White House: No price tag for Obama access

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Facing tough questions about President Barack Obama's past pledges to help curb the role of money in politics, the White House pushed back Monday against suggestions that donors to a new group supporting his agenda will have special access to the president.

Weeks after top Obama allies announced plans to convert his victorious re-election campaign into an unprecedented nonprofit, questions remain about how the group, dubbed Organizing for Action, will interact with the White House. Chief among them is what benefits will be offered to those who shell out hefty sums to help bolster Obama's legislative priorities.

Asked Monday whether there was a price tag to see the president, White House press secretary Jay Carney said emphatically that there was not. But he wouldn't directly address reports that donors who give or raise $500,000 will be invited to quarterly meetings with Obama.

"Administration officials routinely interact with outside advocacy organizations," Carney said. "This has been true in prior administrations and it is true in this one."

Organizing for Action picked up where the White House left off, arguing that those opening their wallets to help the fledgling group were doing so because they want Obama's agenda to succeed ? not to score face time they would otherwise be denied.

"No one has been promised access to the president," said the group's spokeswoman, Katie Hogan, who served in a parallel role in Obama's campaign.

Organizers of the nonprofit group have outlined plans to raise tens of millions of dollars for the organization, according to someone who has been briefed on the plans. The group has reached out to 50 top Obama donors who intend to raise at least $500,000 this year, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to describe the group's plans publicly.

The donors, many of whom served on the Obama campaign's National Finance Committee, are expecting they'll receive benefits similar to what they received in the campaign, he said. Those benefits included briefings from top White House officials, campaign operatives and access to Obama. But an explicit menu of benefits available to those who raise specific amounts has not been offered.

That's something of a departure from the campaign, when top-dollar donors often knew exactly what to expect. At a campaign luncheon last summer in San Francisco, for instance, a $5,000 contribution bought a ticket to the 250-person event, but a $35,800 ticket gave 25 donors the chance to talk politics with the president at a private round-table event.

Republican Mitt Romney had a similar set of perks offered to those who bundled contributions for his campaign. And former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton both reserved seats at exclusive state dinners for supporters who made substantial financial contributions to their re-election campaigns.

But Organizing for Action is not a campaign. In fact, it says it will woo Americans from both parties and has vowed not to support or endorse candidates.

Still, the post-election effort to raise millions for a group whose sole mission is to promote Obama's agenda has raised serious concerns for advocates of stricter campaign finance laws.

"It's not illegal, but it's another example of how money is soiling and corroding democracy," said Bob Edgar of Common Cause, a government watchdog. He pointed out that Obama, in his first campaign and during his first term in office, made a point of decrying money's outsize influence in politics ? even chiding the Supreme Court when it cleared the way for corporations to spend unlimited sums on campaign ads.

Organizing for Action has said it will accept donations from individuals and corporations, but in an attempt to be transparent, will voluntarily disclose its donors and will refuse all donations from federally registered lobbyists.

Carney, Obama's spokesman, said White House officials won't have a hand in fundraising efforts. "While they may appear at appropriate OFA events, in their official capacities they will not be raising money," he said.

But the grassroots group's close ties to the White House are difficult to miss. Its national chairman, Jim Messina, was Obama's campaign manager, and former White House official Jon Carson serves as its executive director. The group also runs Obama's vaunted Twitter handle, (at)BarackObama, which has more than 27 million followers.

Carson and Messina are among those who have met with Obama's top fundraisers in recent weeks to discuss the group's agenda and to secure financial support. Top donors are expected to gather in Washington on March 13 to attend a "founders summit" for those willing to raise $50,000 or more. About 75 donors are expected to attend the event.

___

AP White House Correspondent Julie Pace contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/white-house-no-price-tag-obama-access-223916069--politics.html

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Firefox phones coming this summer

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) ? Mozilla, the non-profit foundation behind the popular Firefox Web browser, is getting into phones. But it's not stopping at Web browsers ? it's launching an entire phone operating system.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based foundation said Sunday that phones running Firefox OS will appear this summer, starting in Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Venezuela.

The Firefox OS will land in a crowded environment, where many small operating systems are trying to become the "third eco-system," alongside Apple's iOS and Google's Android. Together, those two account for 91 percent of smartphone sales, according to research firm IDC.

Mozilla Foundation has an ally in phone companies, who are interested in seeing an alternative to Apple and Google, particularly one coming from a non-profit foundation. Thirteen phone companies around the world have committed to supporting Firefox phones, Mozilla said, including Sprint Nextel in the U.S., though it gave no time frame for a release. Other supporters include Telecom Italia, America Movil of Mexico and Deutsche Telekom of Germany. DT is the parent of T-Mobile USA, but plans to sell Firefox phones first in Poland.

Phone makers that plan to make Firefox phones include Huawei and ZTE of China and LG of Korea. The first devices will be inexpensive touchscreen smartphones.

All the phones will run on chips supplied by San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc., whose CEO Paul Jacobs appeared at Mozilla's press event Sunday in Barcelona, Spain, on the eve of the world's largest cellphone trade show.

The industry has seen various attempts to launch "open" smartphone operating systems, with little success. Jay Sullivan, vice president of products at Mozilla, said these failed because they were designed "by committee," with too many constituents to please. While developing and supporting the Firefox browser, Mozilla has learned to develop large-scale "open" projects effectively, he said.

He also said that putting quality third-party applications on Firefox phones will be easy, because they're based on HTML 5, an emerging standard for Web applications.

"Firefox OS has achieved something that no device software platform has previously managed - translating an industry talking shop into a huge commitment from both carriers and hardware vendors at its commercial launch," said Tony Cripps an analyst at research firm Ovum. "Neither Android nor Symbian ? the closest benchmarks in terms of broad industry sponsorship that we've previously seen ? have rallied the level of support that Firefox OS has achieved so early in its development."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/firefox-phones-coming-summer-172308147--finance.html

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Members of 1st U.S team to top Everest reunite

In this 1963 photo released by Henry S. Hall, Jr. American Alpine Club Library, Barry Corbet Personal Papers and Films, members of the 1963 American Mount Everest Expedition team and sherpas are shown with their climbing gear on Mt. Everest. Surviving members of the first American expedition team to reach the top of Mt. Everest are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their mountaineering milestones. Jim Whittaker rweached the top of the world on May 1, 1963, a decade after Britain's Edmund Hillary. Three weeks later, two other Americans, Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld, became the first men ever to scale Everest via more dangerous route on the mountain's west side. (AP Photo/Henry S. Hall, Jr. American Alpine Club Library, Barry Corbet Personal Papers and Films)

In this 1963 photo released by Henry S. Hall, Jr. American Alpine Club Library, Barry Corbet Personal Papers and Films, members of the 1963 American Mount Everest Expedition team and sherpas are shown with their climbing gear on Mt. Everest. Surviving members of the first American expedition team to reach the top of Mt. Everest are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their mountaineering milestones. Jim Whittaker rweached the top of the world on May 1, 1963, a decade after Britain's Edmund Hillary. Three weeks later, two other Americans, Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld, became the first men ever to scale Everest via more dangerous route on the mountain's west side. (AP Photo/Henry S. Hall, Jr. American Alpine Club Library, Barry Corbet Personal Papers and Films)

This 1963 photo released by Henry S. Hall, Jr. American Alpine Club Library, Barry Corbet Personal Papers and Films, shows the summit of Mt. Everest. Surviving members of the first American expedition team to reach the top of Mt. Everest are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their mountaineering milestones. Jim Whittaker rweached the top of the world on May 1, 1963, a decade after Britain's Edmund Hillary. Three weeks later, two other Americans, Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld, became the first men ever to scale Everest via more dangerous route on the mountain's west side. (AP Photo/Henry S. Hall, Jr. American Alpine Club Library, Barry Corbet Personal Papers and Films)

Dr. Dave Dingman is interviewed the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the First American Ascent of Mount Everest in Berkeley, Calif., Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. Surviving members of the first American expedition team to reach the top of Mt. Everest are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their mountaineering milestones. Jim Whittaker rweached the top of the world on May 1, 1963, a decade after Britain's Edmund Hillary. Three weeks later, two other Americans, Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld, became the first men ever to scale Everest via more dangerous route on the mountain's west side. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Tom Hornbein is interviewed the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the First American Ascent of Mount Everest in Berkeley, Calif., Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. Surviving members of the first American expedition team to reach the top of Mt. Everest are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their mountaineering milestones. Jim Whittaker rweached the top of the world on May 1, 1963, a decade after Britain's Edmund Hillary. Three weeks later, two other Americans, Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld, became the first men ever to scale Everest via more dangerous route on the mountain's west side. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Jim Whittaker is interviewed for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the First American Ascent of Mount Everest in Berkeley, Calif., Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. Surviving members of the first American expedition team to reach the top of Mt. Everest are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their mountaineering milestones. Jim Whittaker rweached the top of the world on May 1, 1963, a decade after Britain's Edmund Hillary. Three weeks later, two other Americans, Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld, became the first men ever to scale Everest via more dangerous route on the mountain's west side. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) ? It might be hard to conceive now, in an era of extreme sports and ultra-light equipment, but there was a time when Americans who set out to conquer mountains engaged in a pursuit that was as lonely as it was dangerous.

But four men ? Norm Dyhrenfurth, now 94; Jim Whittaker, 84; Tom Hornbein, 82, and Dave Dingman, 76 ? remember. The leather boots that stayed wet for weeks. Oxygen canisters that weighed 15 pounds. The shrugs of indifference most of their countrymen gave a half-century ago to what it would take to get a U.S.-led mountaineering expedition to the top of Mt. Everest.

"Americans, when I first raised it, they said, 'Well, Everest, it's been done. Why do it again?'" Dyhrenfurth recalled Friday as he and three other surviving members of the 1963 expedition gathered in the San Francisco Bay area for a meeting honoring the 50th anniversary of their achievement.

The American Alpine Club is hosting lectures, film screenings, book-signings and a dinner this weekend recognizing the pioneering climbers and what their feat, captured in a Life magazine cover story, came to represent in the years after President John F. Kennedy honored the Everest team with a Rose Garden reception: the birth of mountaineering as a popular sport in the U.S.

"When they were talking about a reunion three years ago, I thought, who the hell cares about that? I figured we'd just together for some beers," Dingman said between interviews with National Geographic, Outside magazine and the Alpine Club's oral history project. "It's turned into this big event, and I'm glad it has."

Whittaker, who lives in Seattle and went on to become chief executive of outdoors outfitter Recreational Equipment Inc., was the first American to summit Everest. He and his Sherpa companion, Nawang Gombu, reached the top of the world on May 1, 1963, a decade after New Zealand's Edmund Hillary and about six weeks after another climber on the U.S. expedition, Jake Breitenbach, died in an avalanche.

Memories of how close he came to his own death on Everest ? he and Gombu ran out of oxygen on the summit and had to climb up and back without water after their bottles froze ? infused every day of his life since with gratitude and child-like wonder, he said.

"I think I will probably take it with me into my next life, if I have one," Whittaker said.

Three weeks after Whittaker's ascent, two other Americans, Hornbein and the late Willi Unsoeld, became the first men ever to scale Everest via a more dangerous route on the mountain's west side. The next day, they descended by the southern route that Hillary, Whittaker and by then, two more members of the American team, had taken to the summit.

The adventure, which included spending the night without sleeping bags or tents at 28,000 feet, made them the first men ever to traverse the world's highest peak ? and cost Unsoeld nine frost-bitten toes.

Dingman has been lauded over the years for sacrificing his own chance to scale Everest to belay Hornbein, Unsoeld and two other climbers, Barry Bishop and Lute Jerstad, who had gotten stuck out in the open with them, back down to base camp.

Dingman never made it back to Everest. As a doctor in training, a Vietnam War draftee and then a physician with a young family, he never could find the time to make the trip. He said he had no regrets then and has none now.

"It would have made no difference to get two more people on to the summit, but if we had lost two or three people on the way down that would have been a very different story," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-23-US-Americans-on-Everest-Anniversary/id-f5cb3e3dfb18410589a8367616afdfae

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Memoir, book signing being held for Rome medical doctor

ROME, Ga. -- Rome's early medical history will be the focus of a memoir and book signing to be held at the Last Stop Gift Shop on Thursday, February 28.

Dr. Mather Marvin McCord wrote "The Doctor Has Arrived" in 1953, which told of his practices, and life in Floyd County after the Civil War until the early 20th century. McCord was a Georgia native, who worked through various challenges in the medical field, including educating the public while they were resistant to medical advancements.?

He is remembered for teaching sanitation and public health standards. McCord taught at Emory University and Harvard Medical School, was Floyd's first public health commissioner, worked at Harbin Clinic, and was named to "Who's Who in American Medicine" in 1925.?

McCord's grandson, Fred W. Snell, Jr. will sign copies of McCord's book, and tell some of his stories.

The Last Stop Gift Shop is located within the Rome-Floyd Visitor Center. The signing will last from 3:00 - 6:00 that afternoon.?

Call (706) 295-5576 for more information.?

Source: http://midtown.11alive.com/news/158983-memoir-book-signing-being-held-rome-medical-doctor

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2 scuba divers die off Calif.'s Monterey Co. coast

CARMEL, Calif. (AP) ? Authorities say two scuba divers have died while diving off the coast of California's Monterey County.

Calfire spokesman Daniel Berlant says emergency crews were sent to Point Lobos State Reserve around 2:45 p.m. Friday where they found lifeguards performing CPR on one of the divers.

Lifeguards and firefighters got in a boat and found the second diver floating just offshore.

CPR was also performed on that person, but both divers were pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital.

The names, additional details about the victims and what killed them have not been released, but authorities say one was a male and one was a female.

The reserve where the divers died is a popular diving area about four miles south of Carmel.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/2-scuba-divers-die-off-calif-monterey-co-191156494.html

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'Parade's End' keeps British TV invasion going

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Tom Stoppard is sitting on the patio of a Sunset Boulevard hotel, bathed in California winter sunshine, framed by bamboo landscaping and looking very much out of his element in Hollywood.

The acclaimed British playwright professes to feeling that way as well, despite having pocketed a Writers Guild of America lifetime achievement award the night before for his screenplays, including the Oscar-winning "Shakespeare in Love."

"I was always nervous coming here. The first time I was terrified," he said. "I'm trying not to sound nauseatingly self-deprecating, but I don't think of myself as being a terrific screenwriter or even a natural screenwriter."

Combine that, he said, with the local entertainment industry's perception that "I'm some different kind of animal," a high-minded artist to whom the words "intellectual" and "philosophy" are freely applied.

But if Hollywood can be forgiven anything, it should be that. Stoppard has created a remarkable wealth of two dozen-plus plays, including "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," ''Travesties" and "The Real Thing," and he's counting on more.

He looks like a proper man of letters, with unkempt gray hair, a comfortably unstylish cardigan and a delicately shaped mouth that hesitates, slightly, before dispensing exacting thoughts on the art of writing (without pretension: he relishes a snippet of "Ghostbusters" dialogue.)

Stoppard also is the master behind "Parade's End," a five-part HBO miniseries (airing Tuesday through Thursday, 9 p.m. EST) that was lauded by U.K. critics as "the thinking man's 'Downton Abbey'" after its BBC airing.

Adapted by Stoppard from a series of novels by British writer Ford Madox Ford, "Parade's End" features rising stars Benedict Cumberbatch ("Sherlock Holmes" and the upcoming "Star Trek" movie) and Rebecca Hall ("Vicky Cristina Barcelona") in the juiciest of roles.

Like PBS' "Downton Abbey," it's set in the early 20th century among aristocrats and encompasses World War I's shattering effect on the social order. Romance is provided by the triangle of Cumberbatch's tradition-bound Christopher, his unfaithful wife, Sylvia (Hall), and a suffragette (Australian newcomer Adelaide Clemens). The uniformly impressive cast includes Janet McTeer, Miranda Richardson, Roger Allam and Rupert Everett.

Stoppard rejects the oft-made comparison to PBS' "Downton" as unfair to it and its writer-creator, Julian Fellowes: "I was embarrassed by it because it's so condescending of Julian's work. He's a good writer and he's done a superlative job," he said. It's also a misguided comparison because "Downton" is heading toward season four and "Parade's End" is "five episodes and that's it, forever."

The self-effacing Stoppard leaves it at that. But there's a wider gap between the two: "Downton" is an easy-to-digest soap opera, while "Parade's End" is a challenging, nuanced view of a slice of British society and a set of singular characters, all dressed to the nines in the heady language of literature.

"There's a wonderful richness to the language and a beauty, which I think is the brilliance of Tom Stoppard, and also this very beautiful language of Ford Madox Ford," said director Susanna White.

The heedless, acid-tongued Sylvia has dialogue to relish, something Stoppard cannot resist.

"The line I like best comes straight from Ford: (the public) likes 'a whiff of sex coming off our crowd, like the steam on the water in the crocodile house at the zoo,'" he said, adding gleefully, "What a line!"

Although careful to credit the novelist with that particular zinger, Stoppard said "Parade's End" is the first adaptation in which his dialogue and that from the original text have become intertwined in his memory.

He attributes that to the year he spent forming Ford's intricate novels into a screenplay, often crafting original scenes, and the several more years he spent helping bring the series to fruition with the producers and White ("Generation Kill").

"It's the closest thing to writing a play which isn't a play that I have ever been involved with," he said.

The stage has been the Czech-born Stoppard's chief occupation since leaving journalism in his 20s. But he's made a number of detours into film, either as a screenwriter or a behind-the-scenes script doctor. His latest big-screen project is the adaptation of "Anna Karenina" with Keira Knightley.

Stoppard's insistence that he isn't an outstanding scriptwriter stems, in part, from his reticence. Then there's what he calls the differing "schools of eloquence" represented by film and plays.

"I envy and admire movies which are eloquent without recourse to long speeches," he said, citing several lines to illustrate his point. One comes from "The Fugitive" ("I don't care," Tommy Lee Jones says after Harrison Ford insists he didn't kill his wife), another from "Ghostbusters."

Bill Murray is confronted by "this kind of Amazonian ghost goddess, spooky thing, and he goes, 'This chick is toast,'" Stoppard said, with a delighted smile.

"It's the sense that precisely the right words have been uttered," he explained.

That's how fellow scribes feel about him. One L.A. film and TV writer said she regularly rereads the famed cricket-bat speech from "The Real Thing," about the challenge of writing, for joy and inspiration: "If you get it right," the character Henry says, "the cricket ball will travel two hundred yards in four seconds, and all you've done is give it a knock like knocking the top off a bottle of stout, and it makes a noise like a trout taking a fly. What we're trying to do is to write cricket bats, so that when we throw up an idea and give it a little knock, it might travel."

For now, the right words for Stoppard would be those of a new play, the first since "Rock 'n' Roll" from seven years ago. He has no regrets about immersing himself in "Parade's End," but is ready for the solitude needed to find the right story for the stage.

He used to steal away to a house in France until the air travel became too much. Now he makes do with a "small, shabby cottage an hour-and-a-half from London, which in theory is supposed to be my French house. But it's not far enough away" to evade commitments, social and otherwise. ("I'm Mr. Available," he laments.)

It's welcome assurance to hear the guild lifetime award he received Feb. 17 doesn't signal a halt for Stoppard. It did pull him up short, at least briefly.

"I was quite surprised. Though I am 75, so I shouldn't be surprised. But I haven't thought of stopping yet."

___

Online:

http://www.hbo.com

___

Lynn Elber is a national television columnist for The Associated Press. She can be reached at lelber(at)ap.org and on Twitter (at)lynnelber.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/parades-end-keeps-british-tv-invasion-going-190932439.html

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The Oklahoma City Thunder To Avoid Fourth Loss In A Raw Tonight: NBA Betting Preview

Time/Date: Fri, Feb 22/8:00 PM ET, Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK

The Oklahoma City Thunder (39-15) will try to snap a season-worst three-game losing skid when they welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves (20-31) at the Chesapeake Arena on Friday.

After back-to-back losses against Utah and Miami days before the All-Star break, the Thunder suffered a devastating 122-119 road loss against the Rockets on Wednesday and they will be trying to use home advantage tonight to avoid another reverse.

The Thunder have not lost four straight regular-season games since 2008 when the team went on a 10-game losing streak in their inaugural season. Oklahoma City is 23-4 at home after losing to the Miami Heat on Feb. 14; and is also 17-1 at home against Western Conference opponents.

The Thunder acquired the services of former Knick's swingman Ronnie Brewer prior to Thursday?s trading deadline and also dealt reserve point guard Eric Maynor to the Portland Trail Blazers. Brewer, a seven-year veteran, has averaged just 3.6 points in 46 games with the Knicks this season.

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves came back from the All-Star break with a 94-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. That made for two wins in three games after a stretch in which the Timberwolves lost 15 of 17 games. Minnesota is 7-18 on the road.

Second-year forward Derrick Williams has put together solid games in which he averaged 20.5 points and 12 rebounds. The No. 2 overall pick in 2011 has been slow to make an impact and is receiving substantial playing time now that the starting roster is ravaged by injuries.

The Wolves used a dominant performance by center Nikola Pekovic to win 94-87 against Philadelphia. He produced 27 points and matched a career high with 18 rebounds for his sixth double-double in his last seven games.

Wolves and Thunder have faced each other twice this season. Back in December 20th, Pekovic had 24 points and 10 boards to help Minnesota end a 12-game losing streak to Oklahoma City with a 99-93 win. A couple of weeks later, Oklahoma stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 49 points as the Thunder evened the season series with their sixth straight home victory over the Wolves, 106-84 on Jan. 9.

Game Odds:
Minnesota Timberwolves: +13.5-110, ML +1000
Oklahoma City Thunder: -13.5-110, ML -1600
Totals: 205, o/u -110

Bet the latest odds on NBA at Sports Betting Online and get 10% cash back, no matter how your pick plays out. The cash back offer is good on all your NBA bets, all Basketball season long.

If you like this article, please G+ it, Like it, Tweet it, or best yet, link to it - The SBO Team

Source: http://www.sportsbettingonline.ag/sportsbook/the-oklahoma-city-thunder-to-avoid-fourth-loss-in-a-raw-tonight-nba-betting-preview.php

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Oscar animators ready to be taken seriously

FILE - This publicity film image released by Disney shows Edgar "E" Gore, voiced by Atticus Shaffer in a scene from "Frankenweenie." The Disney film has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Animated Feature Film category. The 85th Academy Awards are on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Disney, file)

FILE - This publicity film image released by Disney shows Edgar "E" Gore, voiced by Atticus Shaffer in a scene from "Frankenweenie." The Disney film has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Animated Feature Film category. The 85th Academy Awards are on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Disney, file)

FILE - This publicity film image released by Focus Features shows characters, from left, Grandma Babcock, voiced by Elaine Stritch, Sandra Babcock, voiced by Leslie Mann, Perry Babcock, voiced by Jeff Garlin, Norman, voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Courtney, voiced by Anna Kendrick, in the 3D stop-motion film, "ParaNorman." The Focus Features animated film has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Animated Feature Film category. The 85th Academy Awards are on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Focus Features, File)

FILE - In this undated publicity film image released by Disney/Pixar, the character Merida, voiced by Kelly Macdonald, follows a Wisp in a scene from "Brave." The Disney/Pixar animated film has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Animated Feature Film category. The 85th Academy Awards are on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Disney/Pixar, File)

FILE - This publicity film image released by Disney shows Ralph, left, voiced by John C. Reilly in a scene from "Wreck-It Ralph." The Disney animated film has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Animated Feature Film category. The 85th Academy Awards are on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Disney, File)

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) ? In the animated feature film category at this year's Oscars, there's a film set in medieval Scotland, another that features old-school video game characters, one that relies heavily on dry British humor, while the other two take inspiration from the supernatural.

It's not exactly kid stuff ? and that's how the directors like it.

"I think this year with these films ? and so many more ? the envelope for animation is being pushed," said "Brave" director Mark Andrews at an Academy Awards event Thursday night honoring the animated feature film nominees. "We keep seeing more risky, deep films that we wouldn't have seen 10 years ago coming out. I wanna be one of those guys pushing it more and more and more because it's not only an awesome medium, but there's so many more stories that we can tell."

The Scotland-set "Brave," a darker fable from Pixar about a rebellious red-headed princess named Merida, will face off against four other animated films at Sunday's 85th annual Academy Awards. The category was first introduced at the 2002 ceremony, with "Shrek" winning the inaugural trophy.

Despite the less lighthearted tone of this year's animated nominees, none cracked the best picture category for a spot alongside the likes of "Argo," ''Lincoln" and "Zero Dark Thirty." (Only three animated films have ever been nominated for best picture at the Oscars: "Beauty and the Beast," ''Up" and "Toy Story 3.")

"Edward Scissorhands" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas" mastermind Tim Burton could take home his first-ever Oscar at the Dolby Theatre ceremony for "Frankenweenie," his black-and-white stop-motion film based on his 1984 live-action short film of the same name.

"Frankenweenie" is among three of the five Oscar nominated films this year that employ stop-motion, the intricate and time consuming animation method that use miniature sculptures and sets. Despite a strong stop-motion presence at this year's Oscars, Burton cited finances, not the omnipresence of computer animation, as the reason that more stop-motion films aren't produced.

"In the case of 'Frankenweenie,' it's not like it was a studio wish-list to-do: 'Let's make black-and-white stop-motion animation,'" said Burton. "You hope it can survive. We all love it."

The other stop-motion nominees are the English seafaring comedy "Pirates! Band of Misfits" from director Peter Lord and the undead tale "ParaNorman" from directors Sam Fell and Chris Butler.

"Wreck-It Ralph" director Rich Moore told the crowd at the motion picture academy's Beverly Hills headquarters that he never envisioned the video game adventure from Disney as a musical, but "Book of Mormon" co-writer Robert Lopez and his wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez did create an original song for the film.

"It didn't work, so it's not in the movie," said Moore. "That's our process. We try lots of stuff. We throw it against the wall, and the stuff that sticks stays in the movie. It's a very organic process making films like this."

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-22-Oscar%20Countdown-Animation%20Nominees/id-43c37e6e85ac49f89e5aa7408183efce

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Theological Introduction to the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England

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Tyler, Perry lead Songwriters Hall of Fame class

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ? The Songwriters Hall of Fame is saluting 1970s and '80s rock 'n' roll with its 2013 induction class.

Joe Perry and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Mick Jones and Lou Gramm of Foreigner will join the hall of fame this year along with the writers of iconic rock hits "Love Is a Battlefield" and "Heartache Tonight." The ceremony will be held June 13 in New York.

Aerosmith and Foreigner will get the attention here, but inductees Holly Knight, JD Souther and Tony Hatch also have distinguished careers that helped define the sound of rock 'n' roll.

Knight wrote anthemic hits "Love Is a Battlefield" and "Invincible" for Pat Benatar and "The Warrior" for Patty Smyth. She also wrote several songs for Tina Turner, including "The Best" and "Better Be Good to Me," that became standards for the star.

Souther, who has a role on the music-inspired television show "Nashville," had a partnership with The Eagles that spawned several hits, including "Heartache Tonight," ''Victim of Love," ''New Kid in Town" and "Best of My Love."

Hatch made his mark during the British invasion, teaming with Petula Clark on hits like "Downtown" and "My Love" that helped shaped the future of pop music.

Perry and Tyler have survived a sometimes contentious relationship to become one of rock's most successful songwriting teams over the last 40 years. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, staples of classic rock radio and pop culture icons, are known for hits like "Sweet Emotion," ''Dream On" and "Livin' on the Edge," and released their 15th studio album last year.

Jones and Gramm are contemporaries of Perry and Tyler who also ruled radio for a time, but they sometimes came at it from a different angle. They could lay down a straight-up rocker like "Jukebox Hero" or "Feels Like the First Time." But they also could slow it down with hits like "I Wanna Know What Love Is" and "Cold as Ice" that helped foreshadow the ballad-driven rock of the late '80s.

___

Online:

http://songhall.org

___

Follow AP Music Writer Chris Talbott: http://twitter.com/Chris_Talbott .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tyler-perry-lead-songwriters-hall-fame-class-131352625.html

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Huge Meteor Blazes Across Sky Over Russia; Hundreds Injured

New submitter dovf writes "The Bad Astronomer analyzes incoming reports about the apparent meteoric fireball over Russia: 'Apparently, at about 09:30 local time, a very big meteor burned up over Chelyabinsk, a city in Russia just east of the Ural mountains, and about 1500 kilometers east of Moscow. The fireball was incredibly bright, rivaling the Sun! There was a pretty big sonic boom from the fireball, which set off car alarms and shattered windows. I'm seeing some reports of many people injured (by shattered glass blown out by the shock wave). I'm also seeing reports that some pieces have fallen to the ground, but again as I write this those are unconfirmed." This is the best summary I've found so far, and links to lots of videos and images. He also clarifies something I've been wondering about: 'This is almost certainly unrelated to the asteroid 2012 DA14 that will pass on Friday.'"

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/xQgyVGnFK1w/story01.htm

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Researchers create new air sacs in mouse model of emphysema using novel growth factor

Researchers create new air sacs in mouse model of emphysema using novel growth factor

Friday, February 15, 2013

In a study of mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have identified a new molecular pathway involved in the growth of tiny air sacs called alveoli that are crucial for breathing. The scientists say their experiments may lead to the first successful treatments to regrow the air sacs in people who suffer from diseases such as emphysema in which the air sacs have been destroyed by years of smoking. The work may also suggest new therapy for premature infants born before their lungs are fully developed.

"One of the most daunting challenges we face as physicians is helping patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, such as emphysema, who have lost alveoli that are so crucial for lung function," says Enid Neptune, M.D., associate professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "Once those tiny air sacs are destroyed, there are no effective treatments to bring them back."

Neptune is the senior author of a study described in an article in the Feb. 14, 2014 issue of PLOS Genetics in which the researchers used hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) to regrow alveoli and restore lung structure in mice genetically engineered to develop a human-like form of emphysema. Theirs is believed to be the first study using HGF in mice with established emphysema.

Growth factors, such as HGF, have been used to promote wound healing. Neptune says previous studies had shown that HGF had a role in the functioning of alveoli, which enable lungs to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide and send oxygen into the bloodstream to nourish organs throughout the body. Reduction in the number or quality of the sacs seriously compromises breathing.

Even though they cannot be seen by the naked eye, tiny, spherical alveoli are covered with thin walls and have a blood supply. The researchers conducted experiments in mice with a genetically induced form of emphysema to see if HGF could stimulate the formation of alveoli.

One experiment involved adult mice with genetically induced emphysema. Half of the mice received HGF, delivered under the skin using a special pump for two weeks. The other half of the group received a placebo ? not the HGF. Another group of mice with healthy lungs, the "control" group, was divided in half to receive either HGF or a placebo.

"We found that the mice with emphysema, when given the HGF, developed a 17 percent improvement in the size of their air sacs compared to placebo-treated mice, consistent with improved lung structure and function. The HGF also was protective, preventing destruction of the alveoli by reducing the oxidative stress that contributes to lung injury," says Neptune. "In essence, the HGF was able to block a major enemy of the functioning alveoli."

In addition, the healthy mice that received HGF showed no difference in alveolar size. The mice with emphysema that were treated with a placebo did not show any improvement.

The researchers then wanted to see the effect of impaired HGF activity in young mice whose lungs were still forming. They created a mouse in which the HGF receptor, known as MET, was removed from the cells lining the alveoli. "Our idea was if HGF was performing this important role in alveoli formation, if we knocked out its receptor, known as MET, we should see damage to the alveoli," says Neptune.

As predicted, the air sacs in the developing mice without the HGF receptor did not form correctly. Also, the blood vessels serving the alveoli were reduced and there was an increase in both oxidative stress and inflammation. The researchers concluded that developing alveoli require both HGF and MET signaling in order to form normally.

"Our research is an important demonstration that a growth factor can be used as a drug for emphysema," Neptune says. "However, since HGF reduces cell death and promotes cell proliferation, we would have to be cautious about translating it to the smoking population where there's a higher risk of lung cancer." she adds. Neptune and others are pursuing research to be able to selectively activate the therapeutic and not the malignancy-inducing components of HGF signaling.

Emphysema is a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is the third-leading cause of death in the United States. An estimated 30 million Americans have COPD and about 60,000 people die from it each year. In addition to smoking, occupational exposure to harmful dust, fumes and smoke can also cause COPD.

###

Johns Hopkins Medicine: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

Thanks to Johns Hopkins Medicine for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126848/Researchers_create_new_air_sacs_in_mouse_model_of_emphysema_using_novel_growth_factor

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Golf-Couples set for record 31st start at beloved Riviera

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

PACIFIC PALISADES, California | Thu Feb 14, 2013 8:36am IST

PACIFIC PALISADES, California Feb 13 (Reuters) - Fred Couples will set a tournament record with his 31st appearance at the Northern Trust Open when he tees off in Thursday's opening round, and he could not wish for a more perfect setting.

The laid-back American with the honey-smooth swing has long been a fan of Riviera Country Club where he has won the PGA Tour event twice and finished runner-up three times.

"It is probably my favorite golf tournament to play in," former Masters champion Couples, 53, told reporters after playing in the tournament's pro-am competition on Wednesday.

"I've had a lot of great finishes here and a lot of close chances to win even more than the two times that I've won, and those were great weeks."

Couples will eclipse the 30 tournament starts made by fellow American Gene Littler at Riviera when he sets off on Thursday in the high-profile company of Masters champion Bubba Watson and British world number eight Lee Westwood.

"That's exciting," Couples, who for a few years lived just a mile from Riviera, said of his grouping. "I'm a little rusty but I'm looking very much forward to playing in this event."

Asked what he would have thought as a rookie if someone had told him he would play in a single PGA Tour event more than 30 times, Couples concedes he would have been skeptical.

"I would have probably said, 'Yeah sure, sure,'" he replied. "In 1981, if you would have said that, 'Would you like to play here several years in a row?', I would have said, 'Yes, 31' I would laugh."

Riviera is renowned for being a shot-maker's course and Couples, when in his prime, was widely regarded as one of the best iron players on tour.

With its small greens and clever bunkering, the par-71 layout challenges every type of player.

"I personally think it's one of our top three courses on tour, I really do," said Couples, who was champion here in 1990 and 1992. "I think the TPC (Sawgrass) in Jacksonville is up there, and Memorial is one of my all-time favorite courses.

"But I put this one amongst those three, and obviously when you pick majors, it's a different story. Augusta (National) is my all-time favorite. I've played every year here because I want to play and I enjoy it." (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/INgolf/~3/2s3BPo8niv0/golf-pga-couples-idINL1N0BBAPE20130214

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Treats to pamper pets or pet lovers this Valentine's Day | MNN ...

I could eat a garlic sandwich and my dog Lulu would still be happy to see me, covering my face with kisses if I let her. My friends and loved ones aren?t quite so generous with their affection. Perhaps that's why pet spending has steadily increased over the past decade, particularly during the sweetest month of the year. Valentine?s Day spending will reach an estimated $18.5 billion this year, according to a National Retail Federation survey. Even in this sluggish economy, that figure is up slightly from 2012, when consumers said they planned to spend $17.6 billion. In addition to candy hearts and flowers, expect to see plenty of carob-coated dog biscuits and heart-shaped catnip toys in the mix. Pet owners will spend an estimated $815 million on their furry friends this year.

?

?No matter what kind of difficulty people are going through ? whether it?s a natural disaster or what have you ? they cling to the people they love,? said pet lifestyle expert Kristen Levine, who offers advice on her Radio Beastro petcast. ?In today?s digital age, I communicate with my husband via text throughout the day, I talk to people by phone or email. Pets are the creatures we only communicate with face to face. It?s the only tangible physical relationship we have. You can?t cut corners with technology. We need that tangible connection.?

?

To celebrate that unconditional love, Levine offers a few fun suggestions to pamper pets and the people who love them.

?

1. Get pets moving.

Obesity applies to people as well as pets, so she recommends gifts that promote exercise. To facilitate lengthy walks and playtime in the park, Levine suggests the Sleash line for dog owners. Touted as an ?all-in-one dog outing system,? the sport pack ($44.95) includes a carrier that holds keys ? or poop bags ? as well as a slinger dog toy for hands-free fetch, a leash and two slotted rubber balls.

?

?It?s Chilly?s favorite ball by far and he has every toy imaginable,? said Levine of her 3-year-old Lab-Dalmatian mix. ?There are so many benefits to spending time with pets and helping them exercise. That?s what they want most from us is our time. Do it with exercise.?

?

To keep feline friends moving, she opts for modular Kitty?scape structures from Solvit. Interchangeable kits can be reconfigured to challenge frisky kitties. The basic kit ($74.95 at Amazon.com) contains a sea grass scratching column, three platforms and a teaser toy.

?

2. Tap into technology.

For the person who loves pets and gadgets, Levine strongly recommends the Tagg pet Tracker GPS system ($99.95) made especially for dogs. If pets go beyond a designated border, Tagg notifies owners via text messages or email. Levine and her husband put Tagg to the test last year when Chilly spent time with her sister.

?

?My husband I and were on an anniversary ski trip and we get a text that says, ?Chilly has left the property,?? Levine said. She immediately called her sister, who was providing baby-sitting duties along with her three young boys. ?I called her and said, ?Did you know my dog?s missing?? They found him six doors down at the neighbor?s house. I can?t imagine what I would do if my dog disappeared and I never found him.?

?

Cats also can pounce on the tech bandwagon with fun apps such as the popular ?Cat Fishing? game from Friskies. For those who feel particularly brave, check out the ?You vs. Cat? app and see who has the best reaction time. (The YouTube video?below is so hilarious that I?m almost tempted to get a cat and try this app myself.) And yes, there is a Friskies YouTube channel.

?

?

3. Spread the love.

For those of us who don?t own pocket pooches, Levine shares a way to show your puppy love on the go. iPhone cases ($30) and temporary tattoos ($10) from Steadfast Friends feature silhouettes of various dog breeds, ranging from Airedale terriers to Yorkies. Shipping is free and 10 percent of each purchase goes to a pet charity. She also is partial to the fun and funky apparel line called Dog is Good. As a former foster mom to active puppies, I have found myself living the message on one T-shirt from the company: ?It?s all fun and games until someone ends up in a cone.? Dog is Good has expanded to include gear for cat- and horse-lovers. The company also donates a percentage of profits to animal welfare organizations so pet love pays it forward.

?

4. Protect those chompers.

Since February is Pet Dental Health Month, Levine offers a Valentine?s Day gift idea that helps fight plaque buildup as well as boredom. Bristle Bones ($5.89 to $16.89 at Doctors Foster and Smith) combine the features of a chew toy, rubber ball and rawhide treat in one fun package that clean a dog?s teeth. When the sections get worn out, simply purchase replacements. Don't be offended if your four-legged Valentine rewards your generosity by dashing off in the opposite direction. It happens to me every year.

?

? Morieka Johnson

?

?

Related stories on MNN:

Source: http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/treats-to-pamper-pets-or-pet-lovers-this-valentines-day

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Video: Schieffer on what GOP will like, dislike in SOTU

Ted Nugent: Answer to reducing gun violence "so simple, it's stupid"

Rock musician Ted Nugent, a vocally pro-gun rights advocate who attended this year's State of the Union as a guest of Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, told CBS News after President Obama's address that tighter gun laws are not the answer to the nation's escalating gun violence problem; strengthening detection of mental illness is.

Source: http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~r/CBSNewsVideoPolitics/~3/-EJ0chG16pQ/

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Wahoo Fitness' RFLKT iPhone bike computer now up for grabs at $130 (video)

Last September, Wahoo Fitness' RFLKT iPhone bike computer appeared on our radar poised for a December release, but it's only just gone up for sale. As of today, the iPhone 4S- and 5-compatible device is available for $130 from Wahoo's website and is shipping out to door steps. If you're in need of a refresher, the RFLKT (pronounced reflect, if you're curious) sits on a bicycle's handlebars and displays ride information slung to it over Bluetooth 4.0 from cycling apps running on a paired device. RFLKT is expected to support a number of apps in the future, but it currently plays nice with just two: its maker's own Cyclemeter application and the Wahoo Fitness App, which monitors everything from speed to heart rate, with the help of another peripheral, of course. Cyclists can also push buttons on the contraption's side to change tracks on their iDevice's playlist. Ready to infuse your ride with at-a-glance stats? Check out the source link and the video after the break.

Filed under: Transportation

Comments

Source: Wahoo Fitness

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/13/wahoo-fitness-rflkt-bike-computer-now-available/

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Chicago girl's parents to sit with first lady

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A White House official says the parents of a Chicago teenager slain just days after performing during President Barack Obama's inauguration will attend his State of the Union speech.

Hadiya Pendleton, 15, was shot to death Jan. 29 in a park close to the Obama's Chicago home. Police say a gunman hopped a fence and opened fire on a group of young people. She was a majorette with the King College Prep band.

First lady Michelle Obama attended Hadiya's funeral in Chicago on Saturday. Her parents, Cleopatra and Nathaniel Pendleton, will sit with the first lady during Tuesday's speech, which is expected to mention gun violence.

Their attendance was first reported by the Chicago Tribune. The White House official spoke on condition of anonymity because the guest list has not been announced.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chicago-girls-parents-sit-first-lady-185529879--politics.html

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Gun violence prevention experts call for more physician involvement

Feb. 11, 2013 ? A new commentary in the Annals of Internal Medicine from researchers with The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research and University of California, Davis, calls for more physician engagement in the current gun policy dialogue.

"Physicians are an important source of information for the public and a valued constituency for policymakers," said lead author Shannon Frattaroli, a faculty member with the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "They are uniquely poised to be at the forefront of gun violence prevention efforts."

Frattaroli, along with co-author Garen Wintemute, an emergency medicine physician at UC Davis Medical Center and the Baker-Teret Chair in Violence Prevention at UC Davis, outline five strategies for physician engagement on the issue:

• Physician as Clinician: The majority of gun violence victims die as a result of suicide. Physicians can work to ensure mental health treatment is available and support policies that restrict or limit new gun purchases among those at risk.
• Physicians' Role in Managing Fear: As fear figures prominently in decisions people make about guns and in policy debates, there's an opportunity for physicians, who are used to helping patients manage fears, to bring those skills to the current conversation on guns.

• Physician as Researcher: On Jan. 16, President Obama directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct research into the causes and consequences of gun violence, reversing the agency's 17-year silence on gun violence prevention research. Physicians can help assure that money is appropriated, and contribute to the future research agenda.
• Physician as Policy Advocate: As advocates and leaders, physicians can use their collective "raised voices" to influence Congress to consider new policies to prevent deaths from gun violence.
• Physician as Leader: Physicians can talk and write about their interactions with patients and colleagues, and lead by example in statehouses and halls of Congress.

"Most people who die from gunshot wounds do so at the shooting site and never make it to the hospital. More or better treatment is unlikely to yield the greatest reductions in gun deaths," Wintemute said. "Gun violence is a public-health problem requiring a greater emphasis on prevention. Physicians, on behalf of their patients and their communities, can add much to the current policy discussions."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Davis Health System.

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

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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/~3/Gy36vM28uH8/130211202058.htm

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Report: Justin Verlander Says No to Team USA and 2013 World Baseball Classic

In a move that Detroit Tigers fans wanted to hear, Justin Verlander told Joe Torre and Team USA that he will not be pitching in this year?s World Baseball Classic.

At a press conference today in Lakeland, Fla., Verlander (via Bob Nightengale) said the reason he gave was that he is behind schedule this year and does not want to fall further behind:

Tigers fans will be happy that he will not be pitching meaningful baseball before the start of the season as Detroit tries to repeat as American League champions.

Coming off a year which saw Verlander go 17?8 with an ERA of 2.64 and a league-high strikeout total of 239, the feeling starting the season is that Verlander?s focus needs to be on the Tigers the entire time.

Still this is a definite blow for Team USA?s chances in the upcoming WBC.

Torre, USA?s manager this time around, really wanted to have the ace on his roster as the group?which contains Canada, Mexico and the Dominican Republic?is one of the toughest in pool play.

With a weak American team and the loaded Japanese and Venezuelan rosters awaiting in the later rounds, the chances of team USA winning the classic are very slim.

While Major League Baseball?s corporate office in New York will be scratching their heads as to how they can get better participation from American players in the future, Detroit fans will no longer have to worry about Verlander taxing himself too much too early.

?

Follow me on Twitter @ronjuckett

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1524763-report-justin-verlander-says-no-to-team-usa-and-2013-world-baseball-classic

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Where the Green Jobs Really Are

by Maynard Webb??|??11:00 AM February 11, 2013

There's much brouhaha about "green jobs" those that arise from new clean-tech companies, created to help solve the climate crisis. I'm all for this ? we need this kind of innovation ? but green jobs are hardly the economic cure-all they are often made out to be. In fact, they only account for a small fraction of the U.S. workforce.

It's time to take a different approach to green jobs. We can transform the way people work to achieve change on a mass level, and every manager can encourage sustainability by making one modification that would benefit the environment. Additionally, this change can positively affect employee morale and productivity, as well as company efficiency and profitability. So here's what you need to do:

Stop working in the office. Offices and office hours once made good sense. Before the advent of the Internet and personal computers, you had to go to work to gain access to information. If you weren't at work you couldn't do work.

Today, of course, that's unbelievably outdated. We've seen the advances technology brings to our everyday lives: we can pay bills online and shop 24/7; we don't need to wait for the morning newspaper to be delivered to the driveway; and we can check in for a flight online instead of waiting in line. More than 2 billion people use broadband Internet, up from perhaps 50 million a decade ago. Now, it's estimated that approximately 40% of jobs could be performed remotely, at least part of the time.

In addition to not needing the office to communicate, we are doing a poor job of utilizing the office space we do have. Studies by the U.S. General Services Administration show that at any given time, over half the workspace in the United States and Europe is not being used.

So what does this have to do with the environment? Offices account for about 38% of all greenhouse gas emissions. And according to the U.S. Green Building Council, over approximately the next 20 years, greenhouse gas emissions from offices are expected to grow faster than those in any other sector.

Getting to the office also generates problems; American workers spend on average 40 minutes a day commuting ? this amounts to eight weeks a year spent in the car. In total, this can waste more than 3.7 billion hours in lost productivity and 2.3 billion gallons of gas annually. What a price for something most of us don't like doing: sitting in traffic.

What about my bottom line? Let's say you are like me: a business executive, not a Greenpeace ambassador. You want to know how this affects your company.

For most, real estate is the second-largest expense. Sun Microsystems, now part of Oracle, embraced a telework initiative in 2000 that ultimately resulted in more than half of the company's employees working remotely and a net savings of $80 million a year in facility costs. Sun was so pleased with the results it achieved that, in 2008, it spun the initiative into a separate company, now called Better Workplace, to bring these benefits to other companies throughout the world.

Defense contractor Northrop Grumman worked with Better Workplace to develop a mobile work strategy, devising a plan to achieve annual savings of $110 million based on 20% employee participation. In 2008 TIAA-CREF, a Fortune 100 financial services organization, started using Better Workplace's software tools to manage and scale a flexible work initiative that resulted in the reduction of 75 thousand square feet of office space in midtown Manhattan and cost savings of $15 million a year.

But how does working outside the office affect employees? At TIAA-CREF, managers were initially concerned about performance issues with employees working remotely. But after the program's implementation, nearly every manager who participated in a survey responded that employees performed as well ? or better ? when working from home. More than anything else, employees want flexibility: almost 80% of employees say they would like to work from home part of the time, and more than a third say they'd choose the option to work from home over a pay raise.

Happy employees yield healthier companies. Home-based workers are sick or absent less often than people who work in an office. That's not because of contagious germs circulating office buildings, but because there is a whole population of people who fake an illness to shirk work. Some two-thirds of employees who call in sick aren't really sick. That's costly: these unscheduled absences cost employers $1,800 per employee per year ? totaling $300 billion per year to U.S. companies. On the flip side, allowing people to work from wherever they want enhances attraction and retention.

Successful companies of tomorrow will evolve their office plan into a no-office plan. I understand that change is hard. People resist disrupting the status quo. But I'm asking you to think differently about how we work so that we all can enjoy a much smoother ride into the future. The long-term environmental cost is too great not to try. The journey alone ? which will reduce costs and enable happier and more productive employees ? is well worth it.

Source: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/02/where_the_green_jobs_really_ar.html

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Palm oil casualty? 14 pygmy elephants fall prey to pesticides in Borneo

Malaysian wildlife officials say 14 dead pygmy elephants were found last month in Borneo, apparently poisoned by chemicals used by farmers on the country's massive palm-oil plantations.

By Jason Motlagh,?Correspondent / February 11, 2013

A Borneo pygmy elephant looks for food along the Kinabatangan river in Malaysia's state of Sabah on the Borneo island in this file photo.

Bazuki Muhammad/REUTERS/File

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A rare breed of elephant appears to be the latest casualty of the palm oil boom that is sweeping Malaysian Borneo, reigniting an already heated debate over the pros and cons of the world?s cheapest cooking oil.?

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Malaysian wildlife officials say 14 dead pygmy elephants were found last month in the wilds of Sabah Province, apparently poisoned by chemicals used by farmers to keep pests from eating the palm fruit grown on plantations that blanket vast swaths of the countryside.

In once instance, a 3-month old baby elephant was photographed nuzzling its mother, who lay on the ground next to three other corpses. For activists, the image is emblematic of nature?s losing battle with man in and around the farms.

Favored in developing countries for its versatility and long shelf life, palm oil is now found in more than half of processed foods in Western supermarkets, from cosmetics to Girl Scout cookies. Surging global demand has generated billions in profits for Indonesia and Malaysia, the world?s first- and second-largest producers, bringing prosperity to once poor corners.

The boom is changing the complexion of Borneo, the resource-rich island they share that is one home to one of the oldest rainforests on earth. But environmental groups say the palm oil boom is driving the expansion of plantations deeper into hyper-diverse tracts of forest, accelerating global warming and forcing rare species like the?pygmy elephant and orangutan into deadly confrontations with humans.

In a statement following the elephant report, Dionysius S.K. Sharma, executive director of World Wildlife Fund-Malaysia, said the ?central forest landscape in Sabah needs to be protected totally from conversions? and called for "frequent and large-scale patrolling" of forests to protect elephants. Yet he conceded this would be a "massive task" given the remoteness of the terrain and large areas involved.?

The scale of the plantations is massive. Take a flight from Kota Kinabalu, the provincial capital, to Lahad Datu, also known as ?Palm City,? and permaculture reigns: Palm plantations sprawl for miles on end, occasionally pocked with the smokestacks of large processing facilities. The largest are owned by agribusiness giants like Sime Darby and Wilmar International, with clients that include top consumer goods companies Unilever and Nestle.

Business booming

Thanks in part to new US laws mandating the removal of oils rich in trans-fats, business has never been better.

In 2011, the export of palm oil and palm-based products netted the Malaysian economy $27 billion, a fivefold increase over the past decade. With such profits at hand, the Malaysian government wants to double the area under cultivation by 2020.

This is welcome news to longtime residents of Lahad Datu, the coastal?town that has been transformed in years from a crime-ridden backwater to an investment-friendly hub. Real estate prices are soaring, investors are pouring in and the streets are safer than ever, replete with fast-food franchises and shiny hotels. ??This place is opening up, finally,? says Arnan Angkut, at a bustling seaside teashop. ?We are doing much better than before because of palm oil.?

But this kind of enthusiasm could spell long-term trouble for communities in the region and beyond.

A joint study published in October by Stanford and Yale universities revealed that land-clearing operations for plantations in Borneo have emitted more than 140 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2010 alone, equal to annual emissions from about 28 million vehicles. Over the past two decades, about 6,200 sq. mi. of primary and logged forested land have been destroyed in Borneo.

Orangutan populations reduced by half

Activists say that palm oil deforestation and hunting have already combined to reduce Bornean orangutan populations to half the total of the 1980s. At this rate, some predict the iconic animal could be extinct within years.

For its part, the pygmy elephant, a rare sub-species of the African elephant, is in even greater peril: WWF-Malaysia estimates there are about 1,200 left in the wild. And Malaysian wildlife authorities have said they expect to find more dead elephants as they comb the jungle.

*Simon Motlagh with a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/ZfEOPB1FxNU/Palm-oil-casualty-14-pygmy-elephants-fall-prey-to-pesticides-in-Borneo

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What is a good free anti virus software that doesn't have spyware or ...

And don?t say AVG cause that slowed my computer down by 60%. I don?t care if I have to pay for it or torrent it I just want one. And if you don?t know if it has spyware in it then don?t tell me.

Try a online antivirus scanner and a online anti-adware/malware/spyware scanner in safe mode with network to clean up your computer BEFORE you download anything. This because the program you download can get infected.

Disable "System Restore" for Windows Me and XP, then restart your PC to clean your system restore points for viruses, spyware, adware etc.

Now restart in safe mode.
To get in safe mode Press "F8" upon bootup.
Select "Safe mode with Networking".
Go to Start ? Run ? type iexplore http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html Enter(ok).
Do a full system scan. If something is found, delete it, reboot and do the same again in safe mode with network.
When that scan does not find anything you reboot again in safe mode with network.
Go to Start ? Run ? type iexplore http://www.ewido.net/en/ Enter(ok).
Do a full system scan. If something is found, delete it, reboot and do the same again in safe mode with network.

**NOTE: Do NOT do anything else with your computer when scanning. This because you can start virus/adware/spyware/malware manually.

When no one of these scanners are showing anything you can reboot back to normal mode.
Turn on "System Restore".

Online virus, adware and spyware removal.

http://www.precisesecurity.com/antivirus?

??????
You need to get one antivirus program, one firewall and some spyware/adware/malware removers if you don?t have it.
I use Norton Internet Security (antivirus, spyware, firewall, add blocker, mail spamfilter, pop up blocker etc) Ad Aware, Spybot and more on my desktop running XP Home SP2 with Firefox and Yahoo Toolbar with pop up blocker.
On my laptop i have Ubuntu 7.04. No security needed in Linux, but i use antivirus and firewall. Firefox is standard.
I have no virus, spyware, adware, pop ups etc on my computers.
Mozilla Firefox and Opera are safer browsers to use then Internet Explorer.

http://en-us.www.mozilla.com/en-US/produ?

http://www.opera.com/

Here are some free programs.
BitDefender Anti-Virus Free.

http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en?

Avast Anti-Virus Free.

http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.ht?

AVG Anti-Virus Free.

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/lng/us/tpl?

Avast Virus Cleaner ? free virus removal tool.

http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cle?

Firewall Protection.
ZoneAlarm Firewall Free.

http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/c?

Easy-to-use firewall blocks hackers and other unknown threats.
* Systematically identifies hackers and blocks access attempts.
Automatically makes your computer invisible to anyone on the Internet.
Use ZoneAlarm if you normally use Windows Firewall.
Disable Windows Firewall after downloading ZoneAlarm if it?s not done automatically.

Ad-Aware 2007 Free.

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_a?

Ad-Aware 2007 Free remains the most popular anti-spyware product for computer users around the world, with nearly one million downloads every week. Our free anti-spyware version provides you with advanced protection against spyware that secretly attaches and takes control of your computer, resulting in aggressive advertising pop-ups, sluggish computer activity, even identity theft through stolen bank details, passwords, and credit card account numbers. If you want real-time scanning capabilities, consider upgrading to Ad-Aware 2007 Plus for real-time protection against spyware, all the time.

SUPERAntiSpyware Free.

http://www.superantispyware.com/

AVG Anti-spyware Free.

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/20/lng/us/tp?

Spybot ? Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. spyware silently tracks your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you haven?t intentionally installed, if your browser crashes inexplicably, or if your home page has been "hijacked" (or changed without your knowledge), your computer is most probably infected with spyware. Even if you don?t see the symptoms, your computer may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging. Spybot-S&D is free, so there?s no harm giving it a try to see if something has invaded your computer.

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirro?

AVG Anti-Rootkit Free.

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/39798/lng/us?

AVG Anti-Rootkit is a powerful tool with state-of-the-art technology for detection and removal of rootkits. rootkits are used to hide the presence of a malicious object like Trojans or keyloggers on your computer. If a threat uses rootkit technology to hide itself it is very hard to find the malware on your PC. AVG Anti-Rootkit gives you the power to find and delete the rootkit and to uncover the threat the rootkit is hiding.

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system ? allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it?s fast and contains NO spyware or adware.

http://www.ccleaner.com/

ClearAllHistory ? clears browser history, cache, cookies, clipboard and remove other computer activity tracks.

http://www.clearallhistory.com/delete-pa?

**NOTE: Only have one antivirus program and one firewall installed on your computer.

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav?

Anti-adware/malware/spyware are o

Source: http://www.feeldagroove.com/spyware-blockers/what-is-a-good-free-anti-virus-software-that-doesnt-have-spyware-or-anything-like-that-in-it

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