wants to be engaged and understand what the options are for moving something in a different direction," he said.

IRAN TALKS

Kerry makes his first foreign trip as senior U.S. diplomats, along with counterparts from Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, will meet Iranian officials on Tuesday in Kazakhstan in an effort to persuade Iran to curtail its nuclear program.

The United States and many of its allies suspect Iran may be using its civil nuclear program as a cover to develop atomic weapons, a possibility that Israel, which is regarded as the Middle East's only nuclear power, sees as an existential threat.

Iran says its program is solely for peaceful purposes, such as generating electricity and making medical isotopes.

Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution think-tank said Saudi King Abdullah would regard himself, rather than Kerry, as the listening party and want to hear of any new U.S. approaches on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran and other issues.

"The secretary has the tough job of selling as something new an administration (whose) foreign policies are pretty well established," Riedel said.

"There is not a high level of expectation that it is going to be able to break the logjam on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, get Iran to give up its nuclear weapons program and topple Bashar al-Assad," he added. "The Saudis will understand that Kerry will try to put a new face on policies which are now pretty well known but they will be looking for what's new."

(Reporting By Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Paul Simao)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-makes-first-foreign-trip-top-u-diplomat-060625117.html

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Scientists find surprising new influence on cancer genes

Feb. 24, 2013 ? Small stretches of DNA in the human genome are known as "pseudogenes" because, while their sequences are nearly identical to those of various genes, they have long been thought to be non-coding "junk" DNA.

But now, a new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) shows how pseudogenes can regulate the activity of a cancer-related gene called PTEN. The study also shows that pseudogenes can be targeted to control PTEN's activity.

Published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, the team's findings suggest a much larger role for pseudogenes than previously thought -- a discovery that changes our understanding of the internal landscape of living cells, adding a new layer of complexity to an already crowded topography marked by multiple, overlapping, interacting gene networks.

Understanding how pseudogenes interact and control gene networks in the human body may lead to new ways of addressing diseases tied to problems that arise due to disruptions in these gene networks, said TSRI scientist Kevin Morris, PhD, who led the research in collaboration with scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, and The University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

"This has improved our knowledge of how genes in cancer are regulated and how we may now be able to control them," Morris said.

Genes and Pseudogenes at Work

The focus of the human genome project, which decoded our entire DNA sequence a decade ago, was largely on genes -- the genetic sequences that encode proteins and thus control processes that govern and regulate all biological functions. But these genes are only a small part of the genome. The vast majority of DNA in the human genome is non-coding, meaning that it does not make protein.

In the early days of molecular biology, scientists called these vast stretches of DNA "junk" because of their presumed inactivity. Pseudogenes, which make up vast swaths of non-coding DNA, were considered part of the junk -- even though they resembled genes -- because they did not code for proteins.

The results from the new study contradict that view by showing these bits of genetic material playing a profound role in controlling the activity of human genes. The control or loss of control of genes can make the difference between healthy and diseased tissue. In cancer, for instance, some genes become more active, while other genes that should normally shut down a cancerous growth become suppressed.

In the new work, Morris and his colleagues showed that pseudogenes can influence the activity of a human gene known as the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN). PTEN has long been implicated in cancer and is categorized as a "tumor suppressor" gene, meaning that it has the ability to arrest the growth of a tumor. But in many forms of cancer, PTEN is shut down, allowing the tumor to grow unchecked.

Intriguing Possibilities

Morris and his colleagues found that pseudogenes sharing sequences in common with PTEN can regulate the gene in two ways -- knocking it down by suppressing the "promoter" for the PTEN gene, preventing the gene from being expressed, or soaking up PTEN-targeted regulatory micro-RNAs affecting the PTEN protein after the gene transcripts have been expressed.

Some companies are already looking at pseudogenes such as PTEN as targets of potential new drugs, Morris said, and the new work is a proof of principle that targeting pseudogenes can modulate the growth of cancer cells grown in the laboratory.

The same principle may be applicable to other diseases where the aberrant activity of a normal human gene is in play -- or in infectious diseases, as a way of shutting down certain crucial genes belonging to viruses or bacteria.

Morris noted, however, there are many practical issues with controlling pseudogenes. Designing a drug targeting pseudogenes directly would be difficult to administer with current technology, as these drugs would need to be delivered into the exact cells where they are needed without spreading to other, healthy tissues where they could be toxic.

The article, "A pseudogene long noncoding RNA network regulates PTEN transcription and translation in human cells," by Per Johnsson, Amanda Ackley, Linda Vidarsdottir, Weng-Onn Lui, Martin Corcoran, Dan Grand?r, and Kevin V. Morris appears in the February 24, 2013 issue of the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

This work was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and the National Cancer Institute, both components of the National Institutes of Health, though grants #R56 AI096861-01, #P01 AI099783-01, #R01 CA151574 and #R01 CA153124. Additional support was provided by The Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation, The Swedish Cancer Society, Radiumhemmets Forskningsfonder, the Karolinska Institutet PhD support programme, Vetenskapsr?det, and the Erik and Edith Fernstrom Foundation for Medical Research.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Scripps Research Institute, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Per Johnsson, Amanda Ackley, Linda Vidarsdottir, Weng-Onn Lui, Martin Corcoran, Dan Grand?r, Kevin V Morris. A pseudogene long-noncoding-RNA network regulates PTEN transcription and translation in human cells. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2516

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/0-xoCUXm59A/130224142821.htm

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2013 NFL Scouting Combine: Live Results, Reaction and Analysis

Keep it locked right here as we bring you live NFL Scouting Combine coverage!?

Michael Irvin looks on as the 2nd group of WRs get ready to run their 40-yard dash.?

Geno Smith runs a 4.60 on his 2nd attempt.?

Arkansas QB Tyler Wilson runs a 4.96 40-yard dash on his 1st attempt.?

West Virginia QB Geno Smith runs a 4.56 40-yard dash on his 1st attempt.?

Florida State QB EJ Manuel runs a 4.62 40-yard dash on his 1st attempt.?

Geno Smith getting ready to run his 40-yard dash.?

Throwback look at Chris Johnson's NFL Combine-record 4.24 40-yard dash.?

Post-corner routes now being run to test the arm strength of the QBs.?

NC State QB Mike Glenno now throwing routes to the combine WR.?

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1542069-2013-nfl-scouting-combine-live-results-reaction-and-analysis

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AT&T Strikes Deal With Union Workers

WASHINGTON (AP) - AT&T is announcing a tentative agreement on wages, pensions and other benefits for more than 20,000 of its unionized workers.

The four-year agreement covers members of the Communications Workers of America in 36 states and the District of Columbia. AT&T is not disclosing the details of the agreement until it has been presented to union workers.

The CWA confirmed in a separate statement Saturday that an agreement had been reached, but is declining to provide details.

The agreement, which must be ratified by union members, covers wages, pensions, disability and work rules. The union negotiates health care benefits separately.

AT&T Inc. is based in Dallas, Texas.

? Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/02/23/att-strikes-deal-with-union-workers/

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Apple supplier faces sanctions in China

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Excerpt from: Apple supplier faces sanctions in China

Pollution incident near Shanghai highlights the difficulties that Apple and others face in policing their vast international supply chains...

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Source: http://news.iphoneworld.ca/inews/Apple+supplier+faces+sanctions+in+China

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WH Brief Previews Supreme Court Arguments on Gay Marriage

The White House has asked the Supreme Court to strike down a main provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, but in the legal paper filed with the judiciary it may have signaled a wider push for same-sex marriage as a constitutional right on the horizon.

The Justice Department issued an amicus brief Friday urging the court to repeal Section 3 of DOMA when it hears a challenge to the act late next month. The portion bars the federal government from recognizing same sex marriages for health benefits, income tax purposes, and other issues.

In 2011, President Obama announced the executive branch would cease upholding the 1996 law, although it remained on the books. Given that the Obama administration has been named a party to the case, the filing with the court does not come as a surprise, yet the equal protection issues covered in United States v. Windsor are relatively narrow in scope.

Instead, court watchers have been waiting to see whether the president would weigh in on a separate case involving gay marriage: California's Proposition 8. The administration has until next week to decide whether to join other parties in challenging the ballot-approved state law, later overturned, that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Friday's brief could serve as hat-tip that the Justice Department is preparing for such a move.

See also: Will Obama join legal fight for gay marriage?

Any ruling regarding Prop 8 would have sweeping ramifications over a much broader issue than DOMA: Whether the U.S. Constitution guarantees a fundamental right to gay marriage.

Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. is not required to file a so-called "friend of the court" brief in that, but sources say the administration is considering the possibility at the highest levels.

In an interview Wednesday with San Francisco's ABC station, KGO-TV, Obama said his administration had yet to reach a decision.

"I have to make sure I'm not interjecting myself too much into this process, particularly when we're not party to the case," he told KGO-TV. "I can tell you, though, that obviously my personal view is that I think that same-sex couples should have the same rights and be treated like everybody else."

Historically his administration has left such decisions to the states; the administration has not previously offered an official statement on Prop 8 because the federal government was not directly affected by it.

Although the California case and DOMA do not directly intertwine Friday's brief does offer a window into the language likely to be employed by the Justice Department in Prop 8, should it become involved. The brief can be found at the well-established SCOTUSblog.com.

"Gay and lesbian people are a minority group with limited political power," reads the administration statement. "Although some of the harshest and most overt forms of discrimination against gay and lesbian people have receded, that progress has hardly been uniform (either temporally or geographically), and has in significant respects been the result of judicial enforcement of the Constitution, not political action."

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has also filed a brief urging that the law be upheld, arguing gay-rights issues would be better left to the democratic process.

"Gays and lesbians are one of the most influential, best-connected, best-funded, and best-organized interest groups in modern politics, and have attained more legislative victories, political power, and popular favor in less time than virtually any other group in American history," it says.

The House named itself a party to the case after the executive branch announced its decision to abandon the legislation.

ABC's Ariane de Vogue contributed reporting.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wh-brief-previews-supreme-court-arguments-gay-marriage-011631913--abc-news-politics.html

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Sunday, February 24, 2013

HP launches Slate 7 Android tablet with Beats Audio for $169

The HP Slate 7 is beyond fashionably late to the Android tablet party, but it tries to make up for its tardiness with a very low price. When the device arrives in April, HP?s first Google-powered tablet just announced at this year?s Mobile World Congress will cost just $169. That?s $30 less than the the Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD. So how does this value-priced device stand out? HP is playing up the Slate 7?s Beats Audio sound and wireless printing capabilities.

The Slate 7 certainly doesn?t look like a $169 tablet, thanks to its stainless steel frame and soft-touch back that?s available in gray or red. The device measures .42 inches thick (about the same as the Kindle Fire HD?s .41 inches) and weighs 13.05 ounces, making this tablet lighter than the Fire (13.9 ounces) but heavier than the Nexus 7 (12 ounces). The Slate 7 has a microSD card slot and microUSB port.

To differentiate its tablet, the Slate 7 is the first with Beats Audio built in, which is designed to deliver richer and more robust sound. According to Alberto Torres, HP?s senior vice president of its Mobility Global Business Unit, Beats really kicks in when you?re using headphones. However, the Slate 7 does sport stereo speakers. As you might expect from HP, the Slate 7 has wireless printing capabilities via ePrint. The app lets you print from most applications.

MORE: Top 10 Tablets Right Now

To differentiate its tablet, the Slate 7 is the first with Beats Audio built in, which is designed to deliver richer and more robust sound. According to Alberto Torres, HP?s senior vice president of its Mobility Global Business Unit, Beats really kicks in when you?re using headphones. However, the Slate 7 does sport stereo speakers. As you might expect from HP, the Slate 7 has wireless printing capabilities via ePrint. The app lets you print from most applications.

MORE: Top 10 tablets right now

The Slate 7 does skimp on some specs for its low price. For starters, the 1024 x 600-pixel display has a lower resolution than the Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7 (both 1280 x 800). On the other hand, HP says its High-aperture-ratio Field Fringe Switching (HFFS) technology gives its panel wide viewing angles, whether you?re viewing documents or playing Angry Birds Space.

Powering this Android 4.1 Jelly Bean tablet is a 1.6-GHz ARM A9 dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM, and you?ll find 8GB of storage on board. The Slate 7 features a VGA camera up front and a fairly low-res 3-MP camera on the back. By comparison, the Nexus 7 boasts a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, though HP claims that its device offers swift performance.

When we asked HP?s Torres whether shoppers will just opt for the faster Nexus 7 or more family friendly Kindle Fire HD for $30 more, he told us that ?we are going to have a very strong value proposition with Beats Audio and that the design is far superior than those other tablets that you mention.? Torres also reminded us that HP ?wants to be the leader in tablets so to expect other price points.? In other words, don?t be surprised to see a larger, more premium Android Slates in HP?s lineup in the not too distant future.

Stay tuned for Laptop's hands-on impressions of the Slate 7 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/hp-launches-slate-7-android-tablet-beats-audio-169-1C8516739

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McCarthy's 'Identity Thief' tops box office again

NEW YORK (AP) ? Hollywood's latest films performed tepidly at the box-office on Oscar weekend, with Melissa McCarthy's "Identity Thief" returning to the top spot in its third week of release.

The Universal comedy earned $14.1 million on the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, enough to regain the box-office title after losing it last week to 20th Century Fox's "A Good Day to Die Hard." The Bruce Willis action sequel faded domestically, but not overseas, where it took in $35.7 million.

With a cumulative total of $93.7 million, "Identity Thief" is the biggest hit so far in 2013. Though the film has been badly reviewed by critics, the road trip duo of McCarthy and Jason Bateman has proved popular at the multiplexes, where no other comedy has been around to challenge it.

More than anything, "Identity Thief" has proven the stardom of McCarthy, following her breakout performance in "Bridesmaids."

"The holding power of a film always gives you an idea of the strength of its concept or its star," said Nikki Rocco, Universal head of distribution. "In this case, it's both."

With the industry gathering for the Oscars on Sunday, it's always a weekend where moviegoers' attention goes more to the Academy Awards than the movie theater. For the fifth week in a row, the box office was down as compared to last year's business

One of the two new films in wide release, Lionsgate's Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson action film, "Snitch," opened with $13 million. That was a decent but not strong showing for "Snitch" in a year where action films have largely fared poorly.

Though "A God Day to Die Hard," the fourth film in the franchise, led the box office last week, it slid 60 percent in its second week to $10 million. But it continued to dominate internationally, bringing it to a three-week worldwide total to $184.8 million. (It opened a week earlier in some countries.)

Earlier action films from Arnold Schwarzenegger ("The Last Stand"), Jason Statham ("Parker") and Sylvester Stallone ("Bullet to the Head") performed far worse.

The other new wide release was the Weinstein Co.'s "Dark Skies," a PG-13 horror film starring Keri Russell. It debuted with $8.9 million.

The down weekend was unlikely to dampen the Oscar celebration. The nine best picture nominees have largely fared well at the box office. This weekend, eight of them are in the top 21 films.

For the first time since the category's number of nominees was extended in 2009, six of the nominees grossed more than $100 million domestically: "Argo," ''Lincoln," ''Les Miserables," ''Silver Linings Playbook," ''Django Unchained" and "Life of Pi." ''Zero Dark Thirty" missed narrowly with $91.6 million going into the Oscars.

"It's one of the best performing groups of nominees I've ever seen," said Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com. "Great night for Hollywood, tough day at the box office."

A box-office bump could follow for Sunday's big winners, though any benefit might be better found overseas, where some of the films are still expanding. The best picture favorite, Ben Affleck's Iran rescue thriller "Argo," is already out on DVD in North America.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Identity Thief," $14 million, ($170,000 international).

2. "Snitch," $13 million.

3. "Escape From Planet Earth," $11 million.

4. "Safe Haven," $10.6 million, ($1.4 million international).

5. "A Good Day to Die Hard," $10 million, ($35.7 million international).

6. "Dark Skies," $8.9 million.

7. "Silver Linings Playbook," $6.1 million, ($5 million international).

8. "Warm Bodies," $4.8 million, ($2.5 million international).

9. "Side Effects," $3.6 million.

10. "Beautiful Creatures," $3.4 million, ($4 million international).

___

Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "A Good Day to Die Hard," $35.7 million.

2. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," $18.6 million.

3. "Les Miserables," $9.3 million.

4. "Django Unchained," $8.5 million.

5. "Wreck-It Ralph," $8 million.

6. "New World," $7 million.

7. "Miracles in Cell No. 7," $6.2 million.

8. "Mama," $5.5 million.

9. "Flight," $5.1 million.

10. "Lincoln," $5 million.

(tie) "Silver Linings Playbook," $5 million.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mccarthys-identity-thief-tops-box-office-again-174922022--finance.html

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Pistorius case brings South Africa gun culture to global spotlight

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • One report: More than half South Africans fear home invasion
  • Former detective: Crimes are difficult to solve because many don't trust police
  • Pistorius case brings gun violence in the country to global attention

(CNN) -- Oscar Pistorius has claimed in a court hearing that when he heard noises in his home, he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder and accidentally shot her with his 9 mm pistol.

Plausible? The courts will decide. In the meantime, the killing has highlighted South Africa's history of gun violence and high crime. And it's shown the world that many South Africans live with a palpable, almost paranoid, fear of having their homes broken into.

In the past year, more than 50% of South Africans told the country's police force that they're afraid. The number of home burglaries across the country of 50 million have more than doubled. They totaled 9,063 in a 12-month period spanning 2002/2003; seven years later, it was up 18,786. And in a similar period ending in 2012, reported break-ins dipped to 16,766, according to South Africa's crime reporting body, the Institute for Security Studies.

The international group Gunpolicy.org reports that there are about 6 million licensed firearms in South Africa.

"The paranoia about being a victim of a house robbery is understandable," said the group's small arms researcher Lauren Tracey. "Victims are relatively helpless against these attacks."

It's common to see armed guards patrolling gated, middle-class neighborhoods.

Photos: 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius

HIDE CAPTION

Hiring a private security firm is not the exception but the norm. Workaday people install panic buttons, closed-circuit televisions, man trap doors, boom gates and outdoor point-to-point infrared motion-sensing beams on their houses.

Also unique to South Africa: When burglars break in, they likely aren't after a flat-screen television or jewelry, experts say. They want the homeowner's guns.

Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day

Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day

Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day

Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day

Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day

Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day

Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day

Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day

Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day

HIDE CAPTION

That's in part because it's very hard to acquire a gun legally in South Africa, but it remains, many say, relatively easy to get a gun illegally.

Related: Pistorius out on bail: Now what?

A history of violence

To understand South Africa's gun culture, it's crucial to go back nearly two decades. In 1994, apartheid ended. The official system of racial segregation, in place since 1948, took rights away from black Africans and gave virtually all power in every aspect of life to whites.

For generations, violence born out of apartheid spawned a kind of arms race; blacks and whites fought against each other, and everyone else armed themselves, afraid to be caught in the cross fire.

Gun violence was at a record high as the country made its first effort to become what archbishop and peace crusader Desmond Tutu envisioned -- a rainbow nation.

Other spiritual leaders around the country began campaigning to reduce violence.

"Before 1994, there was a low-key civil war in South Africa," said Claire Taylor, a spokesperson for Gun Free South Africa, a non-profit group that grew out of a movement to cut down on crime born from years of inequity during apartheid. "Both sides -- white and blacks -- were armed soldiers in a way."

The roots of gun culture in South Africa are not unlike those of the United States, she said.

"There is a history of colonization, of taking, of settling," she said. "For black people, the AK-47 was a symbol of liberation, of fighting back. There is huge meaning attached. Gun are about fighting and superiority."

Unlike the United States, the right to own a gun is not written in the country's constitution.

Related: U.S. gun debate: Where is the middle ground?

Police have confiscated and destroyed hundreds of thousands of unlicensed guns, but it's unclear how many illegal guns remain on the street.

Researcher Tracey also believes that criminal violence is rooted in South Africa's historical traumas. There was rampant proliferation of firearms in the nation before the end of apartheid, and liberation movements stockpiled them.

Many of those weapons, she said, were never recovered.

Laying down the guns

As Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, took office in 1994, there was a tremendous desire to put the guns down.

"There was a national feeling that we had lived under the gun for so many years during apartheid, and we had to do something to signal that beginning anew was possible," said Claire Taylor, the non-profit's spokesperson.

Taylor was personally motivated to act. At the time, one of her closest friends was shot to death during a break-in.

In 2000, South Africa passed the Firearms Control Act. Since then, violence by handguns, Taylor said, has dropped steadily, often by double digits.

Among the law's rigors: Before it was enacted, 16 was the minimum age to own a gun; today it's 21. To apply for a gun, you have to take competency tests, akin to a driver's license test, which demonstrates that not only can you shoot straight, but that you also know the law and how to store your firearm safely.

Next, law enforcement conducts a background check that runs an applicant's criminal history and also tries to assess whether the applicant has a propensity for violence, may be mentally ill or suffers from an addiction that might cloud their judgment. An applicant must give references whom the authorities will interview, including relatives and a spouse, if that's possible, Taylor said.

Authorities go a step further, checking medical information and digging into any instances of domestic violence or employment issues.

Once licensed, gun owners must reapply and requalify for their licenses every two to 10 years.

South African law also helps ensure that only one gun per person is approved. If someone is a sport shooter or has a reason that for needing to own more than one gun, he must file a separate application and explain, Taylor said.

The law isn't a fix-all

The law isn't perfect. As one South African correspondent put it, guns are still very much a part of the culture. Signs at South African airports and casinos point to where consumers should drop off their weapons.

And gun ownership advocates say that is why people are still incredibly afraid of hearing someone creeping in their house at night.

There are about 2,000 guns stolen from legal gun owners in South Africa every month, according to Gun Free South Africa.

Between April 2005 and March 2011, more than 18,000 police firearms were reportedly stolen or lost. Guns have gone missing from police stations.

There's also a severe backlog in gun license applications, some of which date back several years. A task force has been appointed to look into the problem, Taylor said.

All of this has highlighted one fact for the country gun rights organization Gun Owners of South Africa.

Executive Wouter de Waal told CNN that it is "dead easy" to get weapons illegally.

And there's little reason for armed burglars to think they'll be caught and punished. The rate of arrest and prosecution in the country is 7%, said former detective Rudolph Zinn, who wrote a book about home invasions and now trains South African police.

He believes there's one chief reason for that: Few South Africans trust law enforcement because in recent years, the police force has become politicized, with higher ranking officers who are politically appointed.

"In 1994 there was a push to have policing more community-focused, there was more legislation to focus on that," he said.

"There was a distrust related to our heritage," he says, referring to apartheid, "and unfortunately, over the years, we've gone back to that. I saw it often when I was a detective.

There are undoubtedly more home invasions, he said, than are officially counted.

"People don't even want to report a crime," he said, "because they don't believe anything is going to come of it."

What's life like in a South African prison

How UK school massacre led to tighter gun control

Photos: Athletes charged with murder

CNN's Emily Smith contributed to this report.

Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_mostpopular/~3/VVcbavb7hQw/index.html

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