Monday, April 29, 2013

Pennsylvania residents concerned about health effects of hydrofracking

Apr. 28, 2013 ? s living in areas near natural gas operations, also known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, are concerned their illnesses may be a result of nearby drilling operations. Twenty-two percent of the participants in a small pilot study surmise that hydrofracking may be the cause of such health concerns as sinus problems, sleeping difficulties, and gastrointestinal problems.

The findings will be presented at the American Occupational Health Conference on April 28 in Orlando, Florida.

Scientists collected responses from 72 adults visiting a primary care physician's office in the hydrofracking-heavy area of Bradford County, Pa., who volunteered to complete an investigator-faciliated survey.

"Almost a quarter of participants consider natural gas operations to be a contributor to their health issues, indicating that there is clearly a concern among residents that should be addressed," says Poun? Saberi, MD, MPH, the study's principal investigator with the department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. She is also an investigator with the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET) at Penn.

Within these 22 percent of responders, 13 percent viewed drilling to be the cause of their current health complaints and 9 percent were concerned that future health problems can be caused by natural gas operations. The previous health complaints by participants were thought to be anecdotal in nature as they were individual cases reported publicly only by popular media.

"What is significant about this study is that the prevalence of impressions about medical symptoms attributed to natural gas operations had not been previously solicited in Pennsylvania. This survey indicates that there is a larger group of people with health concerns than originally assumed," explains Saberi.

The survey included questions about 29 health symptoms, including those previously anecdotally reported by other residents and workers in other areas where drilling occurs. Some patient medical records were also reviewed to compare reported symptoms with those that had been previously documented. "Sinus problems, sleeping difficulties, and gastrointestinal problems were the most common symptoms reported on the Bradford survey," notes Saberi. "Of the few studied charts, there were no one-to-one correlations between the participants' reported symptoms on the survey and the presenting symptom to the medical provider in the records. This raises the possibility of communication gaps between residents with concerns and the medical community and needs further exploration. An opportunity exists to educate shale region communities and workers to report, as well as health care providers to document, the attributed symptoms as precisely as possible."

The CEET team also mapped the addresses of patients who agreed to provide them in relation to drilling to determine if proximity to drilling operations may relate to health problems.

"We hope this pilot study will guide the development of future epidemiological studies to determine whether health effects in communities in which natural gas operations are occurring is associated with air, water, and food-shed exposures and will provide a basis for health care provider education," says CEET director Trevor Penning, PhD. "The goal of science should be to protect the public and the environment before harm occurs; not simply to treat it after the damage has been done."

The Bradford County health concerns pilot study is one of three hydrofracking studies currently underway at CEET, one of 20 Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers (EHSCC) in the US, funded by the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

CEET is also partnering with Columbia University's EHSCC to measure water quality and billable health outcomes in areas with and without hydrofracking on the Pennsylvania-New York border. Using a new mapping tool developed by Harvard University, CEET and Harvard researchers are creating maps of drilling sites, air quality, water quality, and health effects to locate possible associations. Initial studies will focus on Pennsylvania. Results of both studies are expected in early 2014. These collaborative studies are funded by pilot project funds from the respective EHSCCs, which in turn obtain their financial support from NIEHS.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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


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/top_news/top_environment/~3/IVvBTUbZKJQ/130428230423.htm

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NBA vet Jason Collins is first openly gay player in U.S. sports

(Adds quotes from President Clinton)

April 29 (Reuters) - Jason Collins, a veteran center in the National Basketball Association (NBA), announced on Monday that he was gay, becoming the first active player from any of the U.S. professional sports leagues to publicly reveal his homosexuality.

Collins, who played with the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards this season and is now a free agent, made the announcement in an interview with Sports Illustrated, published on Monday,

"I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation," he said.

"I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, "I'm different." If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand," he added.

The 34-year-old has played for six teams in the NBA and reached the NBA finals twice and says he intends to continue in the sport.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton , whose daughter Chelsea was a classmate of Collins at Stanford university, issued a statement applauding Collins for coming out.

"Jason's announcement today is an important moment for professional sports and in the history of the LGBT community," Clinton said.

"It is also the straightforward statement of a good man who wants no more than what so many of us seek: to be able to be who we are; to do our work; to build families and to contribute to our communities. For so many members of the LGBT community, these simple goals remain elusive.

"I hope that everyone, particularly Jason's colleagues in the NBA, the media and his many fans extend to him their support and the respect he has earned."

(Reporting by Simon Evans; editing by Julian Linden)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nba-collins-comes-first-openly-gay-player-u-154748772.html

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Google Now for iPhone and iPad: It's Here, and It's Great (UPDATED)

Rumors have been swirling that Google Now (the Big G's super-useful personal assistant application) would be coming to the search page on Google.com, but surprise! Our friends on iOS are getting the love first. Starting today, Google Now will be rolled into the Google Search app for iPhone and iPad.

Google Now, for those not familiar, is a very slick app that debuted in Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) last June. Its main selling point is that it gives you the information you want before you even ask for it. It's not perfect, but it's come a long way since launch, and it's pretty excellent. It can tell you when you need to leave for your next appointment, and give you directions for getting there. It can automatically track everything from your FedEx packages to your favorite sports teams in real time. The information shows up on little cards (and in notifications, if you so desire), which are easy to read and simple to dismiss. You decide how much or how little of your personal information you give it access to, but of course the more access you give it, the more it can do.

Google Now is now a part of the Google Search app for iOS. You just download the app (or app update if you already have it), and log in to your Google account. Then you can start tweaking it to your heart's content. While it will have almost all of the same functionality as the Android version, there will be a few things missing at launch: it can't yet manage your boarding passes, events, Fandango, concerts, research topics, nearby events, and a couple of other things, but those will likely be added soon. In the meantime, everything else is just as you'd find it in Jelly Bean. At the same time, it won't be quite as integrated an experience as it is on Android. On Android, Now runs constantly in the background, and is never more than a tap away. For iOS, it'll likely be sandboxed into Google Search, and won't be quite as easy to access. Still, though! Better to have it slightly hamstrung than not to have it at all.

You might think that Google would want to save some special sauce for its Android users, but ultimately Google sells Google, not Android. And while Google Now gives you lots of useful information, it also gives Google access to all kinds of geolocation and personal preference data that will make it easier to serve you highly relevant ads across every platform. The move also fits right in with the rumors that Now may be coming to Google's homepage for users who are signed in (which would be awesome). Google just wants you to use its products, and it's down to give away a lot of good stuff to keep you using them, regardless of what phone, computer, or browser you use.

iOS users can get Now through a Google Search update in the app store starting today. Give it a shot, and see what you think. It may take a few days for it to learn your preferences and what info is important to you, but once it does, you'll start to wonder how you ever lived without it. [Google]

UPDATE #1: Hands On
We just downloaded the app and have been playing with it. After a short explanation of what Now is, you'll be asked if you want to opt in. If you do (and you do), you log in, and it starts populating some cards right away. Because I've used Now on Android previously, it knew that I wanted A's and Giants scores, for example. It's very nicely laid out. The landing screen basically just looks like search, and then you scroll down to get into your Google Now cards. As with Android, if there's a card you're not interest in, you just swipe it away. Not surprisingly, searching by voice works really well.

Naturally, we haven't yet been able to test how well it works in the background or see what notifications will be like (which are a large part of the equation), but so far so good.

UPDATE #2: Houston, we have a problem.
As some of our astute readers have pointed out, using Google Now on iOS seems to lock your GPS into the ON position, which causes it to slurp down battery like a teenager with a Mountain Dew. Obviously, this isn't good. We've confirmed the problem on our device as well. Reaching out to Google for a comment now.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/google-now-for-iphone-and-ipad-its-here-and-its-gre-484296181

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Saturday, February 23, 2013

Volkswagen earnings up 41 percent in 2012

BERLIN (AP) ? German automaker Volkswagen AG said Friday its net profit increased 41 percent for 2012, but earnings fell a little short of analysts' expectations and the company issued a cautious forecast for this year.

Full-year earnings rose to ?21.7 billion ($28.7 billion) from ?15.4 billion the previous year; analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected them to come in just above ?22 billion. Earnings were boosted last year in part by an accounting boost from the complex deal that made Porsche one of Volkswagen's 12 brands.

Revenues were up 21 percent, rising to ?192.7 billion from ?159.3 billion. The number of vehicles delivered worldwide last year by the group topped 9 million for the first time, rising 12.2 percent to nearly 9.3 million as growing demand in North America and Asia offset more sluggish sales in Europe, where many countries are in recession.

The company said it expects revenue and deliveries to customers to exceed last year's level in 2013 but that, "given the ongoing uncertainty in the economic environment," its aim is to match the 2012 level of operating profit.

Last year's operating profit came in at ?11.5 billion, a 2.1 percent increase over 2011. Volkswagen proposed raising the dividend on ordinary shares to ?3.50 from the previous year's ?3.00 and on preferred shares to ?3.56 from ?3.06.

The company noted that "we are not completely immune to the intense competition and the impact this has on business."

Volkswagen shares dropped sharply after the earnings statement, falling 6.3 percent to ?165 in Frankfurt trading.

The company did not detail fourth-quarter earnings. Friday's statement of key 2012 figures came ahead of a full annual report planned for March 14.

Volkswagen said its supervisory board has adjusted the rules for executive compensation, with the result that managers' pay will decrease compared with 2011 despite the higher operating earnings.

The company said that CEO Martin Winterkorn's earnings for 2012 total about ?14.5 million, compared with the previous year's ?17.5 million ? a change that had been expected. The management board's total pay will sink to about ?56 million from ?70 million.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-02-22-Germany-Earns-Volkswagen/id-7014b01d3ee34d7489c58cadc8c586e9

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Miranda Kerr Bikini Photo: Good Morning, Indeed

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/miranda-kerr-bikini-photo-good-morning-indeed/

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Friday, February 22, 2013

Influenza study: Meet virus' new enemy

Feb. 21, 2013 ? Simon Fraser University virologist Masahiro Niikura and his doctoral student Nicole Bance are among an international group of scientists that has discovered a new class of molecular compounds capable of killing the influenza virus.

Working on the premise that too much of a good thing can be a killer, the scientists have advanced previous researchers' methods of manipulating an enzyme that is key to how influenza replicates and spreads.

Their new compounds will lead to a new generation of anti-influenza drugs that the virus' strains can't adapt to, and resist, as easily as they do Tamiflu. It's an anti-influenza drug that is becoming less effective against the constantly mutating flu virus.

These increasingly less adequate anti-influenza drugs are currently doctors' best weapons against influenza. They helped the world beat H1N1, swine flu, into submission four years ago.

The journal Science Express has just published online the scientists' study, revealing how to use their newly discovered compounds to interrupt the enzyme neuraminidase's facilitation of influenza's spread.

Tamiflu and another anti-influenza drug, Relenza, focus on interrupting neuraminidase's ability to help influenza detach from an infected cell's surface by digesting sialic acid, a sugar on the surface of the cell. The flu virus uses the same sugar to stick to the cell while invading it. Once attached, influenza can invade the cell and replicate.

This is where the newly discovered compounds come to the still-healthy cells' rescue. They clog up neuraminidase, stopping the enzyme from dissolving the sialic acid, which prevents the virus from escaping the infected cell and spreading.

The new compounds are also more effective because they're water-soluble. "They reach the patient's throat where the flu virus is replicating after being taken orally," says Niikura, a Faculty of Health Sciences associate professor.

"Influenza develops resistance to Relenza less frequently, but it's not the drug of choice like Tamiflu because it's not water-soluble and has to be taken as a nasal spray.

"Our new compounds are structurally more similar to sialic acid than Tamiflu. We expect this closer match will make it much more difficult for influenza to adapt to new drugs."

Ultimately, the new compounds will buy scientists more time to develop new vaccines for emerging strains of influenza that are resistant to existing vaccines.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Simon Fraser University.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Jin-Hyo Kim, Ricardo Resende, Tom Wennekes, Hong-Ming Chen, Nicole Bance, Sabrina Buchini, Andrew G. Watts, Pat Pilling, Victor A. Streltsov, Martin Petric, Richard Liggins, Susan Barrett, Jennifer L. McKimm-Breschkin, Masahiro Niikura, and Stephen G. Withers. Mechanism-Based Covalent Neuraminidase Inhibitors with Broad Spectrum Influenza Antiviral Activity. Science, 21 February 2013 DOI: 10.1126/science.1232552

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/top_news/top_health/~3/bQcwTXMIazs/130221194241.htm

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Sports Briefing | Pro Football: Jets? Tim Tebow Backs Out of Appearance at Dallas Church

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Source: www.nytimes.com --- Thursday, February 21, 2013
Jets quarterback Tim Tebow backed out of an appearance at a Baptist megachurch in Dallas run by a pastor who has created controversy with his remarks about gays and other faiths. ...

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/22/sports/football/jets-tim-tebow-backs-out-of-appearance-at-dallas-church.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Supreme Court denies appeal from Texas man who set ex-girlfriend on fire

Supreme Court denies appeal from Texas man who set ex-girlfriend on fire

Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Carl Blue

by MICHAEL GRACZYK

Associated Press

Posted on February 21, 2013 at 9:25 AM

Updated today at 6:54 PM

HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to halt the execution of a man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend at her apartment by tossing gasoline on her and then setting her on fire.

The high court made its decision Thursday evening, shortly before 48-year-old Carl Blue was scheduled to be executed in Texas.

Blue was sentenced to die for the September 1994 death of Carmen Richards-Sanders. The 38-year-old woman and a man with her were attacked at her apartment in Bryan, about 100 miles northwest of Houston. The man survived serious burns and testified against Blue.

Prosecutors said the attack was the result of jealousy. Blue said it was a prank gone wrong or an accident.

His death will be the first execution this year in the nation's most active death penalty state.

Source: http://www.khou.com/community/blogs/crime-watch/Texas-man-who-set-ex-girlfriend-on-fire-set-to-die-192280061.html

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Chicago Loop condos for sale down, sales & pending way up in 4th ...

The number of listed Chicago Loop condos for sale in the 4th quarter was down 18.5% from 4th quarter 2011.* There were 605 Chicago Loop condos for sale compared with 742 a year earlier. The percent of distressed sales (short sales and foreclosures) dropped from 21% of the inventory to 15%.

As shown below, the number of Chicago Loop condos for sale in the 4th quarter set a new a 4 year low. Back in November I wrote about how the number of Chicago Loop condos for sale in the 3rd quarter were down over 30%.

Quarterly Inventory of Chicago Loop Condos For Sale (red), Under Contract (blue) & Sold (green) 4th Qtr. 2009 - 4th Qtr. 2012

Quarterly Statistics Chicago Loop Condos 4th Qtr. 2009 - 4th Qtr. 2012

The number of Chicago Loop condos sold in the 4th quarter was up a whopping 54.2% from a year earlier! There were 222 sales. Chicago Loop condos pending (under contract) sales were up 45%, so sales should do well in the 1st quarter. The average days on market for pending sales was down 22%.

The median sale price was up 19%. This is partially due to the drop in distressed sales. The rise in median sale price for normal sales only was 10.4%.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR CHICAGO LOOP CONDO BUYERS

With lower inventory you don?t have the choices that you had a year ago. You won?t be able to negotiate as much since there aren?t as many sellers competing against each other. Higher sales show that there are more buyers now for you to compete with.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR CHICAGO LOOP CONDO SELLERS

Given that the market appears to be forming a bottom, I don?t recommend selling unless 1. you really need to or 2. you want to move up to a more expensive home. It?s probably come down more in value in the past few years than your current home. As always, if your home is priced right when it goes on market, it will sell in a reasonable amount of time.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Email Fran for more information on Chicago Loop condos for sale.

CHICAGO LOOP CONDOS FOR SALE

Click below to see Chicago Loop condos for sale by price range. You can narrow the results by internal and external features. Pending sales are excluded.

*based on MRED (Midwest Real Estate Data)

Source: http://www.chicagometroarearealestate.com/chicago-loop-condos-for-sale-down-sales-pending-way-up-in-4th-quarter/

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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Report: Sony considering ?300 UK price tag for PlayStation 4

VGTODAY.net ? Report: Sony considering ?300 UK price tag for PlayStation 4

A new report claims Sony is considering a ?300 price tag for its next PlayStation console in the UK.

Noting ?industry sources and?leaked internal documents,? The Times says the system could be priced over ?100 cheaper than its predecessor, the PlayStation 3, which arrived back in March 2007 for a hefty ?425.

Sony is set to unveil its next-generation console hardware during a PlayStation Meeting event in New York City tomorrow (Wednesday, February 20), with the platform holder also?looking back at its previous gaming achievements in a short video series unleashed over the last week.

Spike In Marijuana Cases At Eastern Washington University: Other Campuses Taking A Hit Too

CHENEY, Wash ? It's been more than three months since voters in Washington State passed Initiative 502 legalizing marijuana.

But even though the drug is technically legal according to the state, it's still illegal under federal law.? But because they received federal funding, the rules at colleges and universities are different, and most campuses have a zero-tolerance policy.

But that's not stopping students from getting high.

At Eastern Washington University in Cheney, there were 20 drug arrests made during the entire 2011-2012 academic year.? But so far this year, they've already had 28 drug calls ? with several months left to go.

"You can extrapolate that out, and say, if we keep doing that we're going to close to triple our number of drug calls this year," said Deputy Chief Gary Gasseling of Eastern Washington University Police.

But the problem is limited to pot.

"We're seeing an upswing in our alcohol, we're seeing an upswing in our drugs, we're seeing an upswing in our assaults," he added.

EWU is also seeing record-high student enrollment, which may explain some of the numbers.

"Once, I think, they saw the fact that 502 passed, they think, ?Oh it's legal.'? Well read the fine print," Deputy Chief Gasseling also said.

While buying marijuana is still illegal under I-502, the initiative does limit marijuana use to those over 21, not in public, who can have less than an ounce.? But those rules are only for public property.

"The student disciplinary conduct code says you can't be under the influence.? So if you come back onto the campus and you start raising holy heck, guess what?? You're going to go through the process."

He told KHQ most of the cases are happening in residence halls, and usually in very small amounts ? between 1 and 5 grams.? An adult following the legal restrictions of I-502 is allowed to posses roughly 28 grams (1 ounce).

"If they're using in the halls, or they get caught smoking inside the residence halls, they're probably going to get booted out," he explained.? "If they're selling - guaranteed they're going to get kicked out of the residence halls.? They can find somewhere else to live."

EWU Police work closely with police at other campuses, including Washington State University, University of Washington, Western Washington University, and Eastern Washington University, as well as Gonzaga and the Riverpoint campus in Spokane.

Deputy Chief Gasseling said most of those partners are also seeing an uptick in marijuana cases on campus.

"It's not just the drugs, it's the attitude and the choices kids are making right now," he said.? "They're here to get an education."

Source: http://www.khq.com/story/21255418/web-copy-5pm-video-ewu-weed

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House GOP majority leader calls World of Warcraft research grant 'government waste'

A 2012 study into the cognitive effects of video game playing by older adults was targeted by U.S. House majority leader Eric Cantor in a statement today which called for "common sense" budget reform.

"The National Science Foundation spent $1.2 million paying seniors to play World of Warcraft to study the impact it had on their brain," reads the statement from Cantor, calling the "pay to play video games" study an example of government waste.

Cantor seems to be referring to a study by the Gains Through Gaming Lab in the Department of Psychology at the North Carolina State University titled "Putting fun into aging - overcoming usability and motivational issues in video games for older adults." (PDF)

The lab says its research primarily focuses on how games can improve cognitive functioning and "identifying the video games and conditions under which they are played, that provide the greatest benefit to various domains of psychological functioning."

Highlights from the study, which saw adults over the age of 65 play World of Warcraft, indicate that older adults with "initially worse abilities appear to benefit more from cognitive training."

The cost of the study ranks low in terms of dollars compared to spending elsewhere. Cantor's statement also targets "federal government waste" like $2.2 billion in free cell phones, $100 million in EPA grants to foreign countries over the past decade and $1.7 billion in maintaining properties "not in use or underutilized" in 2010.

Source: http://www.polygon.com/2013/2/19/4007448/house-republican-leader-blasts-world-of-warcraft-research-grant

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Mainers take part in climate rally in Washington

February 17, 2013 08:07 GMT

Today is Sunday, Feb. 17, the 48th day of 2013. There are 317 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 17, 1913, the Armory Show, a landmark exhibit of European modern art, opened in New York City. (One work in the exhibit that stirred much controversy was "Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2)," an abstract painting by French artist Marcel Duchamp.)

On this date:

In 1863, the International Red Cross was founded in Geneva.

In 1865, Columbia, S.C., burned as the Confederates evacuated and Union forces moved in. (It's not clear which side set the blaze.)

In 1897, the forerunner of the National PTA, the National Congress of Mothers, convened its first meeting in Washington.

In 1904, the original two-act version of Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly" was poorly received at its premiere at La Scala in Milan, Italy.

In 1933, Newsweek was first published by Thomas J.C. Martyn under the title "News-Week." (The magazine abandoned its print format at the end of last year in favor of an exclusively online edition.)

In 1947, the Voice of America began broadcasting to the Soviet Union.

In 1959, the United States launched Vanguard 2, a satellite which carried meteorological equipment.

In 1964, the Supreme Court, in Wesberry v. Sanders, ruled that congressional districts within each state had to be roughly equal in population.

In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon departed the White House with his wife, Pat, on a historic trip to China.

In 1983, the Scottish comedy-drama "Local Hero" was first released.

In 1988, Lt. Col. William Higgins, a Marine Corps officer serving with a United Nations truce monitoring group, was kidnapped in southern Lebanon by Iranian-backed terrorists (he was later slain by his captors).

In 1993, a ferry carrying some 1,000 people sank off Haiti; at least 700 of the people on board drowned.

Ten years ago: Twenty-one people were killed in a stampede at the crowded E2 nightclub in Chicago. European Union leaders declared their solidarity with the United States, warning Saddam Hussein that Iraq faced one "last chance" to disarm peacefully but calling war a last resort. Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died of heatstroke at a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., hospital, less than 24 hours after complaining of dizziness during a spring training workout. An estimated 40 million viewers tuned in to the finale of Fox's reality show "Joe Millionaire," in which Evan Marriott chose Zora Andrich.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush rejected proposed Democratic changes to his prized AIDS relief program, issuing a challenge to Congress from Tanzania to "stop the squabbling" and renew it as is. (Bush signed a compromise version into law in July 2008.) Kosovo declared itself a nation in defiance of Serbia and Russia. Ryan Newman snapped an 81-race winless streak, giving car owner Roger Penske his first Daytona 500 victory. The East beat the Western Conference 134-128 in the NBA All-Star Game.

One year ago: Congress voted to extend a Social Security payroll tax cut for 160 million workers and to renew unemployment benefits for millions more. The New York Knicks saw their seven-game winning streak with team sensation Jeremy Lin come to an end as they lost to the New Orleans Hornets, 89-85.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Hal Holbrook is 88. Mystery writer Ruth Rendell is 83. Singer Bobby Lewis is 80. Actor-comedian Barry Humphries (aka "Dame Edna") is 79. Country singer-songwriter Johnny Bush is 78. Actress Christina Pickles is 78. Football Hall-of-Famer Jim Brown is 77. Actress Mary Ann Mobley is 74. Actress Brenda Fricker is 68. Actress Rene Russo is 59. Actor Richard Karn is 57. Actor Lou Diamond Phillips is 51. Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan is 50. Actor-comedian Larry, the Cable Guy is 50. TV personality Rene Syler is 50. Movie director Michael Bay is 49. Singer Chante Moore is 46. Rock musician Timothy J. Mahoney (311) is 43. Actor Dominic Purcell is 43. Olympic gold and silver medal skier Tommy Moe is 43. Actress Denise Richards is 42. Rock singer-musician Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) is 41. Actor Jerry O'Connell is 39. Country singer Bryan White is 39. Actress Kelly Carlson is 37. Actor Ashton Holmes is 35. Actor Jason Ritter is 33. TV personality Paris Hilton is 32. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is 32. Actor Chord Overstreet (TV: "Glee") is 24. Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is 22. Actress Meaghan Martin is 21.

Thought for Today: "It is not hard to understand modern art. If it hangs on a wall it's a painting, and if you can walk around it it's a sculpture." -- Tom Stoppard, Czech-born British playwright (1937- ).

Copyright 2013, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.wgme.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.me/3bea9885-www.wgme.com.shtml

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Quick, efficient chip cleans up common flaws in amateur photographs

Feb. 19, 2013 ? Your smartphone snapshots could be instantly converted into professional-looking photographs with just the touch of a button, thanks to a processor chip developed at MIT.

The chip, built by a team at MIT's Microsystems Technology Laboratory, can perform tasks such as creating more realistic or enhanced lighting in a shot without destroying the scene's ambience, in just a fraction of a second. The technology could be integrated with any smartphone, tablet computer or digital camera.

Existing computational photography systems tend to be software applications that are installed onto cameras and smartphones. However, such systems consume substantial power, take a considerable amount of time to run, and require a fair amount of knowledge on the part of the user, says the paper's lead author, Rahul Rithe, a graduate student in MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

"We wanted to build a single chip that could perform multiple operations, consume significantly less power compared to doing the same job in software, and do it all in real time," Rithe says. He developed the chip with Anantha Chandrakasan, the Joseph F. and Nancy P. Keithley Professor of Electrical Engineering, fellow graduate student Priyanka Raina, research scientist Nathan Ickes and undergraduate Srikanth Tenneti.

One such task, known as High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging, is designed to compensate for limitations on the range of brightness that can be recorded by existing digital cameras, to capture pictures that more accurately reflect the way we perceive the same scenes with our own eyes.

To do this, the chip's processor automatically takes three separate "low dynamic range" images with the camera: a normally exposed image, an overexposed image capturing details in the dark areas of the scene, and an underexposed image capturing details in the bright areas. It then merges them to create one image capturing the entire range of brightness in the scene, Rithe says.

Software-based systems typically take several seconds to perform this operation, while the chip can do it in a few hundred milliseconds on a 10-megapixel image. This means it is even fast enough to apply to video, Ickes says. The chip consumes dramatically less power than existing CPUs and GPUs while performing the operation, he adds.

Another task the chip can carry out is to enhance the lighting in a darkened scene more realistically than conventional flash photography. "Typically when taking pictures in a low-light situation, if we don't use flash on the camera we get images that are pretty dark and noisy, and if we do use the flash we get bright images but with harsh lighting, and the ambience created by the natural lighting in the room is lost," Rithe says.

So in this instance the processor takes two images, one with a flash and one without. It then splits both into a base layer, containing just the large-scale features within the shot, and a detailed layer. Finally, it merges the two images, preserving the natural ambience from the base layer of the nonflash shot, while extracting the details from the picture taken with the flash.

To remove unwanted features from the image, such as noise -- the unexpected variations in color or brightness created by digital cameras -- the system blurs any undesired pixel with its surrounding neighbors, so that it matches those around it. In conventional filtering, however, this means even those pixels at the edges of objects are also blurred, which results in a less detailed image.

But by using what is called a bilateral filter, the researchers are able to preserve these outlines, Rithe says. That is because bilateral filters will only blur pixels with their neighbors if they have been assigned a similar brightness value. Since any objects within the image are likely to have a very different level of brightness than that of their background, this prevents the system from blurring across any edges, he says.

To perform each of these tasks, the chip's processing unit uses a method of organizing and storing data called a bilateral grid. The image is first divided into smaller blocks. For each block, a histogram is then created. This results in a 3-D representation of the image, with the x and y axes representing the position of the block, and the brightness histogram representing the third dimension.

This makes it easy for the filter to avoid blurring across edges, since pixels with different brightness levels are separated in this third axis in the grid structure, no matter how close together they are in the image itself.

The algorithms implemented on the chip are inspired by the computational photography work of associate professor of computer science and engineering Fredo Durand and Bill Freeman, a professor of computer science and engineering in MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. With the aid of Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer TSMC's University Shuttle Program, the researchers have already built a working prototype of the chip using 40-nanometer CMOS technology, and integrated it into a camera and display. They will be presenting their chip at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco in February.

The work was funded by the Foxconn Technology Group, based in Taiwan.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The original article was written by Helen Knight.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/technology/~3/gFniompt9Q4/130219121218.htm

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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

The Women?s Fund of Southwest Florida expands leadership

Amanda Cross and G. Helen Athan have joined the Board of Directors of The Women?s Fund of Southwest Florida. Both new directors bring extensive experience to the board and a passion for supporting women?s issues.

G. Helen Athan is a shareholder of Grant Fridkin Pearson, P.A. in Naples, Fla. and has practiced law in Southwest Florida since 1989. She has an "AV" rating from Martindale-Hubbell and is listed in Best Lawyers in America. She has extensive experience in all aspects of commercial and residential real estate law, including acquisition, development, financing, title and leasing, and business organizations and transactions. Community involvement includes:

?

  • Education Foundation of Collier County, Inc., former Member of the Board of Directors and Conversation Leader for Connect NOW Initiative
  • Substance Abuse Coalition of Collier County, Member of ?Board of Directors
  • Ave Maria Law School, Adjunct Professor in Commercial Systems, Spring 2012
  • Leadership Collier, Class of 2004
  • St. Katherine?s Greek Orthodox Church, Scholarship Committee
  • Collier County Bar Association, Real Estate Section, past Chair
  • Hospice of Naples, Inc., former Director

Amanda Cross? professional career began in the computer industry as co-founder of CWC Software. In 1990, Amanda moved to Sanibel with husband, W J Torpey, a saltwater fly-fishing guide and their young daughter, Lindsay. A few years later Lindsay developed a life threatening electrical problem in her heart, which was diagnosed at Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida. After a friend's infant son was diagnosed with cancer, Amanda co-founded Sanibel-Captiva Cares (SCC) to raise money and awareness for Golisano Children?s Hospital of Southwest Florida. To date, more than $4 million has been donated to the hospital by SCC. She is now involved in the capital campaign to build a freestanding facility for? Golisano Children?s Hospital of Southwest Florida on the Health Park Campus. Other notable services, achievements and recognitions include:

  • Gulfshore Life 2006 Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser
  • Canterbury School (Fort Myers) trustee for 15 years
  • Currently serves on the boards of these organizations:
    • Lee Memorial Health System Foundation
    • Harvard Club of Lee County
    • Democratic Club of the Islands
    • Women's issues:
      • Member, League of Women Voters of Sanibel
      • Supporter, EMILY's List and Ruth's List to elect women to state and national political offices
      • Trustee, recently endowed family foundation whose mission will focus primarily on women

The mission of The Women?s Fund of Southwest Florida is to raise money?through federal and state grants, and relationships with individual and corporate donors, and employ a strategic grant-making model to fund programs and organizations that address the special,?critical needs of women and girls in Southwest Florida.

For more information about The Women?s Fund of Southwest Florida visit http://www.womensfundflorida.org? or email contact@womensfundflorida.org. Also, follow The Women?s Fund on facebook.com/floridawomen and on twitter.com/twfofswfl.

Source: http://pitchengine.com/prioritymarketingswfl/thewomensfundofsouthwestfloridaexpandsleadership

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After 148 years, Mississippi finally ratifies 13th Amendment, which banned slavery (cbsnews)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/285697547?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Monday, February 18, 2013

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Sunday, February 17, 2013

Movie Reviews: 'Beautiful Creatures,' 'Identity Thief,' 'Safe Haven,' 'A ...

Movie information aggregated from MovieFone.com

Beautiful Creatures

"Maybe there really are supernatural forces at work in this world. How else to explain Beautiful Creatures? The movie is an intriguing, intelligent enigma ? three words not typically associated with teen romances." Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times. Full Review

"Beautiful Creatures springs to life whenever Irons, Thompson or Rossum is centerstage. The grown-ups get to wear all the coolest costumes and spout all the juiciest lines. Problem is, this isn't their story. It's first and foremost a semi-plodding teen romance with supernatural overtones." Chicago Sun-Times. Full Review

Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review of the film with a comment below after you do.

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Escape From Planet Earth (also in 3D)

No reviews available at this time.

Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review of the film with a comment below after you do.

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A Good Day to Die Hard

"Loud and tedious, ?Die Hard 5? is a shaky-cam/Sensuround blast of bullets and bombs, digital explosions and death defying feats of defying death." Roger Moore, Movie Nation.

"Willis still packs that rapscallion charm, balancing his wisecracking, reluctant-hero shtick with the unstoppable, all-American quality that earned the original film its title. But the chemistry between him and Courtney is nonexistent, with the younger thesp, who makes co-star Cole Hauser look expressive, adding so little to the equation, one can only hope the studio doesn't plan to pass the franchise on to him." Peter Debruge, Variety.

Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review of the film with a comment below after you do.

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Safe Haven

"A sentimental romantic thriller. But it?s a well-made sentimental romantic thriller, and that makes all the difference." Connie Ogle, Miami Herald.

"It?s hard to argue with the title here ? Safe Haven, indeed. This is all about safety in the Hollywood workplace. Why make a movie when making a Hallmark-card-with-dialogue is so much less risky?" Rick Groen, The Globe and Mail.

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Identity Thief

"Melissa McCarthy is riveting in simply-penned moments of remorse and confession, adding tearful depth to her ace timing and formidable physical comedy." R. Kurt Osenlund, Slant Magazine

"Identity Thief is a road movie with its creative lanes clogged, and a Mack truck comedian barreling through, anyway." Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times

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Side Effects

"Ultimately, think of the movie as a puzzle box in which all the pieces fit together wonderfully well. Once you step back and take a look at how it?s all put together, you have to marvel at how cleverly constructed the whole thing is." Arizona Republic. Full Review

"The scenes pile up with frenetic intensity; as with Soderbergh's other recent exercises in the suspense genre, no single cutaway goes wasted." Eric Kohn, indieWIRE ? Full Review

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Warm Bodies

"A well-paced, nicely directed, post-apocalyptic love story with a terrific sense of humor and the, um, guts to be unabashedly romantic and unapologetically optimistic." Chicago Sun-Times. Full Review

"Playing with genre is fine, but if you're going to create new rules, you have to play by them too, but unfortunately Warm Bodies continually subverts its own internal logic and basic, believable character motivation to keep pushing the movie along." Kevin Jagernauth, The Playlist. Full Review

Have you seen this movie? Help your neighbors out. Leave a review of the film with a comment below.

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Silver Linings Playbook

"Silver Linings is consistently entertaining, with its scrappy, well-drawn characters, offbeat humor and indefatigable positive outlook." Claudia Puig of USA Today. Full Review

"Ultimately, this is an engaging, uplifting, and life-affirming motion picture that reminds viewers that it is possible to do interesting things with a romantic comedy while still sticking to some of the conventions." James Berardinelli of ReelViews. Full Review

Have you seen this movie? Help your neighbors out. Leave a review of the film with a comment below.

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Any of these spark your interest? Jordan Creek Century 20 and XD?will be showing all these flicks. Find showtimes and tickets costs?on the theater's website.

Source: http://westdesmoines.patch.com/articles/movie-reviews-beautiful-creatures-identity-thief-safe-haven-a-good-day-to-die-hard-and-more-f433cb6f

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Syria: Power outage hits capital and south

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? A power outage plunged Damascus and southern Syria into darkness late Saturday, Syria's state news agency said, while anti-regime activists reported a string of tit-for-tat, sectarian kidnappings in the country's north.

The news agency, SANA, quoted Electricity Minister Imad Khamis as saying that the failure of a high voltage line had left the country's south without power.

The blackout affected Syria's capital, Damascus, and the southern provinces of Daraa and Sweida, which abut the Jordanian border.

An Associated Press reporter in Damascus reported dark streets across the capital. A fuel shortage makes it hard for residents to run backup generators.

A similar blackout struck Damascus and southern Syria on Jan. 20, leaving many residents with no way to heat their homes on a cold winter night. The government blamed that outage on a rebel attack, and power was restored to most areas the following day.

The Syrian capital's 2.5 million residents have grown used to frequent power cuts as the country's conflict has damaged infrastructure and sapped the government's finances.

Meanwhile, anti-regime activists reported a string of kidnappings in recent days that have enflamed tensions between Sunni and Shiite Muslim villages that back opposite sides in the country's civil war.

The activists differed on the number kidnapped from both sides, with reports ranging from a few dozen to more than 300.

The kidnappings point to the dark sectarian overtones of Syria's civil war, which pits a predominantly Sunni Muslim rebellion against a regime dominated by President Bashar Assad's minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. The country is also home to Christian, Kurdish, Armenian and Shiite communities, all of whom have been swept up in the conflict.

The kidnappings took place between two Shiite villages in the northern Idlib province and a number of Sunni villages that surround them.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 42 Shiites, including mainly women and children, were snatched Thursday from a bus that was traveling from the Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya to the capital Damascus. Observatory director Rami Abdul-Rahman, said it was not clear who took them, adding that Shiites have refused to give the names of those kidnapped or details about the make or color of the bus.

Since then, however, Shiite gunmen from the two villages have kidnapped more than 300 people from nearby Sunni villages, Abdul-Rahman said.

The kidnappings highlighted how much the civil war has heightened sectarian tensions. Kidnapping for ransom has grown common across Syria since the crisis began in March 2011, but sectarian and political abductions have been rare.

Anti-regime activists in Idlib reached via Skype confirmed the kidnappings, but gave much lower numbers for the number of people involved.

Activist Fadi al-Yassin Al-Yassin said Foua and Kfarya are being used by the regime to bombard nearby villages and towns, saying the regime has turned them into "castles of shabiha," referring to pro-government gunmen.

In retaliation for the bus kidnappings, members of the pro-government Popular Committees set up a checkpoint around the two Shiite villages and on Thursday and Friday were taking people from cars they stopped, the Observatory said. It added that most of the people abducted were from the Sunni villages of Saraqeb, Binnish, Sarmin, Qimnas, Maaret al-Numan and Maaret Musreen.

Al-Yassin confirmed the kidnappings on both sides but added that the 300 figure is high. He said few dozens of people have been abducted in the area.

Abdul-Rahman and al-Yassin said such acts could incite sectarian clashes between Shiites, who have largely sided with the regime, and majority Sunnis in Idlib, where the sects have coexisted for decades.

The high number of women and children allegedly taken prompted the U.N. Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, to issue a statement calling for their release.

"Allegations of abduction and rape of women and girls by armed groups have been received," she said. "I am deeply concerned about the well-being of these women and children and would like to remind the armed group responsible for this abduction that acts of sexual violence will not be tolerated."

In the nearby province of Aleppo, rebels and troops fought fierce battles around the military air base of Kweiras, which opposition forces have been trying to capture for weeks, the Observatory said.

In the city of Aleppo, Syria's largest urban center and commercial capital, rebels and troops battled around the international airport and the nearby air base of Nairab, said the Observatory and the Aleppo Media Center.

Fighting also raged in parts of Damascus, where troops bombarded rebel-held southern neighborhoods, according to the Observatory. It said at least one person was killed in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk by sniper fire.

In the southern region of Quneitra rebels briefly controlled a military checkpoint in the town of Khan Arnaba and captured five officers before they withdrew, the Observatory said. It added that the rebels captured a tank then blew it up.

Quneitra is on the cease-fire line between Syria and Israel, which controls most of the Golan Heights after capturing the strategic territory from Syria in the 1967 war.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syria-power-outage-hits-capital-south-191017581.html

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Iran vows to avenge Guard commander's killing

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? A senior Iranian official has vowed to take revenge on Israel for its alleged involvement in the killing of a commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard.

The Guard has accused "mercenaries and supporters" of Israel being responsible for Wednesday's killing of Gen. Hassan Shateri on the road linking Damascus to Beirut.

Israel has not commented on the killing.

Ali Shirazi, representative of Iran's supreme leader to the Guard, says Israel will soon pay the price for Shateri's killing. His comments were reported by the semi-official ISNA news agency Saturday.

Iranian media say Shateri was in charge of reconstruction projects in southern Lebanon. It is unclear what he was doing in Syria.

Tehran is a close Syrian ally. It counts on Syria as a bridge to Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah militant group.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-vows-avenge-guard-commanders-killing-132839718.html

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Palestinian president reaches Islamabad on three-day visit

mahmoudabbas-afp670

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. ? Photo by AFP/File

ISLAMABAD: The President of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas arrived here on Saturday on a three-day visit to Pakistan.

The Palestinian President who is visiting Pakistan on the invitation of President Asif Ali Zardari was accorded warm welcome at Noor Khan Airbase by Federal Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin and high ranking officials.

This is the first visit of President Mahmoud Abbas to Pakistan after the recognition of Palestine as a non-member observer state by the United Nations.

Pakistan was co-sponsor in the United Nations General Assembly resolution that granted this status to Palestine on 29 November, 2012. President Abbas last visited Pakistan in February 2010.

President Abbas will be received by President Asif Ali Zardari at the presidency on Sunday, where a formal welcome ceremony would be held in his honour.

His engagements would include delegation level talks followed by a luncheon hosted by President Zardari.

The two leaders are expected to discuss all aspects of bilateral relations and will also exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Pakistan enjoys excellent relations with Palestine and always been supportive of their legitimate right to self-determination and have consistently supported the Palestinian cause.

Pakistan has been supporting the two states solution and also has been instrumental in helping Palestine get the observer status in the UN as well as in UNESCO.

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Source: http://dawn.com/2013/02/17/palestinian-president-reaches-islamabad-on-three-day-visit/

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Zheng Qiang commented on article Chinese Skip New-Year Trips to Japan

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Saturday, February 16, 2013

How to sideload an app to Google TV [VIDEO]

Like any other Android device, Google TVs are also able to have apps side loaded. This means manually installing apps that may not be available from official app stores like the Google Play Store. Many apps are not optimized for Google TV, but that does not mean that they do not work with the platform. All it means is the developer hasn?t optimized the experience for the larger screen nor made it available for your device.

You won?t be able to get these apps officially on your Google TV, but many of them can be sideloaded. On the other hand, many others are really not compatible with Google TVs. This could be due to orientation limitations, hardware requirements, slight OS differences and many other slight differences between Android devices. You pretty much just have to try and see for each app you want to sideload. Let?s show you how to get this done.

How to Sideload apps to Google TV:

  • Go to Settings>Applications and check the box next to ?Unknown Sources?
  • Download the .apk file of the app you would like to install (These can be obtained by going to forums like XDADevelopers.com. You can then download these straight from the Chrome browser in your Google TV or transferring the file via any other method)
  • Go to ?Downloads? (or use a file manager) and click on the .apk file and install
  • You are set!

In step 2 I mention that you can get the .apk files from XDA Developers. I mention this source because it is very popular and trusted among the Android community. You can get these files from many other sites, but remember getting apps from unknown sources can be risky. Many times hackers modify the files and add malware or viruses, so be careful.

Watch our video for a better view at how this is done. As mentioned, many apps still can?t be installed on Google TVs, so it would be nice if we could create some kind of database. Please let us know in the comments which apps you have successfully been able to install, and which ones fail to. We will then add them to the list below. I?ll start with mine!

Which apps can be sideloaded to Google TV?

  • Google Voice
  • Which apps can?t be sideloaded to Google TV

  • Gmail
  • Google just Launched their +1 Button.
    Show your Support for GTVsource By Clicking!

    Source: http://gtvsource.com/2013/02/15/how-to-sideload-app-google-tv/

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    Egypt: Islamists rally in Cairo against opposition

    CAIRO (AP) ? Several thousand hard-line Islamists rallied in Cairo on Friday against a recent wave of violent anti-government protests, while liberal activists staged a smaller demonstration across town to call for accountability and justice from the country's leaders.

    The parallel rallies mirror the deep divisions that have plagued Egypt in the two years since longtime autocrat Hosni Mubark's ouster, leaving the country's politics polarized, its people frustrated and its economy battered by the continuous turmoil.

    The current cycle of unrest erupted three weeks ago around the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Mubarak. The opposition accuses Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, who was elected in June, and his Muslim Brotherhood party of trying to monopolize power.

    The opposition also wants Morsi to amend a contentious constitution that was passed in a nationwide vote late last year after the president's Islamist allies rushed to finalize and approve the document in a drafting committee. The president and his backers counter that the opposition's relentless protests calling for reform have hurt the economy and have made implementing changes impossible.

    Egypt's economy took another hit this week, with Moody's rating agency downgrading five of the country's banks, citing "the weakening capacity of the Egyptian authorities to support the government-owned banks." Egypt's foreign currency reserves have fallen below the central bank's "critical minimum" to $13.61 billion, threatening the country's ability to secure a nearly $5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund that could free up other loan requests.

    In a show of support for the president on Friday, around 5,000 Islamist supporters gathered in front of Cairo University for a rally dubbed "No to violence." Some of the demonstrators carried aloft banners that read: "People want an iron fist" and "Yes to Islamic law," while others chanted, "People want the law of God to be implemented."

    The protest was largely seen as a denunciation of the anti-government demonstrations in recent weeks that have frequently turned violent, leaving more than 70 people dead.

    "I would like to tell the people who are attacking the police by throwing firebombs at them that this is unacceptable," said Mahmoud Mamdouh, who was protesting outside the university. "These are our people and these buildings that are getting destroyed are our property."

    In Cairo, prominent figures such as Mohammed el-Beltagi of the Muslim Brotherhood, spoke to the Islamist crowd atop a stage erected in the square that had a large banner with the image of Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman on it. Known as the blind sheik, Abdel-Rahman is serving a life sentence in the United States for being the spiritual leader of men convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

    "We are here in solidarity against violence and bloodshed, and the cutting off of roads and attacks on institutions," el-Beltagi told the crowd, according to remarks carried by the Brotherhood party's Facebook page. "These are crimes whose sphere is in the courtroom and not in politics."

    The rally was organized by Gamaa Islamiya, an ex-jihadist group whose members were imprisoned for decades under the former regime. The group's political party only won a small number of seats in last year's parliamentary elections, but has a widespread network of supporters across Egypt.

    Egypt's most powerful Islamist groups ? the Muslim Brotherhood and ultraconservative Salafi parties ? did not officially participate.

    Across town, a smaller crowd of around 1,000 liberal activists rallied outside the Qasr al-Kobba palace, one of the president's secondary palaces. It is considered symbolic like the main palace where clashes between police and protesters have been taking place for weeks.

    In a separate march, several thousand people descended on the Defense Ministry calling for retribution for the deaths of protesters during military rule. Another march headed to the main courthouse to demand justice for a 12 year-old vendor killed by the military earlier this month. The armed forces issued a rare apology for the death, and a military prosecutor detained a soldier for 15 days pending investigation.

    Friday's protests, which do not officially include the main opposition coalition, were led mostly by youth who waved pictures of protesters killed in past demonstrations. Much of the anger directed at the government stems from frustration with the pace of reform under Morsi as well as the continued killing of unarmed protesters by police.

    The greatest number of deaths in the recent wave of violence occurred in Port Said after a court sentenced 21 of the city's die-hard soccer fans to death last month for involvement in a deadly soccer riot. The verdict sparked attacks on government facilities and police in Port Said. Around 2,000 people protested in the city Friday to demand that dozens of residents killed in the riots there be deemed "martyrs" by the government.

    ____

    Associated Press writer Mariam Rizk contributed to this report.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-islamists-rally-cairo-against-opposition-161442954.html

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    Benedict College Hosts Annual Career Fair

    ?

    Benedict College Office of Career Services will host its annual Career Fair from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on, Friday, February 15, 2013 in the Benjamin E. Mays Human Resources Arena located on the main campus. The event is for Benedict College students and alumni only.? Professional Business Attire is required for ladies and gentlemen. Benedict College students seeking job opportunities and internships should bring several copies of their resume.??

    The Career Fair features recruiters from over 25 major companies across the nation searching for personnel to fill professional positions, corporate, as well as federal, state, and local government agencies.?

    Companies scheduled to attend: Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission, Charlotte Fire Department, City of Florence, Colonial Life and Accident Insurance Services, Honda of South Carolina Manufacturing, Inc., IT-ology, Palmetto Health, Regions Bank, Ricoh, Santee Cooper, SCANA Services, Inc., South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, South Carolina Parks, Recreation and Tourism, Time Warner Cable, United States Probation, UPS, USDOT-Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Verizon Wireless, Waffle House, WIS-TV Channel 10, South Carolina Headstart, NAVY, Unites States Coast Guard, South Carolina Federal Credit Union, BI-LO, Pepsi, and VA Medical Center.

    For more information about the event, contact the Office of Career Services at 705-4671 or 705-4815.

    Source: http://northeastcolumbia.wistv.com/news/events/55453-benedict-college-hosts-annual-career-fair

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