Source: Business, labor get deal on worker program

FILE - In this May 17, 2012 file photo, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Big business and major labor unions appeared ready Friday, March 29, 2013 to end a fight over a new low-skilled worker program that had threatened to upend negotiations on a sweeping immigration bill in the Senate providing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants already in the U.S. Schumer, who's been brokering talks between the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that negotiators are "very close, closer than we have ever been, and we are very optimistic." He said there were still a few issues remaining. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - In this May 17, 2012 file photo, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Big business and major labor unions appeared ready Friday, March 29, 2013 to end a fight over a new low-skilled worker program that had threatened to upend negotiations on a sweeping immigration bill in the Senate providing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants already in the U.S. Schumer, who's been brokering talks between the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that negotiators are "very close, closer than we have ever been, and we are very optimistic." He said there were still a few issues remaining. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Several southwest Michigan pastors along with immigrant families and members of the general public take part in a pray-in for immigration reform event outside of Representative Fred Upton's office in downtown Kalamazoo on Friday, March 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Kalamazoo Gazette-MLive Media Group, Matt Gade ) ALL LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL TV INTERNET OUT

Several southwest Michigan pastors along with immigrant families and members of the general public take part in a pray-in for immigration reform event outside of Representative Fred Upton's office in downtown Kalamazoo on Friday, March 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Kalamazoo Gazette-MLive Media Group, Matt Gade ) ALL LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL TV INTERNET OUT

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Big business and labor have struck a deal on a new low-skilled worker program, removing the biggest hurdle to completion of sweeping immigration legislation allowing 11 million illegal immigrants eventual U.S. citizenship, a person with knowledge of the talks said Saturday.

The agreement was reached in a phone call late Friday night with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, U.S. Chamber of Commerce head Tom Donohue, and Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who's been mediating the dispute.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement, said the deal resolves disagreements over wages for the new workers and which industries would be included. Those disputes had led talks to break down a week ago, throwing into doubt whether Schumer and seven other senators crafting a comprehensive bipartisan immigration bill would be able to complete their work as planned.

The deal must still be signed off on by the other senators working with Schumer, including Republicans John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida, but that's expected to happen. With the agreement in place, the senators are expected to unveil their legislation the week of April 8. Their measure would secure the border, crack down on employers, improve legal immigration and create a 13-year pathway to citizenship for the millions of illegal immigrants already here.

It's a major second-term priority of President Barack Obama's and would usher in the most dramatic changes to the nation's faltering immigration system in more than two decades.

The AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce, longtime antagonists over temporary worker programs, had been fighting over wages for tens of thousands of low-skilled workers who would be brought in under the new program to fill jobs in construction, hotels and resorts, nursing homes and restaurants, and other industries.

Under the agreement, a new "W'' visa program would go into effect beginning April 1, 2015, according to another official involved with the talks who also spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement.

In year one of the program, 20,000 workers would be allowed in; in year two, 35,000; in year three, 55,000; and in year four, 75,000. Ultimately the program would be capped at 200,000 workers a year, but the number of visas would fluctuate, depending on unemployment rates, job openings, employer demand and data collected by a new federal bureau pushed by the labor movement as an objective monitor of the market.

A "safety valve" would allow employers to exceed the cap if they can show need and pay premium wages, but any additional workers brought in would be subtracted from the following year's cap, the official said.

The workers could move from employer to employer and would be able to petition for permanent residency and ultimately seek U.S. citizenship. Neither is possible for temporary workers now.

The new program would fill needs employers say they have that are not currently met by U.S. immigration programs. Most industries don't have a good way to hire a steady supply of foreign workers because there's one temporary visa program for low-wage nonagricultural workers but it's capped at 66,000 visas per year and is only supposed to be used for seasonal or temporary jobs.

Business has sought temporary worker programs in a quest for a cheaper workforce, but labor has opposed the programs because of concerns over working conditions and the effect on jobs and wages for U.S. workers. The issue helped sink the last major attempt at immigration overhaul in 2007, which the AFL-CIO opposed partly because of temporary worker provisions, and the flare-up earlier this month sparked concerns that the same thing would happen this time around. Agreement between the two traditional foes is one of many indications that immigration reform has its best chance in decades in Congress this year.

After apparent miscommunications earlier this month between the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce on the wage issue, the deal resolves it in a way both sides are comfortable with, officials said.

Workers would earn actual wages paid to American workers or the prevailing wages for the industry they're working in, whichever is higher. The Labor Department would determine prevailing wage based on customary rates in specific localities, so that it would vary from city to city.

There also had been disagreement on how to handle the construction industry, which unions argue is different from other industries in the new program because it can be more seasonal in nature and includes a number of higher-skilled trades. The official said the resolution will cap at 15,000 a year the number of visas that can be sought by the construction industry.

Schumer called White House chief of staff Denis McDonough on Saturday to inform him of the deal, the person with knowledge of the talks said. The three principals in the talks ? Trumka, Donohue and Schumer ? agreed they should meet for dinner soon to celebrate, the person said.

Separately, the new immigration bill also is expected to offer many more visas for high-tech workers, new visas for agriculture workers, and provisions allowing some agriculture workers already in the U.S. a speedier path to citizenship than that provided to other illegal immigrants, in an effort to create a stable agricultural workforce.

___

Follow Erica Werner on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericawerner

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-30-Immigration/id-f56bb8eb3958447da48253346267cdec

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Cyberattack on anti-spam group has ripple effects

LONDON (AP) ? An Internet watchdog group responsible for keeping ads for counterfeit Viagra and bogus weight-loss pills out of inboxes around the world has been hit by a huge cyberattack, a crushing electronic onslaught that one expert said had already had ripple effects across the Web.

Spam-fighting organization Spamhaus said Wednesday that it had been buffeted by a massive denial-of-service attack since mid-March, apparently from groups angry at being blacklisted by the Geneva-based group.

"It is a small miracle that we're still online," Spamhaus researcher Vincent Hanna said in an interview.

Denial-of-service attacks work by overwhelming target servers with traffic ? like hundreds of letters being jammed through a mail slot at the same time. In a blog post, San Francisco-based CloudFlare, Inc. said the attackers were taking advantage of weaknesses in the Internet's infrastructure to trick servers from across the Internet into routing billions of bits of junk traffic to Spamhaus every second.

The attack could be bad news for email users, many of whose incoming messages are checked against Spamhaus's widely used and constantly updated blacklists.

Hanna said that his site had so far managed to stay on top of the spammers, but warned that being knocked offline could give them an opening to step up their mailings.

The sheer size of the attack has already affected Internet users elsewhere, according to Patrick Gilmore of Akamai Technologies.

He explained that colleagues at other Internet service providers had been in touch to say their services were affected by the attack. He declined to identify them ? saying they had shared the information on a confidential basis ? but said problems include sluggish access and dropped connections.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-03-27-Spamhaus-Cyberattack/id-34ac75774ff84a8d937538583eb56fb6

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Video: Santelli: When Doing a 'Good Job' May Get You Fired

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/51334123/

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Nature versus nurture -- better looking birds have healthier babies

Monday, March 25, 2013

A female great tits' (Parus major) appearance is shown to signal healthy attributes in offspring in a paper in BioMed Central's open access journal Frontiers in Zoology. The black stripe across her breast and white patches on her cheeks correlate to a chick's weight at two weeks and immune strength respectively ? though the former seems to signal a genetic benefit and the latter can affect an 'adopted' chick's health, suggesting nurture is involved.

Taking two mothers with different patterning, and swapping their chicks, researchers from Palacky University in the Czech Republic were able to investigate the growth and health of the infants and the 'ornamentation' of their mothers. They compared the offspring's weight, size and immune strength and found a correlation between the chick's weight at two weeks and the size of black breast stripe on the genetic mother.

The immaculateness of both genetic and foster mother's white cheek patch was related to the strength of chick's immune response suggesting that this was due to both nurture and genetics. In contrast the body size of a chick was related only to the body size of its genetic mother and not to ornamentation at all.

In these socially monogamous birds both the males and females are brightly coloured, however neither the cheek patch nor the stripe in males affected the health of the babies.

Talking about how the ornaments can have evolved to signal reproductive fitness, Vladim?r Reme? and Beata Matysiokov? who performed this study explained, "Bigger healthier babies are important to the reproductive success of individuals, because they are more likely to survive to adulthood - so it is useful for birds to be able to work out which potential mates will produce the best babies. Maintaining bright colouration uses up resources which could otherwise be invested in reproduction or self-maintenance - consequently the evolution and maintenance of ornamentation in female great tits is probably due to direct selection by males."

###

BioMed Central: http://www.biomedcentral.com

Thanks to BioMed Central 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/127433/Nature_versus_nurture____better_looking_birds_have_healthier_babies

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A Holy Experience ? How To Get Through Cancer, Dark Times ...

So this Palm Sunday weekend found me gathering with the women from Perimeter Church.

Where songwriter Laura Story, and her soul beautiful friend,Tiffany both attend?. and I pray their God stories in the midst of suffering forever change me:

{Consider muting Mr. Nevue?s music over in the left sidebar, clicking on the speaker icon? and RSS readers may click here for the video}

? As Easter approaches, gratitude is a virtue most worthy of our cultivation.

Indeed, in all the Christian life, gratitude is to be planted, watered, dressed, and harvested. Gratitude gets at the very essence of what it means to be created, finite, fallen, redeemed, and sustained by the God of all grace.

Ingratitude was at the heart of the fall, and at the heart of what?s fallen about us to this day. ?Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him? (Romans 1:21). Again and again through the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms, it was gratitude ? giving God thanks ? that was the fitting response to God?s gracious acts of deliverance.

It was gratitude to the Father that Jesus expressed at that first Maundy Thursday table as he held the bread and cup before his disciples (Matthew 26:27; Mark 14:23; Luke 22:17?19; 1 Corinthians 11:24). And it is profound and enduring gratitude?? from my interview at Desiring God today?

In the midst of suffering, as we look toward the Cross this Holy Week, come join me in an audio interview at Desiring God today?

The Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, and a holy life begins with opening palm to God, living the grateful yes.

Give thanks to the Lord for His love endures not just today but forever: the hard times, the dark times and all times.

?

?

Resources:
Tiffany, mother living through childhood cancer, her blog
The song: Blessings by Laura Story
Laura?s story behind her song, Blessing
Laura?s story of her husband?s brain tumor
and One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are
and the new One Thousand Gifts Devotional (with numbered Journalling pages)

Giving thanks in everything because we fiercely believe that Christ can redeem anything.

Join us? And happily change everything by keeping your own crazy list of One Thousand Gifts? Dare you to Joy! Take the dare to Fully Live!
1. Grab this month?s Free JOY DARE Calendar with 3 daily prompts to go on a scavenger hunt for God? gifts ? {or write down any gifts you choose. Use the free app.} 2. Count 3 gifts a day and you have over #1000gifts in 2013. Jot them down in the new numbered One Thousand Gifts devotional journal ? The Farmer?s writing in his with a red pen and daily ? the numbers in the journal already there! Motivating? 3. Share your gifts everyday in our beautiful Facebook community to enter everyday for the monthly $100 Amazon draw (or link to your blog post with your list of gifts). 4. Count #1000gifts in 2013 and enter to win a Nikon DSLR camera with lens. Slow Down. Savor Life. Give thanks. Believing something is one thing. But the Best only comes when you decide to Be Living it. Please, jump in, make your life about giving thanks to God! ? Just add the direct URL to your specific 1000 gift list post? and if you join us, we humbly ask that you please help us find each other in our refrain of thanks by sharing the community?s graphic within your post.
Give thanks to the Lord! His Love Endures Forever!

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Source: http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/03/how-to-get-through-cancer-dark-times-suffering-and-an-interview-desiring-god/

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Amputee veteran helps train troops for war

SAN DIEGO (AP) ? The sailor had been back from war for just over a year when friends invited him to watch an unusually emotional training exercise for troops preparing to deploy.

The drill happened not on a military base but at a film studio, where Marine and Navy medics role-played wartime rescue missions with actors who had, in real-life, lost limbs in motorcycle or car accidents or to ailments such as cancer.

Those on hand weren't sure how Joel Booth would react. The 24-year-old had been attached to a Marine battalion in Afghanistan as a naval combat medic ? until he stepped on an explosive and doctors, two years ago, amputated his right leg below the knee. Since returning home he'd had to learn to adapt while also coping with the post-traumatic stress.

But Booth was transfixed as fake bombs exploded and medics practiced the type of rescue missions he'd once been on, saving the amputee actors ? as he, in the end, had to be saved.

Then the young veteran did something unexpected: He asked for an audition.

Perhaps, he thought, this injury that had forever altered his life could help save someone else's. What he didn't know was how much reliving the horrors of war would help him, too.

"In society, amputees are seen by people on a large scale as having a disability, being weaker. But ... even someone who doesn't have a hand can still operate a weapon to be able to defend themselves," he said.

"It's the same thing for me. I'm not afraid of it just because something bad happened. For people who haven't been in combat, it's hard to understand."

Producer Stu Segall, best known for the TV show "Silk Stalkings," started Strategic Operations in 2002 shortly after the launch of the Iraq war to offer the military what it calls "hyper-realistic" training by using movie-making special effects and actors.

The group has since trained hundreds of thousands of troops in recreated scenes from Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and other hotspots. The creators strive to make the re-enactments as jarring as possible so troops experience war first in a controlled environment, and learn not to be rattled by it.

Marine 2nd Lt. Duane Blank, a commander who has gone through similar training, said amputee actors add a degree of realism that no one else can.

"The visual effect is invaluable because it's something you don't encounter every day," said Blank, an Iraq war veteran. "There is no way to recreate that aspect of real combat, seeing a brother hurt in that sort of way."

Since the inception of Strategic Operations, the group's founders had made a concerted effort not to use veterans who lost limbs in combat.

"We felt it was one of those things: Why would you ask somebody who has gone through this experience to relive it? And we had plenty of amputee actors," said executive vice president Kit Lavell.

Lavell flew 243 missions in Vietnam as a naval aviator. He knows how hearing screams and explosions ? even on a studio lot in San Diego ? can quickly bring back the stress of battle for even the most hardened soldiers.

But Booth convinced Lavell to let him join the group.

"He was so well-prepared as a corpsman," Lavell said. "We felt: He's the perfect one to do this."

Booth first joined the Navy, at the age of 21, because he wanted to see combat and help save lives. The job of corpsman was perfect for him; as field medics in charge of providing emergency care to battleground troops, corpsmen often are caught in the thick of the action.

Almost a year after enlisting, he was deployed with the Marines to the Taliban stronghold of Sangin, Afghanistan. On July 21, 2011, while out on patrol, he and a Marine volunteered to return to base to get supplies. As they were walking, an explosion catapulted Booth onto his back.

He calmly told the Marine to check behind them for more IEDs. Then he looked down at his leg. There was no blood but the pain was excruciating and Booth couldn't stand up. His ankle bones had been crushed.

Two days later he was back in the U.S., where he underwent surgery after surgery. But Booth didn't want to be a patient. Frustrated with each failed operation and a growing infection, he pushed his doctors to amputate.

As a medic, Booth knew what his life would be like without a limb, and he wasn't afraid. He had seen fellow service members adapt relatively quickly to using a prosthetic. He figured he could return quickly to an active lifestyle, doing the things he enjoyed, like riding motorcycles.

Booth learned his tenacity from his dad, a Black Hawk pilot in the Gulf War who taught his son to remember when faced with a challenge: "It could be worse. Just get through it and get on with it."

On Nov. 29, 2011, doctors amputated Booth's lower right leg. He was fitted with his prosthesis, and began therapy three times a week to learn how to walk again.

But Booth soon noticed his injuries went beyond the physical. During the day, he felt on edge. At night, he had nightmares or insomnia. He started seeing a psychiatrist, who diagnosed him with PTSD and prescribed medication.

He wondered what he would do with his life when some Navy instructors who were training young medics invited him to the film studio.

A year ago in April, Booth started work with Strategic Operations. He has now performed with the group a dozen times, and he isn't bothered by the gore and gunfire. Rather, said Booth, the exercises have helped him deal with his post-traumatic stress.

"When we're at the point where the explosions and the gunfire is going off, I'm in a whole different mindset. I'm yelling and screaming and waiting for the corpsmen to come help me. So I'm not really worried about that (PTSD) anymore," said Booth, who has since stopped taking his PTSD medication. "It's more so about the guys coming to get me and really helping them."

Mental health professionals said they are not surprised Booth has found solace in his role-playing.

"For many of these guys it doesn't get better than that ? to be able to know you are making a difference in the lives of people who are still in combat," said Nancy Commisso, a therapist with Easter Seals. "None of these guys want to be the patient ? especially corpsmen who tend to be the ultimate persona of strength and someone who wants to help."

Commisso has had veterans with PTSD re-enact their combat experiences to diffuse the emotions burdening them.

"If they can go through that and come out of it OK, then they know, 'Whew!'" she said. "Then each time they do that, it can get better and better."

Lavell said having Booth has greatly enhanced the training because he bases his role-playing on his real-life experience, and is able to share tips that only a combat veteran can offer.

Earlier this year, Strategic Operations accepted its second veteran into the group: Redmond Ramos, another amputee corpsman whom Booth met while they were both recovering at the hospital.

On a chilly but sunny morning at the studio last month, shrill sirens pierced the air as smoke wafted from a crashed helicopter. A bloodied mannequin with no legs dangled from a strap off the rotor.

Booth sat under the prop, leaning against the aircraft. He jiggled his amputated leg to make it look like it was quivering. Marines scrambled to him, dodging Hollywood-style gunfire as Booth shouted: "Help me!"

One of the trainees fumbled as he hurried to put on a tourniquet and bandage.

Then he hoisted a limp Booth over his shoulder and ran as explosions boomed.

It was one of the numerous times that day Booth would be rescued.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/amputee-veteran-helps-train-troops-war-155352278.html

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2013 GOP March to Madness Tourney Right-wing Media Region: O'Keefe vs. Hannity & Kristol vs. Coulter

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Men's Golf - Memphis Intercollegiate

3/25/2013, All Day

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Source: http://calendar.vanderbilt.edu/calendar/2013/03/25/mens-golf-memphis-intercollegiate.176295

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US drivers more likely to use phones on the road than Europeans, study finds

Americans are far more prone to talk on the go (than other developed countries, but texting and emailing may be less culturally specific phenomena.

By RIchard Read,?Guest blogger / March 24, 2013

A billboard that encourages people not to text while they drive is shown in the northside of Indianapolis. US drivers are more likely to use phones while drivign than their European counterparts, a CDC study finds.

Michael Conroy/AP/File

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You know it, we know it, everyone knows it: distracted driving is a problem, and it's getting worse.?

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But where is the problem worst of all? You'd think that since cell phones are now a global phenomenon, distracted driving would affect every country on the planet, and that it would be most pronounced in technologically oriented countries where cell phones have become a part of everyday life.

And you'd be right. But according to a study led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the problem is particularly bad here in America.

The CDC examined data from two studies: the 2011 EuroPNStyles and HealthStyles surveys, which polled?drivers between the ages of 18 and 64. Researchers found that a whopping 69% of U.S. respondents had talked on their mobile phones while driving within the past 30 days.

Europeans couldn't match that number. The closest runner-up was Portugal, where the figure hit 59%. In the U.K., it was 21%.?

Stats on texts and emails, however, were more balanced. In both the U.S. and Portugal, 31% of drivers said that they'd read or sent emails or texts within the past 30 days. At the low end of the scale, the figure in the U.K. was again 21%.

The moral of the story? Americans are far more prone to talk on the go (perhaps because of our very long commutes), but texting and emailing may be less culturally specific phenomena.

Also: Portugal could be picking up some of our bad habits.

We'd like to see a similar study conducted in countries like Japan and South Korea, where cell phone penetration is high and mobile networks are especially robust. Maybe those folks could give us a run for our money.

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best auto bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger,?click here.?To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on the link in the blog description box above.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/VG0mY4mvNAY/US-drivers-more-likely-to-use-phones-on-the-road-than-Europeans-study-finds

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What's going on in East Texas this weekend? March 22-24

East Texas has no shortage of fun, entertaining, and even educational things to do. When you have your weekend days off,? you can find something great? to do locally to save your gas money and support local business!

Tyler - March 22 at Liberty Theater? at 7:30pm. From LibertyTyler.com: The 39 Steps" is the two-time Tony Award-winning hit show in its THIRD YEAR IN NEW YORK, which continues to be an audience-pleaser. The amazingly brilliant cast of 4 plays over 140 characters in this fast-paced romp that's great fun for ages 9 to 90. The New York Times calls it "Absurdly Enjoyable."
What you will see?is an incredibly fast-paced romp through the story of Hitchcock?s film.? It is a pastiche, an affectionate and very funny transposition of the film on to the stage. The film contains set pieces that are iconic: the train top chase, the Forth Bridge escape, Mr Memory at the Palladium. Much of the joy in the show is in seeing these moments recreated through the physicality and vocal talent of the 4 performers.

It is also an evocative tribute to a 1930s Britain of cold mists, steam engines and a clearly demarcated social system where people know their place. And at its center, juxtaposed with the comedy, is a love story.

Ben Wheeler: Clay Thrash band playing at Moore's Store Friday, March 22. All music 8-11 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 903-833-5100. Country/Southern Rock/Texas Country - $5

Ben Wheeler:? Moore's Store, see BlackTop Gypsy on Saturday night at 8pm.? Americana/Country - $8 advanced tickets at www.outhousetickets.com or $10 at the door (via BenWheelerTX.com)

?Ben Wheeler- The Forge -? Friday night, see Michael O'Connor play his acoustic music at 7pm. No cover. 1610 FM 279. Playing The Forge on Saturday night, T & C Miller (acoustic/country/folk)? at 7:00 p.m.

Ben Wheeler - Library Easter Egg Hunt: Sat, March 23, 11am ? 12pm. Come hunt for eggs filled with delicious treats and see the Easter Bunny!

Edom: Saturday, March 23rd @ 7pm Movie night! (Doors open 6:30)This week's movie is "Now, Forager" with introduction and Q&A by Chale Nafus, Dir. of Programming, Austin Film Society. This film is playing at the Angelika in Dallas in March, and it appears that advance tickets are already sold out! ?So...see it here in Edom! Also note that this film has no MPAA rating, and does include a few uses of profanity. Click here for more details

Tyler: The City of Tyler and Discovery Science Place are working with Make Magazine to host the Tyler Maker Faire on March 23, 2013. The Maker Faire, to be held at Discovery Science Place at 308 N. Broadway, will open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. where guests can enjoy hands on demonstrations from approximately 25 exhibitors. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for children and includes admission to the museum.

The big question for most people is ?What is a maker??? A maker is anyone who makes stuff; inventors, scientists, engineers, artists and anyone who enjoys using ingenuity and creativity to bring their ideas to life.

Longview: From the Belcher Center website: Rave On! re-invents the ordinary tribute show with an electrifying, high-energy, rock n? roll extravaganza featuring America?s premiere Buddy Holly interpreter, Billy McGuigan, who is a dead-ringer for the legendary rocker. Backed by the rockin? Rave On Band, their incredible musicianship helps ignite the stage and breathe new life into the music of Buddy Holly. 7:30pm Saturday, March 23. 903-233-3080

Tyler - March 22 - 23: 32nd annual Quilt Show - Harvey Convention Center? 10am-5-m Sponsored by the?Quilters Guild of East Texas. For more information call?Jan Glover at?903-581-6176 or email?gypsyturtl@gmail.com.

Tyler:? Southwest Regional Orchid Show & Sale - 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM @ Holiday Inn South Broadway. Saturday, March 23.

Tyler: Tyler Maker Faire - 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM @ Discovery Science Museum; downtown on Broadway.

Tyler: Azalea Arts and Crafts Fair - 9am to 6pm in Bergfeld Park on Broadway. The annual event is hosted by?Tyler Parks and Recreation?and will feature more than 90 vendors on hand offering up thier hand made, hand crafted creations. Visitors will find pottery, paintings, jewelry, clothing, photography, candles, plants, quilts and a ton more from vendors from around the state.

Tyler: Vince DiMartino, a former lead and solo trumpet with such jazz greats as Lionel Hampton and Chuck Mangione, will be the clinician and guest artist for Tyler Junior College?s annual Jazz Festival set Thursday and Friday, March 21 and 22.? Performances are set 7:30 pm. Thursday and Friday, March 21 and 22, in Wise Auditorium on the TJC main campus.

Longview: Francesca Battistelli and The Afters: First Baptist Church, 209 E. South Street. 6-9 pm. Special guests Love & the Outcome and Kyle Sherman. Admission is free.

Longview: 53rd Annual Student Invitational.? Opening Reception with Music and Hors D'Oeuvres. 7 - 9 p.m. ?Exhibit runs through May 15. Longview Museum of Fine Arts. 215 E. Tyler. See site for more details:? www.lmfa.org.

Nacogdoches Azalea Trail: The Azalea Trail lasts for the entire month of March in Nacogdoches, and features 25 miles of driving routes through beautiful residential areas with gorgeous, camera-worthy landscaping. Visit azaleas.visitnacogdoches.org for more details on events.

Rusk: March 22 at First Baptist Church of Rusk: Dallas Holm in concert. 7pm-8:30pm. For more information contact Jeff Carroll at?jeff@ruskfbc.com. ?Admission is free.

Upshur County: Trade days; booths will include arts and crafts, antiques, collectibles, clothing, jewelry , gift items, and garage sale items. (903)843-2413 for more info. Held in City (Yamboree) Park.

Ore City Texas Heritage Spring Fling: March 23 from 9am to 9pm. Ore City Community Center. For more information contact Diana at?craftylady4526@hotmail.com?or?903-424-9957.

Kilgore: Celebrate the TRUE meaning of Easter. An-80 minute dramatic performance of the Gospel of Luke? (the New International Version with selections from the King James Version) by two professional actors from the Texas Shakespeare Festival: Meaghan Sullivan (Taming of the Shrew, 2011) and Matthew Simpson (Hamlet, 2011). Performed from memory with minimal staging and without an intermission.? A return engagement by popular request.? Tickets:? $25??? /??? Group of 25:? $20 Reservations (903) 983-8119? The event is a? fundraiser for the Texas Shakespeare Festival.? Your donation to the TSF Foundation is appreciated if you are unable to attend.? From the Gospel of Luke? - March 24*, 27*, 28, 28*, 29, 30*, 30. ??

Winnsboro: Murder Mystery Dinner- "Murder at Rattlesnake Gultch" Tickets on sale now
$30 for single; $50 for couple. Located at Double C Steakhouse. 206 Market St.
Winnsboro, TX.? 903-342-3111

Submit events to be added to WhereYouLive@kltv.com.

Source: http://canton.kltv.com/news/arts-culture/136491-whats-going-east-texas-weekend-march-22-24

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Parkinsons' drug helps older people to make decisions

Mar. 24, 2013 ? A drug widely used to treat Parkinson's Disease can help to reverse age-related impairments in decision making in some older people, a study from researchers at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging has shown.

The study, published today in the journal Nature Neuroscience, also describes changes in the patterns of brain activity of adults in their seventies that help to explain why they are worse at making decisions than younger people.

Poorer decision-making is a natural part of the aging process that stems from a decline in our brains' ability to learn from our experiences. Part of the decision-making process involves learning to predict the likelihood of getting a reward from the choices that we make.

An area of the brain called the nucleus accumbens is responsible for interpreting the difference between the reward that we're expecting to get from a decision and the reward that is actually received. These so called 'prediction errors', reported by a brain chemical called dopamine, help us to learn from our actions and modify our behaviour to make better choices the next time.

Dr Rumana Chowdhury, who led the study at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL, said: "We know that dopamine decline is part of the normal aging process so we wanted to see whether it had any effect on reward-based decision making. We found that when we treated older people who were particularly bad at making decisions with a drug that increases dopamine in the brain, their ability to learn from rewards improved to a level comparable to somebody in their twenties and enabled them to make better decisions."

The team used a combination of behavioural testing and brain imaging techniques, to investigate the decision-making process in 32 healthy volunteers aged in their early seventies compared with 22 volunteers in their mid-twenties. Older participants were tested on and off L-DOPA, a drug that increases levels of dopamine in the brain. L-DOPA, more commonly known as Levodopa, is widely used in the clinic to treat Parkinson's.

The participants were asked to complete a behavioural learning task called the two-arm bandit, which mimics the decisions that gamblers make while playing slot machines. Players were shown two images and had to choose the one that they thought would give them the biggest reward. Their performance before and after drug treatment was assessed by the amount of money they won in the task.

"The older volunteers who were less able to predict the likelihood of a reward from their decisions, and so performed worst in the task, showed a significant improvement following drug treatment," Dr Chowdhury explains.

The team then looked at brain activity in the participants as they played the game using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), and measured connections between areas of the brain that are involved in reward prediction using a technique called Diffusor Tensor Imaging (DTI).

The findings reveal that the older adults who performed best in the gambling game before drug treatment had greater integrity of their dopamine pathways. Older adults who performed poorly before drug treatment were not able to adequately signal reward expectation in the brain -- this was corrected by L-DOPA and their performance improved on the drug.

Dr John Williams, Head of Neuroscience and Mental Health at the Wellcome Trust, said: "This careful investigation into the subtle cognitive changes that take place as we age offers important insights into what may happen at both a functional and anatomical level in older people who have problems with making decisions. That the team were able to reverse these changes by manipulating dopamine levels offers the hope of therapeutic approaches that could allow older people to function more effectively in the wider community."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Wellcome Trust, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Rumana Chowdhury, Marc Guitart-Masip, Christian Lambert, Peter Dayan, Quentin Huys, Emrah D?zel, Raymond J Dolan. Dopamine restores reward prediction errors in old age. Nature Neuroscience, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nn.3364

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/mind_brain/consumer_behavior/~3/Xj13SPpXrwY/130324152308.htm

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Bad weather paralyzes greater part of UK : Voice of Russia

0Two people have thus far died of an abnormally cold spring.

0Several airports have been shut down.

0Classes at schools have been cancelled. Meanwhile in Ulster, March 22^nd proved the coldest day in the past 30 years.

0Gale-force wind and heavy snowfall in Belfast caused a qualifying football match between Russia and Northern Ireland to be pushed back until a later date.

0If the weather changes for the better, the game may take place today.

0Voice of Russia, TV Channel One

0?

Source: http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_03_23/Bad-weather-paralyzes-greater-part-of-UK/

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Boys shoot infant in stroller in botched robbery: Police

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) ? A Georgia mother says a young gunman opened fire on her baby as she pushed him in a stroller, wounding her and killing the 1-year-old boy.

Police gave few details at a Friday news conference about the investigation into Thursday morning's shooting in Brunswick.

The mother, Sherry West, told WAWS-TV that two boys approached her and demanded money Thursday morning. West said she tried shielding the child, Antonio, but the gunman shoved her and shot the baby in the head.

Based on the mother's description, police think the suspects were between 10 to 15 years old. Police were checking school attendance records for leads.

Brunswick police spokesman Todd Rhodes encouraged the public to call in any information that could lead to an arrest. There is a $10,000 reward.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

A young boy opened fire on a woman pushing her baby in a stroller in a Georgia neighborhood, killing the 1-year-old boy and wounding the mother, police said.

The woman, Sherry West, told WAWS-TV that two boys approached her and demanded money Thursday morning. Brunswick Police Chief Tobe Green said the boys are thought to be between 10 and 15 years old.

West said she insisted she didn't have any money and tried to protect her son, Antonio, before shots rang out. She had been walking near her home in this coastal city about 80 miles south of Savannah.

"I put my arms over my baby and he shoves me, and then he shot my baby right in the head," West said.

West was shot in the leg.

"This is obviously a terrible day in Brunswick," Brunswick Mayor Bryan Thompson said. "Please call if you know something. You are complicit in this crime."

The boy's father, Louis Santiago, told the TV station he wishes he could have been there to protect his family.

"He was special," Santiago said. "He had the bluest, bluest eyes."

Officers from a SWAT team checked vacant houses as investigators tried to find possible witnesses. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources provided a helicopter to aid the search.

Police are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

A sketch artist from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was being sent to Brunswick to assist police with the case. Police in Brunswick are leading the investigation, but the GBI provided assistance by helping with the neighborhood search, GBI Special Agent Mike McDaniel said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-ga-infant-killed-while-pushed-stroller-110435853.html

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GAMBLING: Casino concept driving up real estate values nearby ...

Posted on | March 22, 2013 | Comments

A casino will emerge on this humble work site. (bohemia.com photo)

You don?t have to make it past the doors to enter a casino to hit the jackpot.

According to our friends at bohemian.com, folks who own land near a Rohnert Park casino project are already striking it rich?with higher property values.

Bohemian did a public-records search and learned that land surrounding the new casino in the Northern California community ? being built by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and Station Casinos of Las Vegas ? is valued at more than $1 million per acre.

In 2005, the tribe paid $100 million for a 254-acre belt of land that includes the property where the casino is being built. That?s $393,700 per acre. The current rate is more than 10 times the value of just four years ago, though, during the depth of the post mortgage-crisis crash.

Read the whole story here.

?

?

View Casino project near Rohnert Park in a larger map

Written by: Tom Bray

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Source: http://blog.pe.com/watchdog/2013/03/22/gambling-casino-concept-driving-up-real-estate-values-nearby/

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Europe, Cyprus locked in multi-billion-dollar game of chicken

John W. Schoen , NBC News ? ? ? 18 hrs.

As European central bankers were locked in a multi-billion-dollar game of chicken with the tiny island nation of Cyprus, global financial markets Friday watched closely to see which side blinked first.

Both sides, though, appear to be stubbornly holding firm.

Faced with the threat of a cutoff Monday of European support for its insolvent banking system, the Cypriot parliament was considering a series of last-ditch measures to head off a looming economic and financial collapse.

"The next few hours will determine the future of the country," government spokesman Christos Stylianides said.

On Friday, Greece's Piraeus Bank struck a deal to take over the Greek branches of Cyprus's troubled banks in what a source close to the matter said involved the transfer of 17 billion euros of loans and 14 billion euros of deposits.

The deal, announced by Greece's bank bailout fund, is subject to approval by European competition authorities. The terms of the deal will not be revealed until Sunday, the source said. Piraeus declined to comment.

There are still other measures still under consideration.

The proposals, which amount to Plan C, include seizing state-sponsored pension funds, putting up state assets that include rich natural gas deposits, and splitting the country's second-largest bank into a ?good bank? and ?bad bank,? which would hold the riskiest assets.

The stakes for Cyprus are higher than the loss of tens of billions of bank deposits that have bled from its banking system over the past few months, according to central bank governor Panicos Demetriades. He warned political leaders Thursday that unless the measures are approved, Cyprus' second-largest bank faces a disorderly bankruptcy when it opens on Tuesday after a weeklong ?holiday.?

Plan A was shot down by the parliament Tuesday, after depositors woke up Monday to news of the nasty surprise terms of the latest bailout.

In exchange for another backstop, Europe?s central bankers proposed a so-called ?bail in,? in which some of the cost would be paid locally by Cypriot depositors. The raid on deposits would clip between 6.75 and 10 percent of Cypriot residents' savings, raising a $7.5-billion down payment against $12.9 billion in rescue loans.

Faced with overwhelming political backlash to the plan, Cypriot officials on Thursday sought an emergency backstop from Russia, a major source of Cypriot bank deposits.

Thanks to a favorable tax deal signed in 1998, Cypriot banks are bulging with deposits from Russian companies and investors, whose cash has swollen the assets of the nation?s banks to more than six times the size of its economy.

But early Friday, Cypriot finance minister Michalis Sarris returned home from negotiating with the Russians empty handed.

As the clock ticks down, the Cypriot economy is slowly starving for cash. Though cash machines remain open, one of the country's two large banks has imposed limits on how much depositors can withdraw. Many shops and gas stations are refusing to accept credit cards.

Workers at Laiki, the nation?s second largest bank, protested the restructuring plan that would likely cost many of them their jobs.

"The bank is finished, we'll lose our jobs, and I'm worried about my kids," said Laiki employee Nikos Tsiangos behind barricades and a cordon of police blocking the way to Parliament. "They've brought us to the brink, the Europeans wanted to destroy our economy, and they've done it."

European officials and central bankers are betting that the eurozone could withstand the implosion of the Cypriot economy, which makes up less than one-half of one percent of the overall European economy.

They have also grown weary of Cyprus? slow progress in reforming its banking system, which is heavily reliant on ?hot money? from Russian depositors. Since Cyprus won its eurozone membership in 2008, Europe?s central bankers have been pressing Cypriot bankers to shrink those risky deposits to more manageable levels.

The situation has not worked out the way European bankers had hoped, according to Simon Maughan, a financial sector strategist at Olivetree Financial Group.

?The Cypriots said, ?Well, great. Now we?ve got this huge banking system. Now we?ve got the guarantee from the Europeans. We?ll just keep carrying on as we were,'? he said. ?It?s been a massive, multi-year political standoff. And the only way to deal with that is to bust the banks.?

The rejection of the initial plan to tax bank deposits touched off a standoff between Cyprus and European officials, who are showing no signs of budging on their efforts to rein in Cypriot banks ? even if it sends the local economy into downward spiral.

That could trigger the country?s departure from the common currency, with potential fallout in much larger economies of Italy, Spain and Portugal.

"Cyprus is playing with fire," Volker Kauder, a leading conservative ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, told public television ARD.

The prospects for the latest, last-ditch solutions remain uncertain. Even if the Cypriot parliament approves the politically painful measures now on the table, there?s no guarantee they?ll go far enough to satisfy European officials.

Merkel reportedly told German lawmakers Friday that the plan to nationalize Cypriot pension funds was unacceptable, and that there would be no bailout with a major overhaul of Cypriot banks.

"There is no way we can accept that," she reportedly told lawmakers. "I hope it does not come to a crash".

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653387/s/29e118a9/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Ceconomywatch0Ceurope0Ecyprus0Elocked0Emulti0Ebillion0Edollar0Egame0Echicken0E1C90A23395/story01.htm

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Obama warns of 'enclave for extremism' in Syria

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, and Jordan's King Abdullah II, right, shake hands following their joint new conference at the King's Palace in Amman, Jordan, Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, and Jordan's King Abdullah II, right, shake hands following their joint new conference at the King's Palace in Amman, Jordan, Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama walks with Jordan's King Abdullah II to participate in an official arrival ceremony, Friday, March 22, 2013, at Al-Hummar Palace, the residence of Jordanian King Abdullah II, in Amman, Jordan. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama and Jordan's King Abdullah II walk from an official arriveal ceremony at Al-Hummar Palace, the residence of Jordanian King Abdullah II, Friday, March 22, 2013, in Amman, Jordan. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama listens as Jordan's King Abdullah II speaks during their joint new conference at the King's Palace in Amman, Jordan Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama and Jordan's King Abdullah II arrive for their joint new conference at the King's Palace in Amman, Jordan Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) ? President Barack Obama warned Friday that an "enclave for extremism" could fill a leadership void in war-torn Syria, a chilling scenario for an already tumultuous region, especially for Jordan, Syria's neighbor and a nation at the crossroads of the struggle for stability in the Middle East.

In a significant step toward easing regional tensions, Obama also brokered a phone call between leaders from Israel and Turkey that resulted in an extraordinary apology from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a deadly 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish flotilla. The call marked a diplomatic victory for the president and a crucial realignment in the region, given Israel's and Turkey's shared interests, in particular the fear that Syria's civil war could spill over their respective borders.

Obama said he remains confident that embattled Syrian leader Bashar Assad's government will ultimately collapse. But he warned that when that happens, Syria would not be "put back together perfectly," and he said he fears the nation could become a hotbed for extremists.

"I am very concerned about Syria becoming an enclave for extremism, because extremists thrive in chaos," Obama said during a joint news conference with Jordan's King Abdullah II. "They thrive in failed states, they thrive in power vacuums."

More than 70,000 people have been killed during the two-year conflict in Syria, making it by far the deadliest of the Arab Spring uprisings that have roiled the region since 2011. Longtime autocrats in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Libya have been ousted, ushering in new governments that are sometimes at odds with the Obama administration and its Mideast allies.

Obama's 24-hour stop in Jordan marked his first visit to an Arab nation since the 2011 Mideast protests began. Jordan's monarchy has clung to power in part by enacting political reforms, including parliamentary elections and significant revisions to the country's 60-year-old constitution. Still, tensions continue to simmer, with the restive population questioning the speed and seriousness of the changes.

Protecting Abdullah is paramount to U.S. interests. The 51-year-old king is perhaps Obama's strongest Arab ally and a key player in efforts to jumpstart peace talks between Palestinians and Israel. Jordan has a peace treaty with Israel, and that agreement has become even more significant given the rise of Islamist leaders in Egypt, which was the first Arab country to ink a treaty with the Jewish state, in the 1970s.

Egypt's new leaders have so far pledged to uphold the treaty, though there are strong concerns in Israel and the U.S. about whether that will hold.

By virtue of geography, Jordan's future is particularly vulnerable to the turmoil in the Middle East. It shares borders with Iraq, Israel and the West Bank, in addition to Syria. More than 460,000 Syrians have flowed across the Jordanian border seeking refuge since the civil war began, seeking an escape from the violence.

The flood of refugees has overwhelmed the country of 6 million people, straining Jordan's resources, including health care and education, and pushing the budget deficit to a record high $3 billion last year. Abdullah also fears the half-million refugees could create a regional base for extremists and terrorists, saying recently that such elements were already "establishing firm footholds in some areas."

Obama announced that his administration planned to work with Congress to allocate $200 million to Jordan to help ease the financial burden.

Despite the influx, Abdullah firmly declared Jordan would not close its borders to the refugees, many women and children.

"This is something that we just can't do," he said. "It's not the Jordanian way. We have historically opened our arms to many of our neighbors through many decades of Jordan's history."

Obama had come to Jordan from Israel, where he spent three days coaxing Netanyahu to apologize to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for Israel's role in the deaths of nine Turkish activists during a naval raid on a Gaza-bound international flotilla. The 20-minute phone call took place just before Obama departed, in a trailer on the airport tarmac near a waiting Air Force One, and resulted in the restoration of normal diplomatic relations between the two countries.

"The timing was good for that conversation to take place," Obama said, adding that the phone call was the first step in rebuilding trust between Israel and Turkey.

The president opened the last full day of his Mideast trip with a series of stops around Jerusalem and Bethlehem, all steeped in political and religious symbolism.

Accompanied by Netanyahu and Israeli President Shimon Peres, Obama laid wreaths at the graves of Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism who died in 1904 before realizing his dream of a Jewish homeland, and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995.

Obama and his hosts arrived at the Herzl grave site under cloudless skies. Obama approached Herzl's resting place alone and bowed his head in silence. He turned briefly to ask Netanyahu where to place a small stone in the Jewish custom, then laid the stone atop the grave.

"It is humbling and inspiring to visit and remember the visionary who began the remarkable establishment of the State of Israel," Obama wrote in a guestbook. "May our two countries possess the same vision and will to secure peace and prosperity for future generations."

At Rabin's grave a short walk away, Obama was greeted by members of the late leader's family. He initially placed a stone on Rabin's wife's side of the grave, then returned to place one atop Rabin's side. In a gesture linking the U.S. and Israel, the stone placed on Rabin's grave was from the grounds of the Martin Luther King memorial in Washington, the White House said.

Friday's stop at Herzl's grave, together with Obama's earlier viewing of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the ancient Hebrew texts, were an attempt by the president to emphasize his view that the rationale for Israel's existence rests with its historical ties to the region and with a vision that predated the Holocaust. Obama was criticized in Israel for his 2009 Cairo speech in which he gave only the example of the Holocaust as reason justifying Israel's existence.

Obama was to make a stop Saturday at Petra, Jordan's fabled ancient city, before flying back to Washington.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Jamal Halaby contributed to this report.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-22-ML-Obama/id-5bb79f4263f346238e555367f66a65e0

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Samsung lock screen bypassed entirely with clever, meticulous trickery

Another Samsung lock screen security issue has come to light today, potentially allowing someone with physical access to a Jelly Bean-based Samsung phone to bypass a pattern or PIN lock. Brought to light by blogger Terrence Eden -- who you may remember from his earlier Note 2 exploits -- this one's particularly impressive because of the clever array of tricks used to achieve the eventual unlock.

The method, demonstrated on a Galaxy Note 2 running Android 4.1.2, relies on the fact that returning from certain screens in the emergency dialer causes the previous app to be visible -- and fully usable -- for a split second. With precise timing and a bit of patience, it's possible to use these windows of usability to load Google Play, use voice search to find a screen unlocker app (yep, those exist), and run it, thus removing the lock screen security.

So in order to use this in the real world you'll need a fair bit of time alone with someone's phone, the ability to use voice search inconspicuously and the patience to correctly hit the required sequence of screen taps. Nevertheless, it's a incredibly clever way of circumventing Samsung's lock screen security, and Eden deserves credit for his ingenuity.

We've reached out to Samsung for comment on this issue, and we'll update this post with any official response. In the meantime we're not too worried about the real-world threats posed by this exploit, or any other that requires physical access to the phone for an extended period of time. Nevertheless, this is something that needs to be fixed.

We've got Terrence Eden's original video demonstration after the break.

Source: YouTube; via: SlashGear

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/AkSwyDGD_Wg/story01.htm

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Seo 2 options - UK Business Forums

Hi guys sorry me again and seo

I posted the other day about going for the 27hrs seo the same company has now also offer me this.

Copy and pasted below

Right, I've been putting some thoughts into the SEO for C&C and wanted to offer what we think is a much better option for you.

Currently, we're kinda at Google's mercy, waiting for them to index the new site. To be honest that could take a while and I don't think we want to wait. There are plenty of things we can be doing prior to that but likewise, I don't want you diving into a big spend until we've shown you what can be achieved.

So, I've put a solution together that I think you'll like.

We've a new product that is a low risk SEO option and is perfect for Clearance & Cleanup. Basically it's a pay per keyword / per day setup which means you can pick and choose what to rank for.

Now, the real kicker with this SEO product is:

We will rank you for one keyword absolutely free of charge before you pay a penny. So, in the keywords attached what I suggest is that we get you to page one for "house clearance Leeds" as it's the one with the most searches, and you don't pay a single penny until that keyword is on page one.

When you get to page one for that, a 6 - 12 month contract will kick in that then adds "house clearance Sheffield" to be worked on too, at a charge of ?7.50 per day for them both.

Then, you can add as many keywords as you want at a cost of ?5.00 per day thereafter.

It's extremely low risk: you don't pay a thing until you're page one for the Leeds term, but it's also much more flexible and cost effective than the other packages as you can add / remove keywords and adjust budget as and when you need to without damaging any other keywords.

The packages we have where you buy the time (e.g. 27 hours per month) are great, but these packages are the next evolution really, you can choose where to spend your efforts.

So, in the 20 keywords we're going to focus on, I've added the 'exact' search numbers for each in the spreadsheet attached so we can see the valuable ones.

These are the number of times each term is exactly searched for in Google per month. There are 7 terms that get zero searches per month, so I think you'll naturally rank for those anyway, due to them being very, very low competition.

The end

What do you guys think seems quite complicated and don't no how I will monitor where my money is being spent

Just putting it out there

Your views would be much appreciated

Cheers tom

Source: http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=291492

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16th Time of the Writer Festival Opening Evening: Writers Explore ...

by Sharlene on Mar 20th, 2013

?
?Writers Writing a New World,? the theme for the 16th annual Time of the Writer International Writers Festival, was mulled over by University of KwaZulu Natal Dean, Cheryl Potgieter, at the festival?s Opening Evening at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre on Monday night. After a mellow musical interlude by Thungi, a Zimbabwean group, Potgieter took to the tage, noting that writers can form an activist constituency, playing a moral role in shaping our society. She mentioned that writers need to tackle gender-based violence, quoting the old adage ?to know and not to do is not to know?. She also touched on the importance of writers being able to choose to write in their own language.

After Potgieter had left the stage, six well-known Durban activists brought candles up to the podium and read excerpts from Footprints beyond Grey Street, paying tribute to the late Phyllis Naidoo, a ?giant of a writer and social activist? who died in Durban earlier this year.

Then it was the turn of the writers to introduce themselves and their thoughts around the theme of ?Writing a New World?. First up was Susan Abulhawa, a Palestinian author living in the US, who has just finished attending Israeli Apartheid Week in Johannesburg. She read from her majorly successful novel Mornings in Jenin, describing herself as one of a handful of novelists who present the Palestinian story in an authentic voice (in the past Palestine has been misrepresented by authors from other cultures).

Next was a feisty Jackee Batanda, from Uganda, who also emphasised the importance of Ugandans speaking for themselves. She will be participating in a panel entitled ?The Writer as Reporter?, later on in the week.

Elana Bregin, a Durban novelist, spoke of her most recent novel, Survival Training for Lonely Hearts, which she said uses romance as a lens to examine a troubled South Africa. She believes the role of the writer is to craft well-told stories, and engage in a ?sensual dance with the greater existence?. She commended the explosion of the ?online world? as creating a sense of ?fun and play?, but warned that ?few online things have lasting value,? stressing that the writer?s role is ?not to go viral, but vertical, to leave a lasting record of the complex, astonishing and difficult world that we once were part of?.

Another Durbanite, Ashwin Desai followed on from Bregin, saying that a ?brave new world? cannot be written by ?propagandists or cowards?. He called for writers to deliver honest ?post-apartheid commentary?.

Then, Nigerian Jude Dibia took the microphone, focussing on his particular interest, which is ?Queer Africa?. He explained his most popular novel is Walking the Shadows, a book about homosexuality, which sold 300% more copies than any of his other books, even in Nigeria, where according to the government, ?there are no gay people?.

Damon Galgut tried to describe the ?mysterious process of becoming a writer,? by narrating the story of how, at 12, his teacher read him and his classmates a Roald Dahl story called ?Pig?. After complaints from parents that the subject matter was too disturbing, the teacher was banned from sharing any more Dahl stories. He said this piqued his interest in writing, that text could make a familiar world unfamiliar.

Shafinaaz Hassim, who writes about gender-based violence, called on writers to ?constantly review the effect of violence?. She said that as a writer she ?tries to give violence a voice?. She explained that her most recent book, Sophia, a book about domestic violence, is written to encourage children to speak about hidden abuse. She ended on an optimistic note, saying that with the telling of our stories, ?the poison will seep out and we will find our human light again?.

Duncan Kgatea, an ex-mineworker from Rustenburg, who writes youth novels, described writers as prophets, who must be a nation?s conscience. He referred to the title of one of his books, Look into the mirror, encouraging young people to carry a metaphoric mirror with them that enhances their sense of self-acceptance.

Bhekisigcino Khawula, a Zulu author from umZinto, used a translator to address the audience. There was a lovely rapport between the two, sparking a lot of laughter in the auditorium. He said he wished more people would learn to speak isiZulu.

Zinaid Meeran delivered a very wacky address, saying that he ?conceived of human nature as sparks flow, bringing freedom?, and that his writing reflected this.

Andile Mngxitama slated SA?s democracy, saying it ?meant electing the next set of fascists?. He decried the fact that ongoing violence has become normalised, asking writers to ?show rulers for what they are?. He asked ?how do we love, and write poetry, under such circumstances,? inviting the audience to the launch of his novella at Ike?s Books on Saturday.

Kagiso Molope explained that mothering a boy had triggered the writing of her novel This book betrays my brother, as she had to think carefully about her role in addressing violence against women and children in SA.

Nnedi Okorafor, a Nigerian author living in the US, said she felt comfortable with the theme of ?Writing a New World?. She explained that Nigeria is her muse.

Graham Reid, a South African academic, who wrote a book called How to be a real gay, spoke of a positive global shift in attitude towards homosexuals, emphasising that many cultural traditions are ?hybrid, fluid and changing?.

Jo-Anne Richards, who will be launching her next novel The Imagined Child at this festival said she believes politically troubled SA is a ?gift for writers?. She said of her own role as writer that she ?doesn?t write parables, explores rather than exposes, writing not didactically or to create invisible signposts ? but to rummage through the parts of our strange new society?. She said she believes ?love and redemption come from facing our own flaws?.

Aman Sethi, an Indian author, whose book A Free Man documents the lives of daily wage-labourers sleeping on Delhi?s streets, said he believes the role of the writer is ?to listen to those who are building the new world with their own hands?.

Lastly, Jonny Steinberg read an extract from his soon-to-be-published book about a Somali refugee who walked from his homeland to reach SA.

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Cats: Events, International, News, South Africa
Tags: 16th Time of the Writer Festival, 2011 Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature, A Free Man, Academic, Africa, Aman Sethi, Amanda Alexander, Andile Mngxitama, Ashwin Desai, Bhekisigcino Damasius Khawula, Biko Lives, Biography, Blackbird, Bloomsbury UK, Centre for Creative Arts, Cheryl Potgieter, Children, Contesting the Legacies of Steve Biko, Crime, Damon Galgut, Daw Books, Elana Bregin, Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, English, Events, Fiction, Footprints Beyond Grey Street, Gay Identities in Small-Town South Africa, Gold, Graeme Reid, History, How to be a Real Gay, In a Strange Room, International, isiZulu, Jacana, Jackee Batanda, Jalaa Writers? Collective, Jo Anne Richards, Jonathan Cape, Jude Dibia, Kabelo Duncan Kgatea, Kagiso Lesego Molope, Mmudubudu, Mornings in Jenin, News, Nigeria, Nnedi Okorafor, Non-fiction, Opening, Opening Evening, Oxford University Press Southern Africa, Palgrave Macmillan, Pan Macmillan, Penguin, Phyllis Naidoo, Picador Africa, Politics, Reading Revolution, Romance, Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature, Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature 2011/2012, SeTswana, Shafinaaz Hassim, Shakespeare on Robben Island, Silver, SoPhia, South Africa, Sub-Saharan Pub & Traders, Survival Training for Lonely Hearts, Susan Abulhawa, Tafelberg, Tanuki Ichiban, The Blue Marble, The Imagined Child, This Book Betrays my Brother, Thungi, Time of the Writer, Time of the Writer 2013, Time of the Writer Festival, UKZN Press, Unisa Press, University of KwaZulu Natal, Who Fears Death, WordFlute, Writing a New World, Yihlati leli, Youth, Zinaid Meeran
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Source: http://cca.bookslive.co.za/blog/2013/03/20/16th-time-of-the-writer-festival-opening-evening-writers-explore-writing-a-new-world/

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