Source: http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/1009547-469/bedford-home-has-custom-design-outdoor-cabana.html
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Monday, July 1, 2013
Bedford home has custom design, outdoor cabana, pool, man cave ...
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Upon exiting the kitchen, you enter the extended cape of the home with a large living room Tompkins said is perfect for holiday get-togethers of about 20 family members or so. Cathedral ceilings draw the eye up, and large ...
Apple files for 'iWatch' trademark in Japan
TOKYO (AP) ? Apple Inc. has applied for a trademark in Japan for "iWatch," indicating it may be proceeding with rumored plans to produce a smart wristwatch.
A document obtained Monday from the Japan Patent Office's website said the application was made June 3 and made public June 27.
It was not immediately clear when the application might be approved. Patent office and Apple officials in Japan were not available for comment late Monday.
Apple is rumored to be working on a smart watch that would run on a version of the operating system used by its iPhone and iPad. The company has not confirmed those rumors, but CEO Tim Cook has hinted that it may be developing a wearable computing device such as a wristwatch.
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Song Review ? ?Alone in Memphis? from Austin Lucas ? Saving ...
Jun
30
If you need any more validation that it is a new day in music, just sit back and appreciate that one Austin Lucas?the scrappy, heartfelt, post-punk songbird who migrated south to country not for support but from passion?is now signed to the prestigious New West Records and is label mates with the likes of Steve Earle, Corb Lund, and Patty Griffin. His new record Stay Reckless is slated for release on August 27th, and can be pre-ordered now.
Preceding Stay Reckless is a song established Austin Lucas fans will already know well from his live performances, whether experiencing it with a band like Tennessee?s Glossary backing him up, or Austin simply rocking the acoustic guitar solo like nobody else can. ?Alone In Memphis? typifies what makes Austin Lucas such a unique performer. You couldn?t coerce the country out of Austin?s voice for anything, and it has a smooth gentleness and a yearning that is both fragile and remarkably controlled. But Austin?s punk roots show when the song evolves into the full band concept, creating a divine mixture of influences that trace a template for how to evolve country music while still respecting its roots.
Whether electric or acoustic, Austin only knows one way to perform a song: with 100% passion, until the song?s inspiration manifests right there on stage and coats every word. Even if you hate the lyrics, or can?t connect to the story of ?Alone In Memphis,? it is written perfectly to pull the emotion right out of Austin every time and spill it out amongst the audience in a moment of shared reflection and commiseration on one of the most fundamental failings of the human condition?our inability to feel stable without the company of another.
Great songwriters know how to write to their strengths, and that is what Austin does in ?Alone in Memphis.?
Two guns up.
- ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - -
?
TRACK LIST:
- Let Me In
- Alone In Memphis
- Four Wheels
- Small Town Heart
- Rings
- Save It For Yourself
- Different Shade Of Red
- Stay Reckless
- So Much More Than Lonely
- Gift And A Gamble
- Splinters?
Source: http://www.savingcountrymusic.com/song-review-alone-in-memphis-from-austin-lucas
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Kentucky coach Calipari pace car drive must wait - NASCAR News | FOX Sports on MSN
Updated?Jun 29, 2013 10:11 PM ET
?
SPARTA, Ky. (AP)
Rain kept Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari from driving the (fast) lane before Saturday night's NASCAR race.
Initially slated to ride shotgun as the honorary pace car driver for the 400-mile Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway, Calipari was asked to drive the Ford Fusion leading the 43-car field to the green flag.
Unfortunately for Calipari, showers forced NASCAR to postpone the race just after 9 p.m. and reschedule it for noon Sunday. The coach had expressed confidence that the race would be run, but he now must make another trip here and figure out how to make it up to his wife on their vacation.
''The good Lord knows how mad my wife is right now,'' Calipari said before knowing he might have to take another vacation day.
Facing the music from his spouse could be even scarier than Calipari's pace car tutorial from 2004 champion Kurt Busch.
His crash-course instruction included 90-mph splits in the rain around the 1.5-mile oval by Busch, which had the coach ''white-knuckled'' and holding on tightly on the passenger side as the car came within inches of the outside retaining wall. Fortunately for Calipari, he only has to drive a more comfortable 45 mph ahead of the field.
''When I went 45 (mph), I wasn't nervous,'' Calipari said, ''but when he (Busch) was going 90 and 100 (mph) in that rain, all these grooves are great, I'm thinking, `Oh, my gosh.'
''I had one arm on the mirror grabbing it, and the other hand was on the window. He was flying, for me. These guys are used to it, but it was fast. And it was raining.''
Calipari got one perk, a specially-made racing jacket embroidered with the terms ''eight-time'' - referring to Kentucky's eight national championships - and his trademark ''Refuse to Lose'' slogan. Drivers also signed the jacket, which will be auctioned for charity.
''I did it like a driver would have,'' he said.
Calipari seemed happier at the prospect of being an active participant in NASCAR, a sport Calipari said he has followed since his days at the University of Massachusetts. The process involved going on the thrill ride of his life.
Source: http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/Kentucky-coach-Calipari-to-drive-pace-car-93524342
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Oil thieves frustrate efforts to curb $7bn revenue loss
Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke
| credits: File copy
Crude oil theft, which is denying Nigeria about $7bn in revenue annually, has shown no sign of easing despite stakeholders? efforts to stop it.
In view of its effects on revenue generation and budget implementation, our correspondent learnt on Friday that the Federal Government had become frustrated and was considering a new approach to tackle the problem.
President Goodluck Jonathan has thus directed governors in oil producing states, service chiefs and multinational companies to work out an aggressive approach.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Allison-Madueke, confirmed this, lamenting the high rate of oil theft was adversely affecting the country?s revenue.
She said, ?Crude oil theft at this point in time has become quite critical to the point that it is affecting our excess crude and revenue accruing to the federation account from the proceeds of our output.
?Mr. President has called governors of affected states, all the multinationals, all the service chiefs as well as Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and other ministers who are related stakeholders.?
Diezani had in 2012 said the country was losing approximately 180,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily to oil theft.
?Of course, to the nation, if you look at the international cost for a barrel, it will be estimated at $7bn yearly,? she said.
The International Energy Agency also said Nigeria was losing about $7bn annually to oil theft.
?Oil bunkering, or theft, costs the government an estimated $7bn in lost revenue per year,? the agency said, adding that theft and sabotage often led to pipeline damage, causing oil firms to cut output.
Already, the Federal Government had lost N191bn ($1.23bn) to oil theft and vandalism in the first quarter of the year as crude theft continued to flourish.
The Acting Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Ms. Tumini Green, said there had been a significant drop in crude oil production for the first quarter of 2013 due to incessant crude oil theft and vandalism along the major pipelines within the Niger Delta.
She said daily crude oil production during the period fluctuated between 2.1 million and 2.3 million barrels per day compared with the projected estimate of 2.48mbpd.
?Expectedly, this fall between actual production and forecast in the first quarter 2013 has resulted in a drop in crude oil revenue of about $1.23bn (N191bn) that should have accrued to the Federation Account,? Green noted.
Despite the loss of N191bn to oil theft in the first quarter, experts lamented that oil theft had continued to increase while the government appeared unable to stop it.
The NNPC also said the country would have lost about $554m (equivalent to N83bn) in May and April, 2013 as a result of the shutting in of 150,000bpd following the vandalism of the 97-kilometre Nembe Creek Trunkline.
This made the NNPC/Shell Petroleum Development Company Joint Venture to declare a force majeure on Bonny Crude in April, citing the incessant crude oil theft as the reason.
The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited last week shut the Trans Niger Pipeline, following an explosion and fire at a crude theft point on the 28? section of the facility at Bodo West in Ogoniland.
The implication of this development, according to SPDC, is that some 150,000 barrels of oil per day will be deferred from the closure of the TNP.
Prior to the incident, the Managing Director, SPDC, and Country Chair, Shell companies in Nigeria, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, had said that SPDC shut down the 28? TNP to remove crude oil theft connections.
?This is another sad reminder of the tragic consequences of crude oil theft,? Sunmonu said.
Similarly, an explosion at the Atlas Cove last Wednesday was caused by pipeline vandals who ruptured NNPC pipeline to siphon fuel.
The Federal Government had earlier said it would set up committees to look into how to tackle the rising oil theft in the country.
Already, there are fears that the Federal Government might not meet its N11.34tn revenue target for the 2013 fiscal year due to crude oil theft among other factors.
A former international relations advisor to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Dr Patrick Cole, who spoke under the aegis of ?Stop the Theft Foundation, an organisation registered in the United Kingdom, had called on the G8? country to help Nigeria to tackle the oil theft threat.
He said if G8 was to truly deliver on its objectives and improve transparency in the extractive industries sector, oil theft must be on its agenda.
Source: http://www.punchng.com/business/oil-thieves-frustrate-efforts-to-curb-7bn-revenue-loss/
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Obama to announce new power initiative for Africa
U.S. President Barack Obama, left, stands for a moment of silence for Nelson Mandela during an official dinner with South African President Jacob Zuma at the Presidential Guest House on Saturday, June 29, 2013, in Pretoria, South Africa. The visit comes at a poignant time, with former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela ailing in a Johannesburg hospital. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. President Barack Obama, left, stands for a moment of silence for Nelson Mandela during an official dinner with South African President Jacob Zuma at the Presidential Guest House on Saturday, June 29, 2013, in Pretoria, South Africa. The visit comes at a poignant time, with former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela ailing in a Johannesburg hospital. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama toast during an official dinner hosted by South African President Jacob Zuma at the Presidential Guest House on Saturday, June 29, 2013, in Pretoria, South Africa. The visit comes at a poignant time, with former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela ailing in a Johannesburg hospital. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama wave as they depart Waterkloof Air Base for a flight to Cape Town on Sunday, June 30, 2013, in Centurion, South Africa. The president is in South Africa, embarking on the second leg of his three-country African journey. The visit comes at a poignant time, with former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela ailing in a Johannesburg hospital. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Performers dressed in traditional Xhosa outfits dance at the wedding of Sbongiseni Tetani and his wife Charity from the Xhosa tribe, near the home of former South African president Nelson Mandela house in Qunu, South Africa, Saturday, June 29, 2013. President Barack Obama plans to visit privately Saturday with relatives of former South African President Nelson Mandela, but doesn't intend to see the critically ill anti-apartheid icon he has called a "personal hero." (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) ? President Barack Obama on Sunday will announce a new initiative to double access to electric power in sub-Saharan Africa, part of his effort to build on the legacy of equality and opportunity forged by his personal hero, Nelson Mandela.
Obama, who flew from Johannesburg to Cape Town Sunday, will pay tribute to the ailing 94-year-old Mandela throughout the day. The president and his family will visit Robben Island, where the anti-apartheid leader spent 18 years confined to a tiny cell, then deliver a speech at the University of Cape Town that will be infused with memories of Mandela.
During that address, Obama will unveil the "Power Africa" initiative, which includes an initial $7 billion investment from the United States over the next five years. Private companies, including General Electric and Symbion Power, are making an additional $9 billion in commitments with the goal of providing power to millions of Africans crippled by a lack of electricity.
Gayle Smith, Obama's senior director for development and democracy, said more than two-thirds of people living in Sub-Saharan African do not have electricity, including 85 percent of those living in rural areas.
"If you want lights so kids can study at night or you can maintain vaccines in a cold chain, you don't have that, so going the extra mile to reach people is more difficult," Smith said.
Obama will also highlight U.S. efforts to bolster access to food and health programs on the continent. His advisers said the president sees reducing the poverty and illness that plague many parts of Africa as an extension of Mandela's example of how change can happen within countries.
The former South African president has been hospitalized in critical condition for three weeks. Obama met Saturday with members of Mandela's family, but did not visit the anti-apartheid icon in the hospital, a decision the White House said was in keeping with his family's wishes.
Obama's weeklong trip, which opened in Senegal and closes later this week in Tanzania, marks his most significant trip to the continent since taking office. His scant personal engagement has come as a disappointment to some in the region, who had high hopes for a man whose father was from Kenya.
Obama has visited Robben Island before as a U.S. senator. But since being elected as the first black American president, Obama has drawn inevitable comparisons to Mandela, making Sunday's visit particularly poignant.
The president said he's also eager to bring his family with him to the prison to teach them about Mandela's role in overcoming white racist rule, first as an activist and later as a president who forged a unity government with his former captors.
He told reporters Saturday he to "help them to understand not only how those lessons apply to their own lives but also to their responsibilities in the future as citizens of the world, that's a great privilege and a great honor."
Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, said Mandela's vision was always going to feature prominently in the speech. But the former South African leader's deteriorating health "certainly puts a finer point on just how much we can't take for granted what Nelson Mandela did."
Harkening back to a prominent theme from his 2009 speech in Ghana ? his only other trip to Africa as president ? Obama will emphasize that Africans must take much of the responsibility for finishing the work started by Mandela and his contemporaries.
"The progress that Africa has made opens new doors, but frankly, it's up to the leaders in Africa and particularly young people to make sure that they're walking through those doors of opportunity," Rhodes said.
Obama will speak at the University of Cape Town nearly 50 years after Robert F. Kennedy delivered his famous "Ripple of Hope" speech from the school. Kennedy spoke in Cape Town two years after Mandela was sentenced to life in prison.
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Judge Rules That Airbnb Is Illegal in New York
Bad news for those seeking or offering cheap accommodation over the internet: a New York judge has determined that Airbnb is illegal in the city.
Despite Airbnb's attempts to persuade officials otherwise, the service has been found to violate the illegal hotel law?a statute which stops property owners from renting out their own homes on a temporary basis. The ruling comes out of a case which saw Aribnb host Nigel Warren issued with a $7,000 demand after complaints of building and zoning code issues were made against him. Judge Clive Morrick threw out those latter issues?but decided he should be fined $2,400 for violating the illegal hotel law instead. The judge wrote:
"While breech of the condominium rules is not of itself a ground for sustaining this (notice), respondent was in breach (through Warren's acts) and the existence of the rule against rental for transient, hotel, or motel purposes is evidence that the unit owners were to restrict their use to permanent occupation."
Interestingly, the rulling doesn't make all Airbnb listings illegal?just ones for which a complaint is filed. So, if you're an Airbnb host in New York, it pays to tread carefully from this point forward. [CNET via Fast Company]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/judge-rules-that-airbnb-is-illegal-in-new-york-509021604
Engineers devise new way to produce clean hydrogen
May 21, 2013 ? Duke University engineers have developed a novel method for producing clean hydrogen, which could prove essential to weaning society off of fossil fuels and their environmental implications.
While hydrogen is ubiquitous in the environment, producing and collecting molecular hydrogen for transportation and industrial uses is expensive and complicated. Just as importantly, a byproduct of most current methods of producing hydrogen is carbon monoxide, which is toxic to humans and animals.
The Duke engineers, using a new catalytic approach, have shown in the laboratory that they can reduce carbon monoxide levels to nearly zero in the presence of hydrogen and the harmless byproducts of carbon dioxide and water. They also demonstrated that they could produce hydrogen by reforming fuel at much lower temperatures than conventional methods, which makes it a more practical option.
Catalysts are agents added to promote chemical reactions. In this case, the catalysts were nanoparticle combinations of gold and iron oxide (rust), but not in the traditional sense. Current methods depend on gold nanoparticles ability to drive the process as the sole catalyst, while the Duke researchers made both the iron oxide and the gold the focus of the catalytic process.
The study appears online in the May issue of the Journal of Catalysis.
"Our ultimate goal is to be able to produce hydrogen for use in fuel cells," said Titilayo "Titi" Shodiya, a graduate student working in the laboratory of senior researcher Nico Hotz, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering. "Everyone is interested in sustainable and non-polluting ways of producing useful energy without fossil fuels," said Shodiya, the paper's first author.
Fuel cells produce electricity through chemical reactions, most commonly involving hydrogen. Also, many industrial processes require hydrogen as a chemical reagent and vehicles are beginning to use hydrogen as a primary fuel source.
"We were able through our system to consistently produce hydrogen with less than 0.002 percent (20 parts per million) of carbon monoxide," Shodiya said.
The Duke researchers achieved these levels by switching the recipe for the nanoparticles used as catalysts for the reactions to oxidize carbon monoxide in hydrogen-rich gases. Traditional methods of cleaning hydrogen, which are not nearly as efficient as this new approach, also involve gold-iron oxide nanoparticles as the catalyst, the researchers said.
"It had been assumed that the iron oxide nanoparticles were only 'scaffolds' holding the gold nanoparticles together, and that the gold was responsible for the chemical reactions," Sodiya said. "However, we found that increasing the surface area of the iron oxide dramatically increased the catalytic activity of the gold."
One of the newest approaches to producing renewable energy is the use of biomass-derived alcohol-based sources, such as methanol. When methanol is treated with steam, or reformed, it creates a hydrogen-rich mixture that can be used in fuel cells.
"The main problem with this approach is that it also produces carbon monoxide, which is not only toxic to life, but also quickly damages the catalyst on fuel cell membranes that are crucial to the functioning of a fuel cell," Hotz said. "It doesn't take much carbon monoxide to ruin these membranes."
The researchers ran the reaction for more than 200 hours and found no reduction in the ability of the catalyst to reduce the amount of carbon monoxide in the hydrogen gas.
"The mechanism for this is not exactly understood yet. However, while current thinking is that the size of the gold particles is key, we believe the emphasis of further research should focus on iron oxide's role in the process," Shodiya said.
The Duke team's research was supported by the California Energy Commission and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities. Duke postdoctoral associates Oliver Schmidt and Wen Peng were also part of the research team.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/pE0368Szr9U/130521153938.htm
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Japan government upgrades economic assessment for first time in two months
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government upgraded its assessment of the economy in May for the first time in two months, in a sign growth is accelerating as exports and factory output pick up.
The economy is gradually recovering, according to the government's monthly economic report released on Monday. That was an upgrade from last month, when the government said the economy was showing signs of recovery but still had some weak spots.
Japan's gross domestic product expanded in January-March at its quickest pace in a year, data showed last week, as gains in consumer spending and a rebound in exports helped the economy recover from a slump last year.
The upgrade highlights the success of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policies, which combine stimulus spending with aggressive monetary easing to pump-prime the economy and are resulting in a sharp weakening of the yen.
"We expect the economy to continue to recover as exports improve and as economic stimulus and monetary policy steps bolster sentiment," the Cabinet Office said in the report.
Abe, who is preparing to lead his Liberal Democratic Party in an upper house election in July, has put in place aggressive monetary easing and heavy fiscal spending with the aim of beating 15 years of nagging deflation.
The policy mix, dubbed "Abenomics", has pushed the yen to a 4 1/2-year low and sparked about a 75 percent rally in Japanese shares since November.
The government said exports are showing signs of recovery, which was in an upgrade from last month as the weak yen pushes up export volumes of cars, steel and chemicals, according to the Cabinet Office. That marked the second consecutive month of upgrades.
The report said factory output is gradually recovering, which was the first upgrade in two months. In April, the Cabinet Office said output was only showing signs of recovery.
Private consumption is recovering and capital expenditure is bottoming out, the Cabinet Office said, which was unchanged from last month's report.
The Bank of Japan stunned global financial markets last month by agreeing to double the amount of government debt it holds over the next two years to end deflation and achieve its 2 percent inflation target.
The overhaul of monetary policy has helped shares rally and pushed down the yen, but it caused yields to rise temporarily, leading the BOJ to boost money market operations to reduce volatility and push yields lower.
(Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Kim Coghill)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japan-government-upgrades-economic-assessment-first-time-two-015733973.html
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Monday, May 20, 2013
Arduino Robot launches at Maker Faire, we go hands-on (video)
There's a new kid on the Arduino block, and it's called the Arduino Robot. Launched yesterday at Maker Faire Bay Area, it's the company's first product that extends beyond single microcontroller boards. The Roomba-like design, which we first saw in November 2011, is the result of a collaboration with Complubot. It consists of two circular boards, each equipped with Atmel's ubiquitous ATmega32u4 and connected via ribbon cable.
The bottom board is home to four AA batteries (NiMH), a pair of motors and wheels, a power connector and switch plus some infrared sensors. By default it's programmed to drive the motors and manage power. The top board faetures a color LCD, a microSD card slot, an EEPROM, a speaker, a compass, a knob plus some buttons and LEDs. It's programmed to control the display and handle I/O. Everything fits inside a space that's about 10cm high and 19cm in diameter.
Pre-soldered connectors and prototyping areas on each board make it easier to customize the robot platform with additional sensors and electronics. It even comes with eleven step-by-step projects and a helpful GUI right out of the box. The Arduino Robot is now on sale at the Maker Faire for $275 and will be available online in July. Take a look at our gallery below and watch our video interview with Arduino founder Massimo Banzi after the break.
Via: Make
Source: Arduino
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Dan Pfeiffer blasts IRS, says legal questions ?irrelevant? (Washington Post)
Water may reshape energy industry
Demand for fresh water could exceed supply by an estimated 40 percent by 2030, pushing up prices for the water-intensive energy industry. Soaring water prices would help wind, solar, and natural gas, but hurt coal and nuclear plants.
A worker helps monitor water pumping pressure and temperature, at the site of a natural gas hydraulic fracturing and extraction operation run by Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc., outside Rifle, in western Colorado. A doubling of water prices wouldn't hurt energy operations, but soaring prices would.
Brennan Linsley/AP/File
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Energy: The industry uses 23 percent of fresh water globally and 40 percent in the US.
Environment:?Higher water prices would be one way to ration increasingly precious fresh water, where demand is outstripping supply.
Energy Trends Reportidentifies and analyzes risks and opportunities, offering subscribers an inside track to sectors and companies affected by developments in the energy industry. For a free subscription,?click here.
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There is a broad and growing consensus that freshwater is undervalued. It is a limited, but vital, commodity without a price. In nearly every region the price of water is the cost of water access rights, treatment costs, and transportation costs. There is no price or market for the water itself.
That will begin to change. Prolonged drought and overuse have depleted freshwater reserves at the same time that demand is rising rapidly. The resulting imbalance has some projections of demand for freshwater exceeding supply by?as much as 40% by 2030?. Increasingly, water starved regions have begun to look to ways to both reduce overall use and to prioritize different types of use. While there are a number of policy approaches, one that seems to have wide support is the idea of regional exchanges where water could be priced (with adjustments for preferred uses) and sold.
The implications for the energy industry are significant. Fuel extraction is water intensive, especially for mining and fracking extraction - for fracked natural gas, about a gallon of water is required to extract one mmbtu. Electric generation from fossil fuels also requires large amounts of water. The average kWh produced from coal-fired electric generation uses a gallon of water, and while natural gas averages less water use, nuclear uses significantly more.
Initially, reduction in use will focus on eliminating waste and high-use-low-value activities (like watering a lawn), but as the limitations become more acute some uses will simply cease to be provided for, or the cost of use will increase, forcing a rebalancing of the ways water gets used.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
What are my options of buying a home immediately after ... - Zillow ...
Looking online for homes listed as "owner carry" or "owner will finance" is probably your best bet. ? The earliest you could get a mortgage would be 2 years out of discharge for a Chpt 7 (1 year out if it was filed for medical reasons), using an FHA loan.?
Wetdawgs answer regarding hard money lenders is also right.? Hard money lenders will loan you the money as well, but at horribly high rates, with nasty fees and they will require a very large down-payment.? I'd have to assume that if you just filed for bankruptcy, that you probably don't exactly have a 30% down payment just lying around.
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'Catching Fire' dampened but not drowned at Cannes
From left, actors Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence and Sam Claflin pose for photographers during a photo call for the film The Hunger Game: Catching Fire at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision/AP)
From left, actors Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence and Sam Claflin pose for photographers during a photo call for the film The Hunger Game: Catching Fire at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision/AP)
Actress Jennifer Lawrence poses for photographers during a photo call for the film The Hunger Game: Catching Fire at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision/AP)
Actress Jennifer Lawrence poses for photographers during a photo call for the film The Hunger Game: Catching Fire at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision/AP)
Actress Jennifer Lawrence poses for photographers during a photo call for the film The Hunger Game: Catching Fire at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision/AP)
CANNES, France (AP) ? Little could lessen the fever-pitched excitement for "Hunger Games: Catching Fire," but heavy rain nevertheless dampened the film's lavish Cannes party.
Stars of the "Hunger Games" sequel, Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Sam Clafin, arrived Saturday at the Cannes Film Festival. "Catching Fire," perhaps more than any other film not actually screening at Cannes, is seeking to use the festival's global platform to promote the highly anticipated sequel.
Digital flame billboards have constantly burned by the Majestic Barriere hotel. The cast posed for photographers Saturday. And in the evening, Lionsgate held a lavish soiree beside the beach on the Croisette, complete with flowing liquid chocolate and parading models dressed in the film's ornate costumes.
But a planned stunt at the party to promote the film was scuttled due to the poor weather that has plagued the first five days of the French Riviera festival. Lawrence made an enthusiastic appearance, but later fled, grimacing ? like other guests ? at the cold raindrops.
"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" will be released in late November.
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Saturday, May 18, 2013
Obama gets break from scandals to push jobs and economy in Baltimore
After a week filled with controversy and criticism, President Barack Obama left town Friday for Baltimore, the second stop on his "Middle Class Jobs & Opportunity Tour." The trip, which was previously scheduled, took him to a dredging manufacturer and an elementary school, with the next stop on the itinerary a community center.
At Ellicott Dredges in Baltimore, Obama announced an effort to reduce infrastructure red tape as a way to boost the economy.
"Sometimes it takes too long to get projects off the ground," Obama said during a speech, citing permits, red tape and planning delays related to infrastructure projects. "Today, I'm directing agencies across the government to do what it takes to cut timelines for breaking ground on major infrastructure projects in half. And what that means is that construction workers get back on the jobs faster, it means more money going back into local economies, and it means more demand for outstanding dredging equipment that is made right here in Baltimore."
The stop at the manufacturer adds the potential of controversy to his trip. The owner of Ellicott Dredges, Peter Bowe, shares the view of many congressional Republicans in support of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Bowe testified before Congress on the issue Thursday. Obama has yet to announce a position on the pipeline?which would carry oil from Canada and the northern United States to the Gulf Coast?but faces pressure from environmentalists and others to reject the proposal.
Controversy over the pipeline has dogged the president on other unrelated trips. During a fundraising swing in California last month, the fact that the event was being hosted by pipeline opponent Tom Steyer, a hedge fund billionaire and environmentalist, drew pipeline protesters who sought to draw attention to the issue.
Obama made no references to the pipeline in his public remarks at Ellicott Dredges, but thanked Bowe?who gave the president a tour of the facility?for his work at the company.
Much of the president's speech echoed remarks he made last week in Texas, his first stop on the "Middle Class Jobs & Opportunity Tour." While there he announced manufacturing competitions to create "manufacturing innovation institutes" in the United States.
As he did last week, Obama conceded that Washington may not appear to the public to be a place generating much positive news, but that there are things to celebrate about the economy, including rebounds in the housing market and gains in certain industry sectors.
His standard criticism of members of Congress (whom he has been publicly chastising for stalemates in Washington) appeared to be tempered by the attendance Friday of several Democratic leaders: Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, and Reps. Steny Hoyer, Paul Sarbanes and Elijah Cummings.
"All of your members of Congress every single day are working, fighting on your behalf in terms of making sure we're growing an economy that creates outstanding middle-class jobs," Obama said.
Prior to Ellicott, Obama stopped at Moravia Park Elementary School, where he sat in on a classroom lesson for 4- and 5-year-olds. Later, during his speech at Ellicott, he noted this visit and the goals behind his State of the Union proposal to create universal pre-kindergarten.
He was scheduled next to visit the Center for Urban Families, a nonprofit that aides fathers and families, for a roundtable discussion. That visit will be tied to his Promise Zone budget proposal to identify and assist hard-hit communities, according to the White House.
As the president left Washington earlier on Friday, the House Ways and Means Committee on Capitol Hill grilled the ousted acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Steven Miller, over recent revelations that the IRS targeted conservatives applying for tax-exempt status. After the allegations were confirmed Wednesday by the Treasury Department inspector general's report, Obama announced that Miller had been forced to resign.
That action came amid continued pressure on the administration to explain revisions made to talking points related to the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya?to which the White House responded Wednesday by releasing those emails to the media?and controversy surrounding the Department of Justice's secret seizure of Associated Press reporters' and editors' phone records in the investigation of a national security leak.
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Will Boy Scouts accept gay youth? Vote is imminent
FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2013 file photo, James Oliver, left, hugs his brother and fellow Eagle Scout, Will Oliver, who is gay, as Will and other supporters carry four boxes filled with petitions to end the ban on gay scouts and leaders in front of the Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Dallas, Texas. With its ranks deeply divided, the Boy Scouts of America is asking its local leaders from across the country to decide whether its contentious membership policy should be overhauled so that openly gay boys can participate in Scout units. The proposal to be put before the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA's National Council on Thursday, May 23, 2013 at a meeting in Grapevine, Texas, would retain the Scouts' long-standing ban on gays serving in adult leadership positions. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2013 file photo, James Oliver, left, hugs his brother and fellow Eagle Scout, Will Oliver, who is gay, as Will and other supporters carry four boxes filled with petitions to end the ban on gay scouts and leaders in front of the Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Dallas, Texas. With its ranks deeply divided, the Boy Scouts of America is asking its local leaders from across the country to decide whether its contentious membership policy should be overhauled so that openly gay boys can participate in Scout units. The proposal to be put before the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA's National Council on Thursday, May 23, 2013 at a meeting in Grapevine, Texas, would retain the Scouts' long-standing ban on gays serving in adult leadership positions. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
FILE - Clockwise from left, Boy Scouts Eric Kusterer, Jacob Sorah, James Sorah, Micah Brownlee and Cub Scout John Sorah hold signs at the "Save Our Scouts" Prayer Vigil and Rally in front of the Boy Scouts of America National Headquarters in Irving, Texas on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. With its ranks deeply divided, the Boy Scouts of America is asking its local leaders from across the country to decide whether its contentious membership policy should be overhauled so that openly gay boys can participate in Scout units. The proposal to be put before the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA's National Council on Thursday, May 23, 2013 at a meeting in Grapevine, Texas, would retain the Scouts' long-standing ban on gays serving in adult leadership positions. (AP Photo/Richard Rodriguez)
With its ranks deeply divided, the Boy Scouts of America is asking its local leaders from across the country to decide whether its contentious membership policy should be overhauled so that openly gay boys can participate in Scout units.
The proposal to be put before the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA's National Council on Thursday, at a meeting in Grapevine, Texas, would retain the Scouts' long-standing ban on gays serving in adult leadership positions.
Nonetheless, some conservatives within and outside the BSA community have denounced the proposal, saying the Scouts' traditions would be undermined by the presence of openly gay youth. There have been warnings of mass defections if the ban is even partially lifted.
From the other flank, gay-rights supporters and some Scout leaders from politically liberal areas have welcomed the proposed change as a positive first step, but are calling on the BSA to go further and lift the ban on gay adults as well.
The Scouts' national spokesman, Deron Smith, said the policy toward gays had become "the most complex and challenging issue" facing the BSA at a time when it is struggling to stem a steady drop in membership.
"Ultimately we can't anticipate how people will vote but we do know that the result will not match everyone's personal preference," Smith said in an email.
In January, the BSA floated a plan to give sponsors of local Scout units the option of admitting gays as both youth members and adult leaders or continuing to exclude them. However, it changed course, in part because of surveys sent out starting in February to members of the Scouting community.
Of the more than 200,000 leaders, parents and youth members who responded, 61 percent supported the current policy of excluding gays, while 34 percent opposed it.
Those findings contrasted with a Washington Post-ABC News national poll earlier this month. It said 63 percent of respondents favored letting openly gay youth be Scouts, and 56 percent favored lifting the ban on gay adults.
Over the past several weeks, numerous public events have been staged by advocacy groups on different sides of the debate.
A group called Scouts for Equality has organized rallies in several cities aimed at urging local BSA councils to support an end to the ban on gay youth. Rallies opposing any easing of the ban, for youth or adults, have been organized by a group called OnMyHonor.net, which claims the pending proposal "requires open homosexuality in the Boy Scouts."
Both groups plan to have their leaders and supporters on hand in Grapevine as the vote takes place.
Among those heading to Grapevine to lobby for an easing of the ban are Tracie Felker and her 16-year-old son, Pascal Tessier, who, though openly gay, is on track to become an Eagle Scout as a member of Boy Scout Troop 52 in Chevy Chase, Md.
"We are absolutely dedicated to restoring integrity to Boy Scouting and reinvigorating the program," Felker said. "That can only be done by removing the stain of discrimination."
Passions also run deep on the other side, as evidenced by a live online event titled "Stand With Scouts Sunday" presented May 5 by the conservative Family Research Council. The council opposes lifting the ban on gay youth, saying such a change "will dramatically alter the culture and moral landscape of America."
Among the participants was Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who lauded the Scouts' tradition of character-building.
"For pop culture to come in and try to tear that up because this happens to be the flavor of the month ... that is just not appropriate," Perry said. "Frankly I hope the American people stand up and say, 'Not on my watch.'"
Also appearing on the webcast was Jeremy Miller, a Scout leader from Ohio who said the proposed change "will open the door to boy-on-boy sexual contact, bullying and older Scouts being predators on younger scouts."
The BSA's national leadership has rejected such warnings as ill-founded. "The BSA makes no connection between the sexual abuse or victimization of a child and homosexuality," a new background document says. "The BSA takes strong exception to this assertion."
Of the more than 100,000 Scouting units in the U.S., 70 percent are chartered by religious institutions. While these sponsors include liberal churches opposed to any ban on gays, some of the largest sponsors are relatively conservative denominations that have supported the broad ban ? notably the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Southern Baptist churches.
Knowing these churches oppose scouting roles for gay adults, the BSA leadership hopes they will be willing to back the easing of the ban on gay youth. As part of this effort, the BSA is emphasizing that sexual conduct by any Scout ? straight or gay ? would be considered unacceptable.
"We are unaware of any major religious chartered organization that believes a youth member simply stating he or she is attracted to the same sex, but not engaging in sexual activity, should make him or her unwelcome in their congregation," the Scouts say in their new background document.
Southern Baptist leaders were outspoken earlier this year in opposing the tentative plan to let Scout units decide for themselves if they wanted to accept gays as adult leaders.
Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, said the new proposal "is more acceptable to those who hold a biblical form of morality," but he nonetheless favors its defeat.
"A No vote keeps the current policy in place, an outcome we would overwhelmingly support," Page told Baptist Press, the SBC's official news agency.
Baptist Press reported that the Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga., was considering ending a nearly 75-year sponsorship of a Boy Scout troop if the policy change prevails. The church's senior pastor, Ernest Easley, echoed warnings from other Southern Baptist leaders that any BSA accommodation of gays might prompt defections and trigger an expansion of the SBC's own youth group for boys, the Royal Ambassadors. According to BSA figures, Baptist churches sponsor Scout units with about 108,000 youth members.
Leaders of some smaller conservative denominations ? including the Assemblies of God and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod ? have signed a statement opposing the proposal to accept gay youth.
Some larger sponsors have either endorsed the proposal, or ? in the case of the United Methodist Church and Catholic Church ? declined to specify a position. The National Catholic Committee on Scouting issued a statement describing the membership debate as "difficult and sensitive" but stopping short of any explicit recommendation for how Catholic delegates to the BSA meeting should vote.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced in April that it supports the new proposal, saying the BSA made a good-faith effort to address a complex issue. The Mormons sponsor more Scout units than any other organization, serving about 430,000 of the 2.6 million youth in Scouting.
The United Methodists are the second-largest sponsor, serving about 363,000 youth members; the Catholic Church is No. 3, with a youth membership of about 273,000.
Several regional Scout councils already have declared their position on the membership proposal.
In Tennessee, the Nashville-based Middle Tennessee Council and Jackson-based West Tennessee Area Council said they oppose the proposed change and support the current broad ban on gay youth and adults.
"We are continuing to uphold the standards, beliefs and traditions Scouting has held for over 100 years," said Lee Beaman, board president of the Middle Tennessee Council, which says it serves 35,000 youth and adults.
The day after that announcement, Bill Moser, a longtime Scout leader in Clarksville, Tenn., announced his resignation, saying he couldn't support a policy that would force openly gay youth out of Scouting when they turned 18.
The Greater New York Councils, which serve about 43,000 Scouts in New York City, is supporting the proposal to accept gay youths, calling it "a positive step forward." It is among the councils urging the Scouts to also accept gays as adult leaders.
The Los Angeles Area Council said it follows a nondiscrimination policy that extends to sexual orientation and it proposed that the BSA adopt a similar policy nationwide, opening its ranks to openly gay adults as well as youth.
However, the BSA leadership says no such alternative proposals will be put to a vote at the Grapevine meeting ? only the single proposal to lift the ban on gay youth.
If the proposal is approved, the new policy would take effect on Jan. 1, 2014. A task force already has been created to oversee its implementation.
___
Online:
Boy Scouts: http://www.scouting.org/
___
Follow David Crary on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CraryAP
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Friday, May 17, 2013
Sci-fight! 'Doctor Who,' 'Star Wars' fans face off
Pop culture 
2 hours ago
20th Century Fox, BBC
Darth Vader vs. Doctor Who.
Sci-fi fans are generally fairly mild-mannered folk. But don't get them angry. You wouldn't like them when they're angry. Unfortunately, there was lots of anger in Norwich, UK, over the weekend, when fans of "Doctor Who" and "Star Wars" squared off outside a convention -- and yes, "the force" was called. The police force.
According to Norwich Evening News 24, it all started at the 4th Norwich Sci-Fi and Film Convention on Sunday, which was hosted by the Norwich "Star Wars" Club UK and Hollywood Cinemas. The convention refused entry to members of the Norwich Sci-Fi Club by the members of the Norwich "Star Wars" Club, reportedly after the treasurer of the Sci-Fi Club asked a "Doctor Who" actor for an autograph.
Sci-Fi Club treasurer Jim Poole was asked to leave after requesting the autograph, and he and organizer Richard Walker reportedly had words inside before taking it outdoors.
It's unclear why this was a flashpoint -- Walker later told Evening News 24 that the visitors had been trying to undermine the convention with Facebook comments -- but it led to over a dozen fans (many dressed in costume) facing off outside the venue.
There were no light saber and sonic screwdriver duels, but police did respond to a report that a man was being assaulted. After investigating and reviewing closed-circuit footage, police determined no assault had taken place. A spokesperson told the News that "the two rival groups were spoken to and advised to keep out of each other's way."
Despite the incident, Walker called the event "a very successful day."
At least no one had to go to the dark side.
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/sci-fight-star-wars-doctor-who-fans-face-convention-1C9952291
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Woodward's 'Watergate' comparison: on, or off-target?
Bob Woodward compared Benghazi to Watergate during a Friday morning appearance on MSNBC?s ?Morning Joe.?
The famous Washington Post reporter and former antagonist of President Richard Nixon said the US government?s editing of talking points used by public officials in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks in Benghazi, Libya, is ?a very serious issue.?
?I would not dismiss Benghazi,? Mr. Woodward said.
Woodward?s own main talking point was that he believed there are similarities between the process used to produce the Benghazi talking points and Nixon?s release of edited transcripts of the White House tapes.
RECOMMENDED: War with Iran? 5 ways events overseas could shape Obama's second term.
Citing the lengthy e-mail chain detailing the production of the talking points, released by the Obama administration earlier this week, the Watergate press hero said that in the wake of the Libyan tragedy ?everyone in the government is saying, ?Oh, let?s not tell the public that terrorists were involved, people connected to Al Qaeda. Let?s not tell the public that there were warnings.? ?
Forty years ago, Nixon went line by line through his tape transcripts and made his own edits.
?He personally went through them and said, ?Let?s not tell this, let?s not show this,? ? said Woodward on ?Morning Joe."
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Nixon, of course, was trying to deflate the increasing public and congressional pressure for him to release the tapes themselves. He wasn?t successful. The tapes revealed the extent of his involvement with the Watergate break-in and subsequent cover up.
As to Benghazi, Woodward concluded that the edits ?show the hydraulic pressure that was in the system not to tell the truth.?
Is Woodward right to make this comparison? After all, he is the media?s official arbiter of all things Watergate, and his words here carry special weight.
Well, it?s certainly possible that he?s hit upon the reason the talking points got changed around. But having read the 100 pages of e-mails on the editing process ourselves, we?d say it?s also possible that he?s jumping to conclusions. For at least some of the officials involved in the process, the reason to take out references to terrorists and Al Qaeda was not to hide the truth, but because they did not know what the truth was.
For instance, early in the editing process Stephen Preston, the CIA?s general counsel, e-mailed talking-point participants that ?in light of the criminal investigation, we are not to generate statements with statements as to who did this, etc. ? even internally, not to mention for public release.?
And the scrubbed ?warnings? Woodward referred to were fairly vague references to past CIA internal statements. The Post journalist may be right that the public should have heard about them. State Department officials, though, were transparently annoyed that the spy agency was trying to cover its rear end at their expense.
Look, things don?t have to be as bad as Watergate to be important malfeasance. Political scientist Jonathan Bernstein made that point earlier this week on his A Plain Blog About Politics.
But loosely comparing current scandals with Watergate is to forget the full extent of the Nixon-era scandal, wrote Mr. Bernstein in a post titled, ?You Call That a Cover-Up??
In Watergate the cover-up was essentially personally directed by the president, overseen by the White House chief of staff, and run by the White House counsel, Bernstein writes. They concocted a false story, destroyed important evidence, and raised hush money used to attempt to buy the silence of underlings who were facing jail time.
Oh, and the president of the United States ordered the CIA to falsely tell the FBI that national security was involved in the Watergate mess, so the FBI needed to pull back its investigation.
By the way, the Watergate hearings began 40 years ago on this date. Bernstein has been writing a fascinating series of pieces outlining the unfolding of the Watergate scandal day by day, as if it were occurring in real time. You can read that to catch up on the bad old days and decide if today compares.
RECOMMENDED: War with Iran? 5 ways events overseas could shape Obama's second term.
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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bob-woodward-compares-benghazi-watergate-153412076.html
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Car bombs, shooting in Iraq leave 21 dead
BAGHDAD (AP) ? Car bombs hit Shiite neighborhoods of the Iraqi capital for the second day in a row on Thursday, part of a series of attacks across the country that left 21 people dead and raised concerns over a return to sectarian bloodshed.
Baghdad police said the first blast hit a bus and taxi stop during the morning rush hour in the city's eastern Sadr City neighborhood. Nine people were killed, including a 7-year old child, and 16 were wounded in that attack, two officers said.
Another car bomb hit a small market at a taxi stop in Baghdad's eastern suburb of Kamaliya, killing three civilians and wounding 14 others there, the officers said.
And in the capital's northern Chikok district, two civilians were killed and 10 were wounded when a car bomb missed a police patrol that was passing through, two other police officers said.
In the northern city of Mosul, a suicide attacker rammed his car into an army check point, killing two soldiers and wounding three others, another police officer said. The attack came just after a car bombing in another area of Mosul wounded two civilians, he said. Mosul is located 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad.
In Baghdad's southwestern neighborhood of Baiyaa, drive-by gunmen shot and killed a brother of a Sunni lawmaker and wounded two of his guards, two police officials said.
Shortly after sunset, a suicide bomber set off his explosive belt near a Shiite mosque in the ethnically-mixed city of Kirkuk after he was prevented by guards from entering. Police said four people were killed and 42 were wounded in the attack that was apparently targeting a funeral inside the mosque.
Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures for all the attacks. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The spike in violence comes amid growing tensions between the Shiite-led government and Iraq's Sunni minority over what they consider second-class treatment. A bloody government crackdown on militants last month in a protest camp in the country's north fueled the latest tensions.
Iraq's embattled Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Thursday blamed sectarian tensions for the latest attacks.
"We have to know that today's bloodshed is the result of sectarian hatred and also the result of a stirring up of these sectarian tensions," al-Maliki said during a government-organized conference about atrocities committed under dictator Saddam Hussein.
Incitement could be coming from inside or outside the country, al-Maliki added.
Wednesday's attacks left 33 dead. No one has claimed responsibility, but car and suicide bombings are a hallmark of al-Qaida's Iraq branch.
The spike in attacks, after a general decrease in violence, has raised fears of a return to the sectarian bloodshed that pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war in 2006-2007. Shiite militias have so far been largely restrained in their reactions to such bombings.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/car-bombs-shooting-iraq-leave-21-dead-173929318.html
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Thursday, May 16, 2013
Not sure why Medicaid expansion matters? Try living without health ...
Clara Sanders-Stevens works hard every day, directing the Project 21 after-school program for the Oak Park School District. But, because she?s an independent contractor, she?s responsible for her own health insurance. And she just can?t afford it.
I don?t need help with food or rent, but I need health insurance ? especially in the event I have to go to the emergency room or I?m hospitalized. But when you start talking about $400 or $500 a month for insurance, it?s just not going to happen for a lot of people like me.
This is why Sanders-Stevens is a staunch advocate for Medicaid expansion in Michigan. She sees the realities of families living without health insurance every day. Kids coming to school sick because their parents can?t afford the cost of a doctor?s appointment or staying home from work and not getting paid. The same is true for a lot of other self-employed people she knows, or people who don?t get insurance through their work.
Those of us out here working, we?re trying to make good things happen. If people get sick they can?t go to work. And if we?re not healthy, there are no business owners to create new opportunities.
It?s especially frustrating to see this happening to Sanders-Stevens and others like her, who are dedicated to public service. As she explains, for many of them the choice may come down to having to return to the corporate world just to get health insurance instead of doing the kind of ground work that can make a real difference to communities.
Sanders-Stevens considers herself relatively lucky because she can usually afford to pay for routine check-ups. Having had health insurance in the past, she knows what a difference preventive care can make.
My health wouldn?t be what it is today if I hadn?t had all those regular physicals back when I had insurance. When you don?t have health insurance, it?s easy to let things go too far and wind up with something that could have been prevented.
Working with so many families who don?t have health insurance, Sanders-Stevens has seen what happens when people are hospitalized. She says they don?t always get the same care that people with insurance do or they?re released from the hospital sooner than they should be.
Then there?s the cost, she says.
You wind up with $20,000 in medical bills and they come after you for that immediately. They don?t let you work it out, or they want you to make payments of $700 or $800 a month. If people could afford that, they?d have health insurance.
Sanders-Stevens worries about what would happen if she were ever hospitalized. When they take the kids in her program skating, she doesn?t participate for fear of falling and getting hurt. In fact, she says she prays if she?s ever injured that she?s in her car at the time because her car insurance is the only medical coverage she has.
She plans to contact her representatives and urge them to support Medicaid expansion in Michigan. And what does Sanders-Stevens plan to say?
They don?t see how important it is until it happens to them or someone in their family. Our legislators have insurance. I?d never wish harm on anyone, but it just doesn?t hit home until it affects you directly. I see it every day and I can tell you that having health insurance would give so many of us peace of mind we don?t have now, knowing we can be cared for and stay healthy.
Contact your legislators today and tell them to say YES to Medicaid expansion.
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