Wiggins out of Tour de France with knee problem

FILE - In this July 22, 2012 file photo, Britain's Bradley Wiggins, winner of the 2012 Tour de France cycling race, poses for photographers on the podium of the Tour de France cycling race in Paris, France. Team Sky said Friday, May 31, 2013 that defending champion Bradley Wiggins will not race in the Tour de France cycling race due to illness and injury. (AP Photo/Jerome Prevost, Pool-File)

FILE - In this July 22, 2012 file photo, Britain's Bradley Wiggins, winner of the 2012 Tour de France cycling race, poses for photographers on the podium of the Tour de France cycling race in Paris, France. Team Sky said Friday, May 31, 2013 that defending champion Bradley Wiggins will not race in the Tour de France cycling race due to illness and injury. (AP Photo/Jerome Prevost, Pool-File)

FILE - In this Thursday, May 16, 2013 file photo Britain's Bradley Wiggins waits at the start of the 12th stage of the Giro d'Italia, Tour of Italy cycling race, from Longarone to Treviso. Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins and defending champion Ryder Hesjedal both withdrew from the Giro d'Italia before the start of the 13th stage, Friday, May 17, 2013. Team Sky said that Wiggins made his decision on the advice of the team physician due to "a worsening chest infection." (AP Photo/Gian Mattia D'Alberto, File)

PARIS (AP) ? Bradley Wiggins will not defend his Tour de France title because of a knee problem, giving teammate Chris Froome the chance to win cycling's premier race after finishing runner-up last year.

Wiggins became the first British rider to win the Tour, but he has not been able to prepare properly leading to the June 29 start of the race.

He withdrew before the 13th stage of the Giro d'Italia two weeks ago because of a chest infection. His Team Sky said Friday he also has an "ongoing knee condition" and would not be considered for the squad.

"It's a huge disappointment not to make the Tour. I desperately wanted be there, for the team and for all the fans along the way ? but it's not going to happen," Wiggins said in a team statement. "I can't train the way I need to train and I'm not going to be ready. Once you accept that, it's almost a relief not having to worry about the injury and the race against time."

Last season was an astonishingly successful one for Wiggins. In addition the Tour, he also won the Paris-Nice stage race, Tour de Romandie, the Dauphine Libere and the Olympic gold medal in dominant fashion in the time trial.

"It's a big loss but, given these circumstances, we won't consider him for selection," Sky's team principal Dave Brailsford said. "It's incredibly sad to have the reigning champion at Team Sky but not lining up at the Tour. But he's a champion, a formidable athlete and will come back winning as he has before."

With Wiggins out, Froome will become the undisputed team leader for the Tour. Sky had already said that Froome would be its team leader, although Wiggins had indicated he may have tried to ride for victory if he were in contention toward the end of the race.

Relations between the two were frosty during last year's Tour, with Froome sometimes looking much the stronger rider in the climbs but being thwarted by team orders to support Wiggins rather than try and attack him.

This prompted a spat between Wiggins' wife and Froome's girlfriend, with the women showing support for their partners by exchanging barbs on Twitter.

Froome finished second at the Spanish Vuelta two years ago and won a bronze medal in the Olympic time trial. He has shown good form this year by winning the Criterium International and Tour de Romandie.

Wiggins was looking to follow his Tour success with a Giro victory until his bid was derailed by illness. Although his chest infection has cleared up, team doctor Richard Freeman says there are still concerns with his knee.

"However, further medical investigations on the knee injury that we were managing at the Giro showed the condition was more significant than we thought," Freeman said. "It has needed intensive treatment and, whilst it will be fully resolved, Bradley now needs to rest completely for five days before a gradual, return to full training over a period of two to three weeks."

Wiggins had to withdraw from the 2011 Tour early on after breaking his collarbone in a crash. He has promised to come back stronger from this latest setback.

"I've been through this before, when I broke my collarbone, so I know how it works. I'll get this sorted, set new goals for this season and focus on those," Wiggins said. "This team has so many riders in great shape, ready for selection and we set incredible standards for performance which shouldn't be compromised. We need to have the best chance to win."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-05-31-CYC-Tour-de-France-Wiggins-Out/id-918dc942abdd4666b9a1c62dcdc524b0

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Rudyard Kipling: plagiarist?

Rudyard Kipling wrote in a letter now up for sale that 'it is extremely possible that I have helped myself promiscuously but at present cannot remember from whose stories I have stolen.' Kipling is most famous for his 1894 work 'The Jungle Book.'

By Molly Driscoll,?Staff Writer / May 29, 2013

Rudyard Kipling's novel 'The Jungle Book' was first released in 1894.

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There's no hint that the author was particularly embarrassed or ashamed. In a letter to an unknown correspondent ? a letter that is now available for purchase ? Rudyard Kipling admits quite freely that he may have borrowed parts of his work ?The Jungle Book? from another source.

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Kipling writes that "the law of the jungle," famously shared by Baloo the bear with "Jungle Book" protagonist Mowgli, was partly taken from ?(Southern) Esquimaux [Eskimo] rules for the division of spoils." And parts may be from other sources, as well, he adds.

?I am afraid that all that code in its outlines has been manufactured to meet 'the necessities of the case': though a little of it is bodily taken from (Southern) Esquimaux rules for the division of spoils," Kipling wrote. "In fact, it is extremely possible that I have helped myself promiscuously but at present cannot remember from whose stories I have stolen.?

Kipling turns the laws of the jungle into a poem for his book ?The Second Jungle Book,? writing, ?Now this is the Law of the Jungle ? as old and as true as the sky; / And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die. The Kill of the Pack is the meat of the Pack. Ye must eat where it lies; / And no one may carry away of that meat to his lair, or he dies."

The letter, which is believed to have been written in 1895, is being sold by Adam Andrusier, director of Adam Andrusier Autographs, who said he purchased it from another dealer of manuscripts in New York. Andrusier pointed out that any letter from Kipling discussing his work is extremely rare, let alone one in which he admits that he may have taken his text from other works.?

?A letter that casts new light on an author's celebrated work tends to capture the imagination of the collector," Andrusier told the Guardian. "Personally, I rather like his candidness about the possibility of his plagiarism in The Jungle Book; I think people tend to have a misapprehension about writing needing to be unswervingly original, when so much literature is either consciously or unconsciously borrowed.?

In Kipling's defense, it is also true that standards change with time. More recently, when The Wall Street Journal found factual errors in Truman Capote?s ?In Cold Blood,? Larry Welch, the former director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, made the point that standards for journalism weren?t the same in decades past.

?In this day and age, we can't even recreate the proper context for these events,? Welch told The Wall Street Journal ? a statement that applies at least as well to Kipling's rather nonchalant admission of plagiarism.

One way or another, the discovery can only help with the sale of Kipling's letter. It is now priced at 2,500 pounds or around $3,760.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/RvRhuDPGWAA/Rudyard-Kipling-plagiarist

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Windsor humane society not just for cats and dogs ... - Metro News

If your ideal animal companion has feathers or hooves, the Windsor-Essex Humane Society may still have you covered.

Although dogs and cats make up the bulk of the creatures at the shelter, the humane society is drawing attention to some of its other potential pets.

?We have a lot of people who are surprised when they come to the adoption centre and see how many rabbits and guinea pigs we have,? said director Melanie Coulter. ?And people don?t really think of us in terms of farm animals either.?

The shelter is currently stocked with a trio of horses, as well as a pigeon named Owl and a goat named Buster. There?s also the usual bounty of bunnies and guinea pigs, as well as a lone hamster called Theodore.

Anyone can adopt any of the animals, Coulter said, provided it?s ?a good match for the household.?

For more information, visit the humane society?s website.

News Worth Sharing:

Source: http://metronews.ca/news/windsor/685750/windsor-humane-society-not-just-for-cats-and-dogs/

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First passengers back in U.S. after cruise ship fire

BALTIMORE (AP) ? The first passengers from a Royal Caribbean cruise that was cut short by a fire have arrived back in Baltimore on a charter flight.

Many are praising the crew's handling of the emergency and say they'd be eager to take another Royal Caribbean cruise.

Rebecca Killinger of Carlisle, Pa., says she had no idea how extensive the fire was until the ship got into dock. She says the captain and crew were calm and forthcoming throughout the ordeal, even cracking jokes to lighten the mood. The cruise was her first and she says she'd be happy to take to the seas again.

The 2,200 passengers are being flown into Baltimore on charter planes. The first, carrying more than 100 people, arrived shortly before 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/first-passengers-back-us-cruise-ship-fire-182817183.html

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Obama says don't take American troops for granted

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) ? President Barack Obama said Monday that Americans must honor the sacrifices of their fighting men and women, particularly at a time when the U.S. combat role in Iraq has ended and the country's involvement in Afghanistan is winding down.

Speaking at Memorial Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, Obama said he worries that the country's servicemen and women aren't being fully appreciated in an era in which "most Americans are not directly touched by war." He said he couldn't explain that phenomenon but said it might have something to do with the all-volunteer military force and advanced technology that now permits the United States to accomplish some military missions with far fewer personnel.

But Obama did say that even as "we turn a page" away from Iraq, and Afghanistan by the end of 2014, "let us never forget that the nation is still at war."

He said that some troops and military families "mention to me their concern about whether the country fully appreciates" them.

Obama's Memorial Day appearance at the venerable Arlington burial grounds came four days after he declared in a major national security address that the U.S. has taken down the al-Qaida terrorist organization, particularly in the aftermath of the killing of leader Osama bin Laden, although terrorist threats remain and the country cannot afford to let its vigilance slide.

Obama spoke on a sun-splashed morning at the amphitheater of Arlington National Cemetery after he placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. That was preceded by a playingof the National Anthem and followed by the placing of "Taps."

In his speech, he said that Arlington "has always been home to men and women who are willing to give their all ... to preserve and protect the land that we love."

He praised the selflessness that "beats in the hearts" of America's uniformed military troops.

Keeping with a tradition he established earlier in his presidency, Obama stopped at Section 60 before departing and walked among the graves of the war dead from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-says-dont-american-troops-granted-155355924.html

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LA Kings hope home is sweet in Game 7 vs Sharks

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) ? Home ice meant little to the Los Angeles Kings last season when they stormed through the postseason as an eighth seed to win the Stanley Cup.

They're hoping Staples Center means everything in Game 7 of an exhausting playoff with the San Jose Sharks. The Kings host the Sharks on Tuesday night in the finale to a second-round matchup featuring six straight home victories.

Los Angeles has won 13 consecutive home games over the past two months and seven straight home playoff games dating to last year's Cup clincher.

This all-California series is ending just as both teams expected before it began two weeks ago. Neither team can pull away, with goaltending and special teams largely deciding each game.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/la-kings-hope-home-sweet-game-7-vs-212902705.html

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Book Marketing Tips For Fiction And Non-Fiction Authors | The ...

In this 18 minute video, I outline a number of book marketing tips, some specifically for fiction and some for non-fiction.

The video was produced for a different site, hence I actually introduce myself

You can watch the video below, or here on YouTube.

In the video, I explain:

What?s your most useful book marketing tip? Please do share in the comments below.

?

Tagged as: content marketing, discoverability, list

Source: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2013/05/27/book-marketing-tips/

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Seeking Self Improvement / Spiritual Event Promoters

Hey Guys! ?I'm still on my "time to myself / connecting with nature" retreat but wanted to come online to share some things.

First off, I have been having an incredible day. ?Ended up in a place I wasn't expecting to go today and have had a great day learning about marine animals. ?That's the great thing about living in South Florida, lots of marine animal education and opportunities. ?Today I fell in love with eels and sea horses.

Now for the even juicier news. ?I found two of the most perfect places to speak. ?Two places, one more than the other, that I have been dreaming about -- a place to speak at. ?Both are outdoors, amphitheater style, very natural feel - out in nature. ?It's absolutely perfect and I love the idea of speaking and teaching with butterflies and dragonflies flying by. ?Absolute perfection.

So here's what I am looking for from you. ?Are you a Promoter? ?Do you have experience promoting events? ?Are you able to draw a crowd of 50 - 100 people, men and women who are:

- single and looking for love
- interested in changing the way they date, want a way that works
- a crowd who is spiritual and/or into self growth/improvement.
- a crowd that is eager and curious learners, hungry for information

And located in South Florida?
(If you are not located in South Florida, keep reading.... )

If you are able and interested in promoting my events, I want to speak to you.

Here's what type of person I am looking for... is this you?

- you are into self improvement and personal growth
- you are deadline oriented and a perfectionist
- you are reliable
- you respond to emails and/or phone calls within 2 hours time or sooner M-Fri 9-5PM
- you have a business mind / you're business savvy
- and you have a lot of contacts / you know a lot of people
- you're passionate and excited about working with someone who is going to change the world.

If this is you, let's talk.

This is a profit-share position and will be an ongoing and blossoming relationship between you and I. ?I have many things to am knowledgeable about and teach upon, so you should be future thinking and relationship minded.

If this is you, please forward me the following:

send an email to guru@loveguru.net

Include a paragraph or two telling me about who you are and your experience promoting this type of event. ?If you have experience promoting other types of events then I am interested in you as well, but would need to understand how you will be able to pull a crowd that I am intending on above.

Paste your resume into the body of the email
Include a link to your Facebook page, whether it be personal or professional or both. ?I want to "see" who you are.

Messages posted to me through Facebook will not be tended to. ?Please reply ONLY the way I share above.

If you are located in another city / state / country -- and the criteria above is you and you would like to work with me, then please apply and share your information. ?I am open to traveling to other locations to start sharing my work.

Thank you!
Looking forward to speaking with you!
Blaire

Source: http://marryblaire.blogspot.com/2013/05/seeking-self-improvement-spiritual.html

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Roadside bomb kills 2 Yemeni soldiers

SANAA, Yemen (AP) ? Security officials say two Yemeni soldiers have been killed by a roadside bomb in a restive province where high-level intelligence officers have been assassinated in the past.

They say four soldiers were also injured in the Saturday attack, which took place in the city of Shar in the southeastern Hadramawt province and was likely carried out by al-Qaida.

The officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The military deployed more forces to the city and set up check points after the attack.

Washington considers al-Qaida's branch in Yemen one of the group's most active and dangerous branches.

Yemeni citizens and security officials say suspected U.S. drones have targeted areas in Hadramawt. The U.S. does not typically comment on specific drone missions.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/roadside-bomb-kills-2-yemeni-soldiers-191539022.html

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Jordan king says extremism 'grown fat' on conflict

SOUTHERN SHUNEH, Jordan (AP) ? Jordan's King Abdullah II says extremism has "grown fat" off of the longstanding conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

"Good faith talks must get going," he said in Saturday remarks at the opening of a two-day meeting of the Geneva-based World Economic Forum on the shores of the Dead Sea.

He pointed to an Arab peace initiative that offers Arab recognition to Israel in exchange for land to Palestinians based on the 1967 borders. The king called on a halt to Jewish settlement construction in territories claimed by the Palestinians for a future state.

The World Economic Forum has gathered 900 participants from 23 countries to discuss Mideast economic growth.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jordan-king-says-extremism-grown-fat-conflict-093547839.html

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Weight Loss News Headlines - Yahoo! News

By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More babies born via cesarean section grow up to be heavy kids and teens than those delivered vaginally, according to a new study of more than 10,000 UK infants. Eleven-year-olds delivered by C-section, for example, were 83 percent more likely to be overweight or obese than??

Source: http://rss.news.yahoo.com/rss/weightloss

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Another almost

By NOAH TRISTER

AP Baseball Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 10:31 p.m. ET May 24, 2013

DETROIT (AP) - Add another near miss in this 2013 baseball season - this time it was Detroit's Anibal Sanchez falling just short of a no-hitter.

Sanchez's bid was broken up with one out in the ninth inning Friday night when Minnesota's Joe Mauer hit a clean single up the middle. That was the only hit the right-hander allowed in the Tigers' 6-0 victory over the Twins. It was the fourth one-hitter of Sanchez's career, to go along a no-hitter he threw as a rookie back in 2006.

"It's not that I go to the mound and want to do something special, it's just that I want to go nine innings, go deeper, get a good command, get a good game," Sanchez said. "When I come to the eighth inning, I think about it. But when I come to the ninth inning, it's really tough with those guys."

After seven no-hitters in 2012, baseball is without one so far this season. There have been plenty of close calls. Before Sanchez, four other pitchers had already thrown one-hitters in 2013, according to STATS. And that doesn't include Yu Darvish of Texas, Clay Buchholz of Boston and Adam Wainwright of St. Louis, all of whom had no-hitters in the eighth inning or later but couldn't finish the job.

Darvish came within an out of a perfect game at Houston on April 2. He allowed a hit and didn't finish the game.

Mauer, meanwhile, is making a habit of playing spoiler. It's the third time in his career he's broken up a no-hitter in the ninth inning, according to STATS.

"He's nasty, and he had everything working tonight," Mauer said. "Obviously, you know exactly what is happening, and you don't want to get no-hit. I'm just up there trying to put the bat on the ball. He threw me a really good cutter and I was just able to square it up."

It was Sanchez's second gem in about a month - he set a franchise record with 17 strikeouts in eight marvelous innings against Atlanta on April 26.

Sanchez (5-4) struck out 12 on Friday and allowed three walks - staying remarkably calm on the mound all the while.

"He called me out to the mound. In the middle of a no-hitter," Tigers catcher Alex Avila said. "I've been in the middle of a no-hitter a few times, in the sixth, seventh inning, I don't think a pitcher's ever called me out to the mound. ... He just forgot what signs we were using when there's a guy on second base."

The home crowd gave Sanchez a standing ovation when he came out to start the ninth, and he immediately struck out Jamey Carroll. Mauer followed with a line drive up the middle - to almost the same spot where Pittsburgh's Josh Harrison's hit landed last year when he broke up a no-hit bid by Detroit's Justin Verlander, also with two outs to go.

Sanchez instinctively reached up for Mauer's hit, but there was no chance for anyone - least of all the pitcher - to catch it. Sanchez then jerked his head back and spun in frustration, but with a bit of a smile on his face.

"We got the hit, but that doesn't change anything," Mauer said. "He still blew us away."

After Sanchez struck out the next two hitters to end the game, he shared a hug with Avila. Sanchez threw 130 pitches.

"In the end, it's the result of my work. I try to figure out, to put my ball in the strike zone," Sanchez said. "It's a nice result, and I take it."

Jordan Zimmermann of Washington, Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox, Shelby Miller of St. Louis and Jon Lester of Boston have also thrown one-hitters this season. Matt Harvey of the New York Mets allowed one hit in nine innings against the White Sox on May 7, but that game went 10 innings and he didn't finish it.

The last-place Twins have lost 10 straight, and their starting lineup against Sanchez included four players hitting .212 or worse. Carroll drew a walk to lead off the game, and Sanchez issued another to Chris Parmelee in the second. Then the 29-year-old Sanchez, acquired by the Tigers from the Miami Marlins at midseason last year, settled into quite a groove.

He fanned Mauer for the third out of the third, then struck out the side the fourth.

Parmelee led off the fifth with a hard grounder up the middle that Sanchez was able to field himself. The following inning, Brian Dozier nearly broke up the no-hit bid when he hit a slow roller to shortstop Jhonny Peralta and almost beat the throw the first.

Sanchez then struck out Carroll and Mauer to end the Minnesota sixth.

With one out in the eighth, the Twins finally got another runner on base when Eduardo Escobar walked. That snapped a streak of 18 straight hitters retired by Sanchez, but he bounced back to retire pinch-hitter Ryan Doumit on a grounder to first. Pinch-hitter Chris Colabello followed, and with the crowd on its feet, he was called out on strikes.

Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run single in the second, upping his RBI total to 57. Don Kelly added a two-run homer the following inning.

Minnesota's Samuel Deduno (0-1) allowed six runs and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings.

The most recent no-hitter thrown by a Tiger was in 2011, when Verlander tossed the second of his career. The Twins were no-hit last year by Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels.

NOTES: Sanchez's no-hitter as a rookie came Sept. 6, 2006, against Arizona. He was pitching for the Marlins then. ... Sanchez threw 121 pitches before being taken out of his 17-strikeout game against the Braves, but there was no way manager Jim Leyland was pulling him Friday while the no-hit bid was in progress.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Another almost

Add another near miss in this 2013 baseball season - this time it was Detroit's Anibal Sanchez falling just short of a no-hitter.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/51996718/ns/sports-baseball/

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Rebuilding rules as rain soaks Jersey shore

People gather around a stage as musical group Fun performs on the beach, Friday, May 24, 2013, in Seaside Heights, N.J. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie cut a ribbon to symbolically reopen the state's shore for the summer season, seven months after being devastated by Superstorm Sandy. Several beach communities have annual beach ribbon cuttings, announcing they are back in business. But this year's ceremonies are more poignant seven months after a storm that did an estimated $37 billion of damage in the state. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

People gather around a stage as musical group Fun performs on the beach, Friday, May 24, 2013, in Seaside Heights, N.J. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie cut a ribbon to symbolically reopen the state's shore for the summer season, seven months after being devastated by Superstorm Sandy. Several beach communities have annual beach ribbon cuttings, announcing they are back in business. But this year's ceremonies are more poignant seven months after a storm that did an estimated $37 billion of damage in the state. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

The insulation of a restroom on the Seaside Heights boardwalk is visible as people gather near a stage during a performance by musical group Fun, Friday, May 24, 2013, in Seaside Heights, N.J. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie cut a ribbon to symbolically reopen the state's shore for the summer season, seven months after being devastated by Superstorm Sandy. Several beach communities have annual beach ribbon cuttings, announcing they are back in business. But this year's ceremonies are more poignant seven months after a storm that did an estimated $37 billion of damage in the state. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Peg Allen, of Franklinville, N.J., with arms raised, watches a live performance by musical group Fun at the Seaside Heights boardwalk, Friday, May 24, 2013, in Seaside Heights, N.J. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie cut a ribbon to symbolically reopen the state's shore for the summer season, seven months after being devastated by Superstorm Sandy. Several beach communities have annual beach ribbon cuttings, announcing they are back in business. But this year's ceremonies are more poignant seven months after a storm that did an estimated $37 billion of damage in the state. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

MANASQUAN, N.J. (AP) ? Saws and sledgehammers joined beer and barbecues ? under covered porches ? as a fixture of the first Memorial Day weekend at the Jersey shore since Superstorm Sandy roared through.

Seven months after the devastating storm pummeled large swaths of the shore, the tourists made their way back, though many substituted porch parties for a day at the beach on Saturday due to rain that has lingered since Thursday.

Though most shore towns have mounted Herculean efforts to rebuild boardwalks and restore beaches, thousands of homes remain damaged, including many along the beachfront.

Jennifer Kornas of Neshanic Station, N.J. and her husband own one in Manasquan. Sandy washed away its stairs and wrecked the furnace, but the home itself escaped without the kind of catastrophic damage that ruined the smaller home next door.

"The devastation was unthinkable," she said Saturday as her three children scampered in and out of the house in a light rain. "We're just praying for no nor'easters this summer because the dunes are all gone. They're coming back, but not until September."

There was never a question of selling the house.

"I have three kids that I raised here," she said. "This is what we do; this is my life. I'm going to do everything I can to stay here. It's going to be tough, but we'll stick together and it'll be OK."

Nearby, Meghan Wisniewski of Sayreville rented a house for the summer for the first time with three fellow 20-somethings.

"When we first talked about getting a house, we didn't know what the shore would be like by summer," she said. "It almost looks back to normal."

Lauren Liberatore, one of her housemates, said their rental was ideally located for a great summer.

"It's 100 yards from the beach and 100 yards from Leggett's," she said, referring to a legendary Jersey shore bar.

Throughout their neighborhood, groups of young people filled rentals, spilling out onto porches as the rain fell, red and blue plastic cups in hand. Surfers took advantage of wind-whipped waves near the Manasquan Inlet, and fishermen still ventured out onto the rock jetty to cast lines for fluke and bluefish.

But the beaches were deserted; badge-checkers were not even on duty Saturday for the unofficial summer kickoff. Lifeguard stands were turned upside down, and only a handful of hardy souls braved the blowing sand that stung the eyes and scoured the skin along Manasquan's paved beach walk, which was just rebuilt a few weeks ago.

Rainy weather and below-normal temperatures were forecast to continue Saturday, with things improving somewhat Sunday. Monday is forecast to be the best weather of the holiday weekend, with the sun finally breaking through and temperatures climbing into the 70s.

Shore towns are counting on strong summer season to help recover money lost to the storm, and even more so than usual, good weather is seen as crucial this year.

On Long Beach Island, most of the beach near Steve Sweeney's home remains badly eroded. Neighbor David Denenberg said he can't believe what a difference a few months makes considering the street was littered with mattresses, furniture and people's belongings right after the storm.

Denenberg said he knew things were getting back to normal not when cleanup efforts began but when a local convenience store opened.

"It was like, victory! We're back!" Denenberg said.

Victory is more elusive at the southern tip of the island, where the township's Holgate section remains badly damaged. Only a few people bundled in sweatshirts walked on the beach, and scores of houses remained in ruins.

Pat Darcy said despite the removal of 25 tons of sand and 54 inches of water from her Holgate house, and repairs under way to a garage where walls were blown out by the storm, things still don't feel right.

"I don't feel like we're normal yet," Darcy said as she sat on her front steps and pointed toward an empty lot where a house used to be ? it had floated up the street and is still sitting on the bay, turned sideways.

Darcy and her husband Sid spent at least two days a week all winter making repairs and replacing belongings. The home is now close to being done, "slowly but surely," Sid Darcy said.

Kathy Waldron, of Livingston, was working with her husband Bob on the first floor of their Holgate home, which they gutted down to the studs. Her husband was hammering nails and installing insulation.

"This is as far as we got in seven months," she said, standing in what was her living room. "It's getting better; we can see it getting better. If you just entered Holgate, you'd think, 'What a disaster.' This is such an improvement."

___

Follow Wayne Parry at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-05-25-Superstorm-Jersey%20Shore/id-3be4b430d71b4102b89e2f350520aa1a

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Barrick fined $16m for Pascua-Lama violations

VALLENAR, Chile (AP) ? Chile's environmental regulator blocked Barrick Gold Corp.'s $8.5 billion Pascua-Lama project on Friday and imposed its maximum fine on the world's largest gold miner, citing "very serious" violations of its environmental permit as well as a failure by the company to accurately describe what it had done wrong.

After a four-month investigation, the Environmental Superintendent said all other construction work on Pascua-Lama must stop until Barrick builds the systems it promised to put in place beforehand for containing contaminated water.

The fines add up to 8 billion pesos ? about $16 million ? the highest possible under Chilean law.

Trading in the Canadian company's shares was halted on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges as the ruling prompted a sell-off. Barrick's stock has lost more than half its value in the last year, due mostly to setbacks with Pascua-Lama, which straddles the Chile-Argentine border amid glaciers and snow-capped peaks at a lunch-aching 16,400 feet (5,000 meters) above sea level.

Chile's regulator noted that while Barrick itself reported failures, a separate and intensive investigation already begun by the agency's own inspectors found that the company wasn't telling the full truth.

"We found that the acts described weren't correct, truthful or provable. And there were other failures of Pascua Lama's environmental permit as well," said the superintendent, Juan Carlos Monckeberg.

The company said it is reviewing the ruling. "Barrick is fully committed to complying with all aspects of the resolution and to operating at the highest environmental standards," a company statement said.

Argentine authorities have insisted that Lama, their side of the bi-national project, will proceed with or without Chile, taking advantage of the infrastructure already in place for its Veladero mine, which is already producing ore just downhill.

But most of Pascua-Lama's 18 million ounces of gold and 676 million ounces of silver are in Chile, where Barrick warned shareholders earlier this year that it might abandon the project if production can't begin in 2013.

Monckeberg said the sanctions, the first since his agency gained enforcement power in December, were based on a thorough investigation by agency inspectors as well as government experts in mining, farming, and water.

"This is what we have always been hoping for," said Maglene Camillay, a Diaguita Indian leader whose community downstream from the mine alleges its river has been contaminated by the construction work. "Finally the state is showing its power. They never investigated this and now they're doing their job."

The regulator found 23 violations, and Barrick accepted all but one of them in a detailed response on April 29.

But the sanctions don't mean the end of Pascua-Lama ? far from it.

In its response, Barrick asked for permission to make $30 million in urgent repairs, saying "they turn out to be fundamental to keeping the first ice melts of this year from causing events that trigger effects or environmental contingencies." The environmental agency approved the remedial work on Friday, starting with temporary measures to contain any runoff while Barrick builds more permanent structures.

The violations include building some earthworks without prior approval, while failing to build others that were supposed to be in place before other construction began, so that rainfall wouldn't increase the runoff from mineral acids naturally released when rocks are broken. Instead, Barrick's bulldozers went ahead and moved mountaintops in preparation for a projected 25 years of gold and silver production.

The violations also include an "unjustified discharge coming from the acid treatment plant to the Estrecho river" that was "neither declared nor monitored," Barrick acknowledged.

Still, the Diaguita Indians, who live in small towns along rivers that flow down from the mine through an otherwise completely barren Atacama Desert, were feeling powerful on Friday.

"Even though we seem so small, we could beat Barrick, which is a giant," said Osvaldina Guzman Villegas, who lives in Diaguita community of Chipasse Tamaricunga. "And with the help of our ancestors, we're going to beat them."

President Sebastian Pinera's spokeswoman, Cecilia Perez, said the government is "very much in agreement" with the sanctions.

"What should happen is that until they remedy all the requirements of the environmental permit, fix all the issues that the Environmental Superintendent is asking for, and finally until this is decided by the Supreme Court, they cannot keep operating," she said.

The sanctions also were praised by independent mining experts, who noted that the containment structures Barrick failed to build were fundamental to obtaining environmental approval.

"Twenty years ago, maybe nobody would have required these fixes, and perhaps wouldn't even have required the canal to divert rainwater, but today it's necessary, more than anything because there's agriculture down below," said Gustavo Lagos, mining professor at Santiago's Universidad Catolica.

The strong sanctions show the mining industry that Chile's independent environmental regulator intends to use its new enforcement powers, he said: "This sets a tough example and I think it should show other companies, not just in mining but in all industries, that this is becoming serious."

How the ruling might affect the bottom lines of many other international mining companies in Chile also wasn't immediately clear, but Lagos said it sends a good message.

"It shouldn't be forgotten that new environmental institutions were required of Chile as a condition for its entry into the OECD," he said, referring to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which represents the world's leading economies. "It's a good signal to the world that in Chile there are controls, that there's a new institutionality that is working."

Environmentalists say regulators have been much less demanding on the Argentina side of the project, where mining is regulated at the provincial level. Barrick and other pro-mining groups obtained injunctions to block enforcement of a national glacier protection law passed in 2010 in response to the Pascua-Lama project.

"In Argentina, despite public statements that the house is in order, we are beginning to reveal serious environmental flaws regarding dozens and dozens of glaciers that have been unaccounted for in Barrick's environmental impact studies. The Glacier Law further complicates Pascua-Lama," said Jorge Daniel Taillant, director of the Center for Human Rights and the Environment, which tracks environmental compliance by mining companies.

___

Associated Press Writers Michael Warren in Buenos Aires and Eva Vergara in Santiago contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/barrick-fined-16m-pascua-lama-violations-164342441.html

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Gone perhaps, but Kepler won't soon be forgotten

Astronomers look forward to building on planet-hunting telescope's discoveries

By Andrew Grant

Web edition: May 23, 2013

When scientists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics scheduled a conference called ?Exoplanets in the Post-Kepler Era,? they figured that era would still be several years away. But after last week?s malfunction of a crucial piece of equipment on NASA?s planet-hunting Kepler space telescope, the May 20 gathering of more than 100 astronomers in Cambridge, Mass., proved all too timely.

As astronomers presented new planetary measurements and observing techniques at the conference, Kepler engineers in California were strategizing about how to remotely repair one of two broken reaction wheels that precisely point the telescope. It will take at least several weeks before they beam commands up to the $600-million telescope, and they admit that a fix is a long shot.

Though Kepler is shut down and probably out of service for good, its discoveries have revolutionized scientists? understanding of planets beyond the solar system and are steering the course of existing and future missions. Astronomers would have liked to get a few more years out of the instrument, but it has already delivered an avalanche of data that has planet hunters more confident than ever that they will detect an Earthlike world with the ingredients and conditions for life.

?This is still an upbeat, exciting field,? says David Latham, a Harvard-Smithsonian astronomer and a member of the Kepler team. ?Kepler contributed enormously, and now we?re excited to go onto the next steps.?

Kepler has become so synonymous with exoplanets that it can be hard to remember the state of the science before the telescope launched, on March 6, 2009. When a Delta II rocket carried Kepler into space on that cool, clear Florida night, astronomers knew that the galaxy contained at least 350 exoplanets, nearly all of them the size of Jupiter or larger.

Kepler?s then spent four years staring at stars and detecting the shadows of their orbiting worlds. It has added nearly 3,000 planets to that census. And because of Kepler, astronomers are convinced that the Milky Way contains hundreds of billions of planets, roughly one for every star, with at least 17 billion of them Earth-sized.

Those numbers boosted the case for funding NASA?s next exoplanet hunting mission, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, which is scheduled for a 2017 launch. Whereas Kepler has fixed its gaze on distant stars, TESS will focus on bright, nearby stars so that powerful telescopes like the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope will be able to probe the atmospheres of planets that TESS discovers. Kepler?s planet haul has TESS scientists optimistic that their modest $200-million telescope, while less sensitive than Kepler, will nonetheless uncover plenty of planets in our neighborhood, including a handful of Earth-sized worlds.

Kepler has also exposed an intriguing new class of potentially habitable planets, larger than the Earth-sized realms astronomers have always focused on finding. Kepler?s database includes nearly 700 worlds that are between 25 percent and 100 percent larger in diameter than Earth. Some of them orbit stars far cooler than the sun but sit close enough to them that they could have liquid water on their surfaces. These worlds are not Earthlike, and there is no comparable planet in our solar system, but that doesn?t mean they are inhospitable to life.

A key to understanding these so-called super-Earths, as well as other planets seemingly ripe for life, is to determine their composition. Astronomers hope to pair size measurements of planets observed by telescopes such as TESS with mass readings from ground-based scopes that look for subtle wobbles in stars? motion caused by the gravitational pull of orbiting planets.

Several years ago this technique, known as radial velocity, could pick out only hulking planets that delivered a hard yank to their stars. But lately the technology has improved so drastically that in October 2012, the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher instrument, which is affixed to a 3.6-meter telescope in Chile, spotted what appears to be a planet only slightly heavier than Earth tightly orbiting Alpha Centauri B, a sunlike star a mere 4.4 light-years away.

Other radial velocity instruments are popping up at observatories throughout the United States, Europe and South America. By 2016, the European Southern Observatory plans to install one with unprecedented precision, called ESPRESSO, which will be able to pick out tiny stellar quivers caused by Earth-mass planets in life-friendly orbits around nearby stars.

ESPRESSO will be able to pull off that feat only if there is a healthy population of such planets. Kepler?s main goal was to determine the frequency of Earthlike planets in the galaxy, but achieving that is in jeopardy due to the telescope?s mechanical failure. ?Right now we have enough data to make an intelligent extrapolation about what that number is, but that is not the same as actually determining that number,? says Alan Boss, an astronomer and Kepler team member at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington.

Other astronomers share in Boss?s frustration, but they are still optimistic. They have a year of data from the telescope left to analyze, which should yield some exciting finds, quite possibly including an Earth-sized planet orbiting a sunlike star at a distance suitable for life. ?We can?t feel sad because we have a beautiful dataset that we?re going to work on for years,? Latham says.

Combine those data with upcoming missions, plus 16 bottles of wine uncorked after the meeting presentations, and Latham says astronomers at the post-Kepler conference were upbeat about the future.

?In a way,? he says, ?everyone was toasting Kepler.?

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/350625/title/Gone_perhaps_but_Kepler_wont_soon_be_forgotten

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Rand Paul uses 2016 bully pulpit to push Obama on drones (cbsnews)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/308005392?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Anthony Weiner had help from President Obama's ad producer

anthonyweiner.com

The video posted at AnthonyWeiner.com was produced by Jim Margolis, the same man who pioneered ad campaigns for President Obama in 2008 and 2012.

Anthony Weiner now has at least one thing in common with President Obama: the same well-respected media strategist and TV ad guru.

Jim Margolis, who was key producer of Obama's ad campaigns in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, confirmed to the Daily News that he oversaw the creation of the slick 2-minute,16-second video that Weiner used to launch his mayoral campaign.

Margolis is an old friend of Weiner?s who handled the ads for the Democrat?s 2005 mayoral campaign.

Margolis produced the new video quickly, as an unpaid volunteer, using a camera crew hired and paid for by Weiner?s campaign.

The scenes featuring Weiner and his wife, Huma Abedin, were shot only last Thursday. The footage of Weiner?s mother teaching school was used in Weiner?s 2005 campaign.

Margolis? Washington-based firm, GMMB, was not involved in producing the commercial, and neither Margolis nor GMMB will be involved in Weiner?s campaign moving forward.

Margolis, however, will be back in New York since he's handling media for Democrat Scott Stringer?s campaign for city controller.

Source: http://feeds.nydailynews.com/~r/nydnrss/news/politics/~3/C4m7NabZvIM/story01.htm

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Taking Massive Action in Internet Marketing ? Hot Article Depot

Taking massive action should be on the top of your to do list as an Internet marketer. The competition on the web is growing each day, and the only way to combat it is to do big stuff on your own. Your aim here is to take action to such an extent, that you are able to achieve the results you want. For one thing, massive action in your online business is the best thing you can do. So do not give up if your business has not been working out, learn how to implement serious action and turn things around.

Make sure that you have a clean slate. If you?ve got too many projects going on then you?re headed towards failure. If you want to take massive action, you need to focus on only one thing. Your focus breaks as soon as you let it get diverted and try to take on other projects. Do not move on to the next thing until you are done with what you are already doing. Lots of people say that multi-tasking is a fantastic way to reach success. But that isn?t true; things should be taken one at a time. Put some energy into doing things as effectively in one area before you go on to something else.

Within a short time, you will find yourself in the much needed flow. One curious thing about going into business for yourself is most of the time your mindset is centered on the negative. Focusing on what is positive will edge out the negative, and your mind will become free to a great extent. Having an optimistic view of your IM future ultimately makes your journey fruitful. As you move ahead, you?ll see for yourself how your thinking impacts the overall action taking. This is something that is so important for your success, and you can help yourself by working on it.

If you are not used to success, then just make your plan and work on it each day. If you do not quite believe the role that your mind plays in this process, then you have to reassess your thinking. Just forget all the what-ifs and look at your plan and begin making things happen to the extent you can every day. Once you get into the groove of taking action, you?ll see for yourself how things fall in place. Eventually, if you keep up this effort, you will experience life-changing results that may shock you. Internet marketing isn?t complicated ? you just need to approach it smartly by taking lots of action.

It doesn?t really matter what your IM goal is, as long as you?re focused on taking consistent action, you will achieve success. You will learn as you move ahead that it is only your action that enables you to stay afloat. You will find that the tips mentioned above are pretty easy to use. Acting on them will lead you to take action in the areas you?re lacking. Just see to that you?re not procrastinating. You will not get anything done if you keep putting it off until a later time.

James Steele is a rising star in the blogging world who writes articles on affiliate marketing, advertising and MLM. His passion for blogging draws readers all over the world. Checkout his articles on MLM success success and on Empower Network success

Source: http://hotarticledepot.com/taking-massive-action-in-internet-marketing-2/

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Swine flu pandemic of 2009 more deadly for younger adults

May 22, 2013 ? As the world prepares for what may be the next pandemic strain of influenza virus, in the H7N9 bird flu, a new UC Irvine study reveals that the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic was deadliest for people under the age of 65, while those 65 and over had greater immunity due to previous exposure to similar viruses.

Deaths from flu pandemics tend to skew younger than those from seasonal flu because of "antigenic recycling," or the fact that some parts of flu viruses have already made the rounds. Between 1918 and 1957, all flu viruses in circulation fell into the H1N1 category, so in 2009, older adults had some protection stemming from their prior experience with viruses of this type, said Andrew Noymer, UC Irvine associate professor of public health and the study's co-author.

"The swine flu pandemic was relatively mild in the extent to which flu-related deaths were above normal, seasonal levels," he said. "Excess death rates were highest among 25- to 64-year-olds." The findings appear in the journal PLOS ONE.

The bulk of pneumonia and influenza deaths typically occur in people older than 65, but when H1N1 became the dominant flu strain in 2009, the accompanying rise in pneumonia and flu deaths took place within age groups that usually have low mortality rates.

Overall, there were 53,692 pneumonia and influenza deaths in 2009, of which 2,438 were considered "excess," or above the number expected. In 2010, there were about 50,000 deaths from pneumonia and flu, of which 196 were considered excess.

Researchers obtained mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Flu and pneumonia deaths between January 1959 and December 2010 were arranged by age, sex, month and underlying cause. Final numbers on flu deaths for 2009 and 2010 were released in 2012.

The 2009 pandemic was unusual not just for its excess fatalities but for the timing and age distribution of those deaths, Noymer said. October and November of that year saw the highest flu death rates in people 25 to 34 since at least 1959, when the computerized collection of population statistics began.

"The pandemic definition is based on the novelty of the virus strain and on deaths, but mortality does not need to be enormous for it to be considered a pandemic," he said. "The 2009 swine flu was an excellent example of a virus strain with relatively lenient mortality."

Noymer suggests that public health officials consider targeting pandemic vaccination campaigns to adults under age 65, who are not at the greatest risk in regular, seasonal flu outbreaks.

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention currently recommends annual influenza vaccinations for everyone over 6 months old, but pandemic vaccines may not be available in sufficient quantities for the whole population. Focusing on certain age groups may ensure the best use of a limited resource.

The novelty of the currently emerging bird flu strain, H7N9, is noteworthy, Noymer said, as the virus has not been seen before in anyone's lifetime. Although it's too early to predict the seriousness of H7N9, it does have the potential to be severe at all ages, since no one alive today has been previously exposed to this type of virus.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/xgLHN72XG2A/130522180313.htm

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Morgan Freeman Falls Asleep During Live TV Interview

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/morgan-freeman-falls-asleep-during-live-tv-interview/

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Anthony Weiner launches bid to become NYC mayor

NEW YORK (AP) ? Anthony Weiner's run for a renaissance is officially on.

The ex-congressman whose career imploded in a rash of raunchy tweets two years ago said in a YouTube video announcement late Tuesday that he's in the New York City mayoral race. He'd said last month he was considering it.

"I made some big mistakes and I know I let a lot of people down, but I also learned some tough lessons," he said in the video. "I'm running for mayor because I've been fighting for the middle class and those struggling to make it my entire life. And I hope I get a second chance."

With that, Weiner is embarking on an audacious comeback quest, hoping to go from punchline pol whose tweeted crotch shot was emblazoned on the nation's consciousness to leader of America's biggest city.

The Democrat is jumping into a crowded field for September's primary. He's arriving with some significant advantages, including a $4.8 million campaign war chest, the possibility of more than $1 million more in public matching money, polls showing him ahead of all but one other Democrat ? and no end of name recognition.

His participation makes a runoff more likely, and many political observers feel he could at least get to the second round.

But Weiner also has continued to contend with questions about his character and the scandal that sank his career just two years ago.

After a photo of a man's bulging, underwear-clad groin appeared on his Twitter account in 2011, he initially claimed his account had been hacked. After more photos emerged ? including one of him bare-chested in his congressional office ? the married congressman eventually owned up to exchanging racy messages with several women, saying he'd never met any of them. He soon resigned.

In recent interviews, he has said he shouldn't have lied but did it because he wanted to keep the truth from his then-pregnant wife, Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. She told The New York Times Magazine that she has forgiven him.

Weiner has taken a series of steps recently to rehab his image and reintroduce himself, including the lengthy magazine profile and a series of local TV interviews. He hasn't responded to interview requests from The Associated Press.

He also has released a platform of sorts, a list of ideas styled as a blueprint for helping the city's middle class thrive. He's made a point of highlighting one or more of the concepts on most days, via his newly revived Twitter presence.

The suggestions, some of them updates from a mayoral run he nearly made in 2009, range from giving every public school student a Kindle reader to using Medicaid money to create a city-run, single-payer health system for the uninsured.

Some seem to draw on his Washington experience, such as making more use of a federal cigarette-smuggling law. But others fall squarely within City Hall, including suggestions to create a "nonprofit czar" in city government and eliminate paid positions for parent coordinators in schools.

The document also opens a window on a vision of the city ? a place with "a can-do attitude, competitive spirit and aggressive nature" ? that sounds not unlike Weiner himself. He was known during his seven terms in Washington as a vigorous defender of Democratic viewpoints, unafraid to get combative whether it was on cable TV or the House floor, and as a tireless and instinctive politician.

"Anybody who underestimates Anthony Weiner's ambition is a fool. And anybody who underestimates his ability as a candidate is a fool," says retired Hunter College political science professor Kenneth Sherrill. But "we're going to see, basically, if Weiner can take hits as well as he can dish them out."

In recent interviews, he has said he shouldn't have lied but did it because he wanted to keep the truth from his then-pregnant wife, Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. She told The New York Times Magazine that she has forgiven him.

In seeking a second chance from the public, Weiner will have to overcome some voters' misgivings. In a recent NBC New York-Marist Poll poll, half said they wouldn't even consider him, though the survey also showed that more registered Democrats now have a favorable than unfavorable impression of him.

Weiner can expect opponents to hammer at his prior prevaricating, and he said in a recent interview on the RNN cable network that he couldn't guarantee that no more pictures or people would emerge.

And while he might welcome attention to his policies rather than his past, they also have attracted some criticism. About a dozen young people recently demonstrated outside his Manhattan apartment building to denounce his proposal to make it easier to suspend disruptive public school students; "(hash)Weiner: You ask for a second chance in (hash)NYC2013 but deny students a second chance," read one sign, using Twitter's beloved hashtag marks.

Since leaving office, Weiner has put his government experience to work as a consultant for various companies.

His Democratic opponents include City Councilman Sal Albanese; Public Advocate Bill de Blasio; Comptroller John Liu; City Council Speaker Christine Quinn; the Rev. Erick Salgado, a pastor; and former Comptroller Bill Thompson.

Republican contenders include billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis, former Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joseph Lhota and homelessness-aid organization head George McDonald. Former White House housing official Aldolfo Carrion Jr., a Democrat who recently dropped his party affiliation, is running on the Independence Party line and also interested in the Republican nomination.

___

Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/anthony-weiner-launches-bid-become-nyc-mayor-061856020.html

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The Iron Warrior ? KIM DOTCOM ?Mega? Legal Action

Anjida Sripongworakul - 2B Management
Posted on: May 22, 2013

Megaupload died in January 2012, but the story of the man behind it, Kim Dotcom, continues. The US Attorney General Eric Holder?s May 2013 visit to New Zealand, where Dotcom is currently based,? for an annual ?quintet? attorney general meeting has raised activity from Dotcom?s side. The meeting is also attended by attorney generals from Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and policing agencies including FBI, the Australian Federal Police, the UK?s Serious Organized Crime Agency, the New Zealand Police, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It is speculated that Dotcom?s case may surface during the meeting?s discussions.

Though it was likely that Eric Holder would be keeping a low profile, having declined an interview through a spokeswoman and limiting the attendance of his speech at the University of Auckland to students, Kim Dotcom had been wavering between attacking Holder?s trip and expressing interest in what Holder would have to say. In his Twitter feed, Dotcom requested tickets to Holder?s speech and offered to send t-shirts and an ethics manual to where Holder was staying in New Zealand. He encouraged his followers to film Holder with the Megaupload theme song playing in the background, announcing a $500 reward for the best film. Dotcom has stated his wish to understand Holder?s definition of ?cybercrime,? one of the topics discussed at the ?quintet? meeting.

In Dotcom?s defense, his lawyers Robert Amsterdam and Ira P. Rothken, have recently published a white paper, ?Megaupload: the Copyright Lobby and the Future of Digital Rights?, claiming the US case against Dotcom to be ?one of the clearest examples of prosecutorial overreach in recent history.? The paper consists of three major claims: that there is no provision in the US law for ?secondary? criminal law copyright infringement, no law stating that, as in Megaupload?s case, the person responsible for the website, would be prosecuted along with the uploader. Megaupload was used for ?legitimate purposes? and should fall under the ?Sony Doctrine?, which states that online services may be subjected to misuse. Megaupload had cooperated with copyright owners in the past, taking down over 15 million files when flagged.

Locally, Dotcom?s legal case has prompted the New Zealand government to propose legalizing domestic surveillance on its citizens and permanent residents through its Government Communications and Security Bureau (GCSB), but only after approval from Prime Minister John Key. The law would allow GCSB to better support the police, the Defense Force, and the Security Intelligence Service. Key has claimed to compromise on legislation for support of opposition lawmakers. Opposing parties have branded this as a ?band-aid? solution. Unaware of GCSB?s illegal spying on Dotcom before the armed police raid on his mansion in January 2012, Key had to issue a public apology to the Megaupload CEO last month.

Kim Dotcom is a German born entrepreneur who had founded Megaupload, the internet?s former premier ?file-sharing site, occupying 4% of internet traffic with 60 million users and 50 million daily visits. Megaupload had cost movie studios an estimated $500 million and generated more than $175 million in criminal proceedings. The US legal case against Dotcom and his six associates for copyright infringement, money laundering, racketeering and fraud started in January 2012. Dotcom remains free on bail in New Zealand as a result of GCSB?s illegal spying and warrants. His US extradition hearing is scheduled for August 2013.

Source: http://iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca/2013/05/22/21628/kim-dotcom-mega-legal-action/

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Engadget HD Podcast 350 - 05.21.13

Need a break from all that Xbox chatter? You've come to the right place -- well, after about 14 minutes into this episode of the HD Podcast, that is (we were speculating about what the news would be). With that One bit out the way, it's a good time to catch up with us on the general HD side of things. Ben can't believe he's been around long enough to see 25 years of Madden NFL, while Richard contemplates tuning into the CW more often. You know the drill: Stream the banter below or download and subscribe after the break.

Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh (@bjdraw), Richard Lawler (@rjcc)

Producer: Joe Pollicino (@akaTRENT)

Hear the podcast

Filed under: HD

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/22/engadget-hd-podcast-350-05-21-13/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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