The guys at Almond Manufacturing got some time in on their splitboards and made their first edit for the season up in the BC Backcountry. Look closely and you'll see that those boards don't have binders. This is snow surfing in its rawest form.
Balsam Pitch from Almond Mfg on Vimeo.
This violin is said to have been played by bandmaster Wallace Hartley during the final moments before the sinking of the Titanic. It's thought he put the instrument in that leather case. Hartley's body and the case were found by a ship that responded to the disaster. Now the violin has been sold.
This violin is said to have been played by bandmaster Wallace Hartley during the final moments before the sinking of the Titanic. It's thought he put the instrument in that leather case. Hartley's body and the case were found by a ship that responded to the disaster. Now the violin has been sold.
An anonymous buyer on Saturday paid about $1.6 million for a violin believed to have been played by one of the musicians who famously stayed aboard as the Titanic sank in the icy waters of the North Atlantic in April 1912.
The Associated Press writes that "the sea-corroded instrument, now unplayable, is thought to have belonged to bandmaster Wallace Hartley, who was among the disaster's more than 1,500 victims."
It was sold at auction by the English firm Henry Aldridge & Son. According to the BBC's Duncan Kennedy, "the buyer was believed to be British." The violin sold for about three times more than the price Aldridge said it was expecting.
As Weekend Edition Sunday said back in March when the auction house announced it had authenticated the instrument:
"As the Titanic sank, the story goes that Wallace Hartley and his orchestra stayed on deck and continued playing 'Nearer My God to Thee.' The band and their instruments, according to lore, went down with the 1500 other people who died that day."
It's thought that before going into the water, Hartley placed the violin in a leather case. His body and the case were recovered by one of the ships that later arrived on the scene. The violin was given to Hartley's fiancé, Maria Robinson. It passed through some other hands before being rediscovered in 2006.
Among the clues that led to its authentication: An engraving that says, "For Wallace on the occasion of our engagement from Maria."
The Washington Post adds that this is the most ever paid for such a relic linked to the Titanic: "Previously, the priciest Titanic artifact sold, Aldridge said, was a 32-foot long schematic plan of the ship used in Britain's official inquiry into the tragedy, which he said fetched $356,000."
Note: Some other news organizations are saying the price paid for for the violin was $1.45 million. In a video of the auctioneer you can clearly hear him saying the price was 900,000 British pounds, which today converts to about $1.45 million. But NPR's Philip Reeves tells us that when the auctioneer's fee is added, the price being paid by the buyer comes in closer to $1.6 million.
Melissa Block talks with musician Robbie Robertson of The Band about his first book, Legends, Icons & Rebels, an illustrated guide to 27 musical greats aimed at kids. Robertson says all the musicians in the book, which includes the Beatles, Johnny Cash, and Joni Mitchell, were on the playlist at his house, so his kids had a strong musical foundation. He hopes this new book helps other kids as well.
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood faces a wave of trials unlike any it has seen in its history, threatening to put a large number of its senior leaders behind bars for years, even life, as military-backed authorities determined to cripple the group prepare prosecutions on charges including inciting violence and terrorism.
The prosecutions are the next phase in a wide-ranging crackdown on the Brotherhood following the military's July ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, who goes on trial next month.
Morsi's trial, the most high-profile case, is setting a pattern for the others, aiming to show that the Brotherhood leadership directed a campaign of violence. Morsi is charged with inciting murder in connection to a protest during his year in office in which his supporters attacked protesters outside his palace.
Leaders may also be charged with fomenting violence in post-coup protests by Morsi's Islamist supporters demanding his reinstatement. Security forces have cracked down heavily on the protests, claiming some participants were armed, and have killed hundreds of Morsi backers. With each new round of protests and violence, prosecutors consider new charges that include incitement and arming supporters, Brotherhood lawyers say.
So far, at least nine and possibly more than a dozen cases are being put together, according to a prosecution official and Brotherhood lawyers. Each has multiple defendants. Four cases, including Morsi's, have been referred to trial with a total of at least 34 defendants, though a few are being tried in absentia. Ahmed Seif, a human rights lawyer following the investigations, predicted around 200 Brotherhood leaders and senior officials could eventually end up in court.
Brotherhood lawyer Mohammed Gharib denounced the cases as simply "a fig leaf by authorities to cover over their scandal" — to justify the coup and the crackdown, pointing out that no police have been investigated for killing protesters. "They are going after their main political opponent," he told The Associated Press last week.
On Friday, the Brotherhood legal team said Gharib left the country for security reasons and has been replaced by another lawyer. Dozens of Brotherhood lawyers have already been detained. Gharib, himself tried under previous administrations, represented the Brotherhood's jailed top leader Mohammed Badie and other senior members.
Some 2,000 high- and middle-ranking Brotherhood figures have been detained, and Gharib estimated another 6,000 rank-and-file members and supporters are also in custody, being questioned for material to use against the leadership. Among the biggest figures in custody are Morsi, Badie and his deputy Khairat el-Shater, and almost half the group's main leadership council and many of its former parliament members. Rights lawyers say they are struggling to keep track, given the high numbers jailed and prosecutors who are keeping a tight lid on information.
Even rights lawyers who see a strong basis for prosecuting Brotherhood figures over violence and abuses of power expressed concern over the scope of the projected trials. Rights advocates have called for a thorough program of transitional justice to address abuses from the time of autocrat Hosni Mubarak and through the past 2 ½ years of Egypt's turmoil since his ouster — which would also mean trying police and military officials for killing protesters and other rights violations.
Instead, they fear unfair trials with shoddy evidence will be used for the political aim of undermining the Brotherhood.
"They want revenge," Amr Imam, a rights lawyer with the Hesham Mubarak Legal Center, said of the current authorities. "The rights of not only the Brotherhood, but many other Egyptians, will be lost because of arbitrary procedures."
The Brotherhood, which despite being illegal grew in recent decades to become Egypt's best organized political group, leaped to power in elections after Mubarak's 2011 ouster. The presidency of Morsi, a Brotherhood member who became Egypt's first freely elected leader, prompted a massive backlash from many in the public who saw the group as trying to monopolize power and impose its vision on the country.
The military removed Morsi on July 3 after protests by millions against him. The group says the military has crushed the country's fledgling democracy and will bring back Mubarak-style rule.
During its 85-year history, the Muslim Brotherhood has seen frequent waves of arrests. But this time is different.
Under Mubarak, Brotherhood leaders at times were jailed under emergency laws on accusations of belonging to a banned group, but were only occasionally brought to trial. Instead, their detentions and releases were part of a political game, used by the regime to wrest concessions from the group, particularly ahead of elections.
"We used to play chess with the previous regime," said Gharib. "Now it is straight out crushing."
Gharib also noted another difference — in the past 30 years under Mubarak, there was no attempt to associate the group with violence.
The major exception was a high-profile military trial of Brotherhood figures under Mubarak, in 2008, when 25 members, including senior leaders and financiers, were sentenced to up to 10 years for money laundering and terrorism. The case was initiated after masked Brotherhood students held a militia-style demonstration in Cairo, raising an investigation into whether the Brotherhood had resurrected its military wing.
A prosecution official said nine or 10 cases are so far being prepared on incitement and other charges. Investigators are citing recordings of conversations among leaders plotting violence, testimonies by victims of violence and weapons seized at two pro-Morsi protest camps, according to the official, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the press.
Morsi's trial begins on Nov. 4, with 14 other Brotherhood figures as co-defendants. Their case is rooted in an attack by Brotherhood supporters on an anti-Morsi protest camp outside his palace in December, during his presidency, which sparked clashes that left 10 dead. Morsi is accused of inciting his followers to attack the protesters, a charge that could carry the death penalty.
Morsi has been held in a secret military detention with no access to his lawyers and has refused to cooperate with investigators. In leaked reports of his interrogations, Morsi insisted he is the legitimate leader of the country. His family called the trial and accusations "laughable."
The trial of Brotherhood leader Badie began in August. He, his predecessor Mahdi Akef and senior deputies are charged with incitement in connection to an incident days before Morsi's ouster, when Brotherhood members opened fire on anti-Morsi protesters outside the Brotherhood's Cairo headquarters, allegedly intent on storming it. At least eight people were killed.
In interrogation transcripts leaked to the press, the 85-year-old Akef is questioned about testimony by a journalist at the clashes who claimed to have overheard a Brotherhood member talking to Akef on the phone, asking for more weapons.
"These are lies," Akef replied, saying the investigators should be tried for putting together "baseless" accusations, according to the Al-Fagr newspaper.
Badie is also being investigated in a separate case. A few days after Morsi's ouster, his supporters rallied outside a Republican Guard facility where they believed he was detained. Authorities say they tried to break in after Badie and a prominent pro-Brotherhood preacher Safwat Hegazy urged protesters in public speeches to free the ousted president. In the ensuing violence, security forces killed 51 protesters, and a military officer and two policemen were allegedly killed by armed protesters. Hegazy is also jailed now under investigation in the case — and on trial in a separate one.
Gharib said that top Brotherhood figures were told by prosecutors during questioning that they were accused of trying to topple the regime, which he found ironic because the group considers Morsi to be the legitimate president.
Another Brotherhood lawyer, Osamal el-Helw, said with each new instance of violence around ongoing protests, Brotherhood leaders are added to new investigations, presumably on incitement charges. He said Badie, who has been interrogated in over a dozen cases, will likely face more trials.
The question of how intensely authorities will carry out prosecution and trials is tied up in political considerations, rights lawyers say.
Seif, who represented Brotherhood members in past cases, said he believes the aim is to win criminal sentences that would prevent Brotherhood figures from running in any parliament or presidential elections next year.
Imam believes the flurry of investigations is a pressure tactic to force the Brotherhood to rein in more extremist allies, who have carried out attacks on churches, state facilities and troops in Sinai.
"It is not the Brotherhood that are carrying the weapons," he said. "They are part of an alliance of radical groups who are, and the Brotherhood speaks for them now."
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple is holding an event in San Francisco next week to announce new products — likely updated iPads.
The company announced its most recent iPads around this time last year. The announcement included a smaller version, called the Mini, for the first time.
New iPads would get Apple's latest operating system for mobile devices, iOS 7. The invitation sent Tuesday includes a graphic that mimics the color scheme in iOS 7.
Next Tuesday's event will take place at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco, a venue Apple has often used in the past.
It follows last month's release of new iPhones with iOS 7 — the 5S model with a fingerprint sensor and a cheaper, 5C model with a variety of color options.
Shares of Google (GOOG) are soaring over 10% after the company reported stronger than expected third-quarter earnings results yesterday after the market close. The company logged a 23% gain in net revenues from advertising, with a healthy portion the growth coming from mobile platforms. Google cheif executive Larry Page said the quarter seemed to mark a long-awaited tipping point in the shift from desktop revenues to a business dominated by mobile devices.
"It's arrived," Page said of the shift, "but on a scale few expected."
For the quarter, Google reported earnings of $10.74 per share, well ahead of consensus estimates of $10.34. As Matt Nesto notes in the attached video, analysts across Wall Street are frantically raising their expectations and price targets for Google's stock. Nesto points out that more than 2/3 of analysts had positive ratings on Google ahead of their earnings report. You can bet that number isn't going to come down now.
But the truth is stock prices are a combination of company fundamentals and Wall Street emotion. Last quarter Google missed estimates and the stock got squashed. Here's our coverage from last quarter: Google Earnings: Buy or Bail?. Google's stock was trading at $880 at the time.
Which leads to the question: Is Google now worth buying at $1,000 a share?
Google is higher today because it reported strong numbers, but it's not a 10% better company today than it was 24 hours ago. Wall Street is in a manic phase at the moment. For all the terrific things about Google's third-quarter, the best thing about the report was that it came on a day when institutional investors are feeling like they have far too little exposure to stocks. The average hedge fund was up less than 10% through September and there weren't many people expecting this race to new highs on the S&P500 (^GSPC) on the heels of debt ceiling debacle.
Google shares are being chased because it's now "safe" in terms of fundamentals. Chasing the stock higher here isn't about your long-term view of mobile advertising platforms. It's about playing greater fool chicken with your trading account.
You can try anything you want provided you have an exit plan. I'm on record saying Google is one of the best company's in the world and I certainly haven't changed that opinion today. But if you're tempted to buy the stock know this: The voice in your head isn't analytical reason. It's greed. Do yourself a favor and do a Google search on "Greed Investing" before hitting the "Buy" button.
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BRUSSELS/LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - The European Union and Canada agreed a multi-billion-dollar trade pact on Friday that will integrate two of the world's largest economies and pave the way for Europe to clinch an even bigger deal with the United States.
The deal will make Canada the only G8 country to have preferential access to the world's two largest markets, the EU and the United States, home to a total of 800 million people.
"This is the biggest deal our country has ever made," Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in Brussels, adding that it outstripped the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico.
Talks between the two sides launched in May 2009 but stalled for months over quotas for Canadian beef and EU cheese. Harper and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso met in Brussels to resolve outstanding issues and seal the deal.
In a cheeky touch, chefs served Italian gorgonzola and Greek feta cheese at a four-course lunch laid on for the two leaders to celebrate the deal, which EU trade chief Karel De Gucht called a "template" for negotiations with the United States.
BREAKTHROUGH DEAL
The deal marks a breakthrough for Brussels' free-trade agenda, which had previously achieved smaller agreements with South Korea and Singapore. It is expected to increase bilateral trade in goods and services by a fifth to 25.7 billion euros ($35 billion) a year, according to the latest EU estimates.
Barroso said he hoped the agreement could come into effect from 2015, after EU governments, the European Parliament and the Canadian provinces give their blessing.
However, France signaled some reservations about an influx of Canadian beef under the deal, even if its Munster and Camembert cheese will now win easier access to Canada's supermarket shelves.
"I am waiting for confirmation from the Commission that this accord, particularly in agriculture, does not a set a precedent for talks with the United States," said French Trade Minister Nicole Bricq at a meeting with De Gucht and her peers in Luxembourg.
The Commission is negotiating trade pacts with more than 80 countries on behalf of the bloc's 28 members after the collapse of the marathon Doha round of global trade talks. The delays that dogged the Canada agreement showed how difficult such deals can be.
Efforts to sign a free trade accord with the United States faced a setback this month when a second round of negotiations was canceled because of the U.S. government shutdown.
Despite plans to do a deal by the end of next year, the talks have also been overshadowed by reports the United States bugged EU offices under surveillance programs made public by fugitive former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.
Still, the Canada agreement should provide a boost for EU-U.S. negotiations. Both deals seek to go far beyond tariff cuts and to reduce transatlantic barriers to business. There are similar sticking points, such as agriculture.
"It's a good signal. I'm a transatlanticist," German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler told Reuters in Luxembourg.
"It's a great basis for all other negotiations, such as the TTIP talks with the United States," he said, referring to the proposed deal by its formal name, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
TARIFFS AND QUOTAS
The EU-Canada pact would eliminate tariffs on almost all goods and services, set larger quotas for EU dairy exports and make it easier for EU carmakers to export vehicles to Canada and for European companies to invest in Canada's uranium sector.
For Canada, pork and beef farmers are perhaps the biggest winners, gaining a bigger share of a huge market once they change production and processing to meet EU rules.
But more European cheese will enter Canada's well-protected market, and for the first time, provincial and municipal governments in Canada will commit to opening their lucrative procurement markets so European companies can compete for contracts alongside locals.
"When you open that up to the European behemoths like Siemens and others, I think it's going to change the landscape," said John Boscariol, who heads the international trade and investment law group at McCarthy Tetrault in Toronto.
The EU will eliminate duties on a range of Canadian agricultural products, from wheat to maple syrup. Canada will be able to export 80,000 metric tons of pork and 50,000 metric tons of beef free of duties to the European Union.
But French beef farmers said they were "outraged". "Worst of all, the (European) Commission is blindly preparing for a deal with the United States that will hasten the bankruptcy of farms and jobs in the sector," France's beef farm federation FNB said.
(Additional reporting by Luke Baker in Brussels, Ingrid Melander in Paris and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; editing by Tom Pfeiffer and Clive McKeef)
President Barack Obama stands with Jeh Johnson, his choice for the next Homeland Security Secretary, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 18, 2013. Johnson was general counsel at the Defense Department during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President Barack Obama stands with Jeh Johnson, his choice for the next Homeland Security Secretary, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 18, 2013. Johnson was general counsel at the Defense Department during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President Barack Obama shakes hands with Jeh Johnson, his choice for the next Homeland Security Secretary, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 18, 2013. Johnson was general counsel at the Defense Department during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President Barack Obama stands with Jeh Johnson, his choice for the next Homeland Security Secretary, and Vice President Joe Biden, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 18, 2013. Johnson was general counsel at the Defense Department during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President Barack Obama stands with Jeh Johnson, his choice for the next Homeland Security Secretary, and Vice President Joe Biden, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 18, 2013. Johnson was general counsel at the Defense Department during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Jeh Johnson, President Barack Obama's choice for the next Homeland Security Secretary, watches in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 18, 2013. Johnson was general counsel at the Defense Department during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Friday nominated the Pentagon's former top lawyer to help craft the nation's counterterrorism policy as secretary of homeland security, suggesting a shift from the department's emphasis on immigration and border issues to a greater focus on security against possible attacks.
If confirmed by the Senate — and no organized opposition has been indicated — Jeh C. Johnson would replace Janet Napolitano, who left her post last month to become president of the University of California system. Johnson, whose first name is pronounced "Jay," is now a lawyer in a private firm.
Obama said he was nominating Johnson because of his "deep understanding of the threats and challenges facing the United States." He credited Johnson with helping design and implement policies to dismantle the core of the al-Qaida terror organization overseas and to repeal the ban on openly gay service members in the U.S. military.
"He's been there in the Situation Room, at the table in moments of decision," Obama said as he announced the nomination from the Rose Garden on a crisp and sunny fall afternoon.
Napolitano, who came to the Homeland Security Department after serving as governor of Arizona, made clear that her top priority was immigration reform, and she routinely championed the issue in congressional testimony. In contrast, Johnson has spent most of his career dealing with national security issues as a top military lawyer. Issues he has handled include changing military commissions to try some terrorism suspects rather than using civilian courts and overseeing the escalation of the use of unmanned drone strikes during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Homeland Security Department was created in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which Johnson said occurred on his birthday. He noted that he was in Manhattan on that fateful day when the World Trade Center was struck, and he said he was motivated to do something to help the country in response. But he left government service in 2012 and said he was settling back into private life and work at a law firm.
"I was not looking for this opportunity," Johnson said. "But when I received the call, I could not refuse it."
Johnson, a multimillionaire lawyer outside of his government posts, has defended the administration's targeted killings of U.S. citizens overseas as well as the role of the U.S. spy court and crackdowns to keep government secrets.
If confirmed, he would manage a department with more than 20 different agencies, a budget of more than $45 billion and a staff of hundreds of thousands of civilian, law enforcement and military personnel. On any given day, the job includes making decisions about disaster relief, distribution of a shrinking grants budget, which immigrants living in the United States illegally to deport and how to protect passenger jets from would-be terrorists.
Johnson, a one-time assistant U.S. attorney in New York, would inherit a department whose public face in recent years has been associated with immigration. But that's an area he has little experience with.
Matt Fishbein, who worked with Johnson in a private law firm in the early 1980s and served on a New York City bar panel while the nominee was chairman in the late '90s, described the job Johnson will face.
"Ultimately, he's responsible for security in this age of terrorism," said Fishbein, a Debevoise & Plimpton law firm partner in New York. "I imagine that means every single day coming across his desk is going to be very scary information that he's going to have to sort out and see if there's a basis for it. You need to secure and protect the country while not overstepping the bounds, violating civil liberties. It's a tough job."
Johnson has made clear his support for using done strikes to kill enemy combatants, including U.S. citizens overseas. He has also said that he considers "lone wolf" terrorists to be a law enforcement problem, not enemy combatants who should be targeted in military strikes.
Homeland Security is almost never the lead law enforcement agency in domestic terror cases. It includes Customs and Border Protection, whose primary mission is preventing terrorists from coming into the country. DHS also has a presence on the FBI-led joint terrorism task forces around the country, with agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Secret Service.
Johnson's experience in dealing with overseas actions and counterterror decisions may also be helpful for a department still trying to define its role in the fight against terrorism. Homeland Security has a growing footprint around the world.
If confirmed, Johnson would take over an agency with numerous high-level vacancies, including the deputy secretary. When Janet Napolitano left to take over as president of the University of California in September, one-third of the heads of key agencies and divisions were filled with acting officials or had been vacant for months. Obama has nominated several people to key positions, including general counsel. His pick to be the department's No. 2, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas, is the subject of an internal investigation, and his nomination has been stalled.
Johnson is a 1979 graduate of Morehouse College and a 1982 graduate of Columbia Law School. After leaving the administration in 2012, he returned to private practice. According to the website of his law firm, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, his civil and criminal clients have included Citigroup, Salomon Smith Barney, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Gillette.
Johnson earned more than $2.6 million from his partnership at that law firm, according to 2009 government financial disclosure documents. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Johnson donated more than $33,000 to Obama's campaign, federal records show. He was also a supporter of Hillary Rodham Clinton, having contributed $2,300 to her presidential primary campaign in July 2008. He's also given $5,000 to the New Jersey Democratic Party and $1,000 to Democrats nationwide, as well as to several congressional candidates.
Obama's campaign website listed Johnson as a member of the then-candidate's national finance committee and an adviser to Obama's foreign policy team during the 2008 election.
___
Associated Press writers Nedra Pickler, Lolita C. Baldor and Jack Gillum in Washington and Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this report.
___
Follow Alicia A. Caldwell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/acaldwellap
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-10-18-Obama-Homeland%20Security/id-ec8d34a00c1046119f15e7ba40144d36
15 hours ago
The photo-sharing social network Instagram is worried about Lady Gaga.
"omg at this email INSTAGRAM just sent me," the singer tweeted on Wednesday, sharing a screenshot of an email she received from the service. She followed up with a note saying, "what the actual hell. hahahaha."
"Members of the Instagram community have raised concerns for your well-being after seeing posts you've shared," the note from Instagram read. "We're reaching out to provide you with some important safety information."
Gaga had recently posted photos of some handwritten lyrics, including the words "might not awake without you" and "I'm sorry and I love you," which could sound like she's threatening suicide to some. Instagram did not respond to media inquiries about the email.
As for Lady Gaga, she didn't let the note bother her for long, quickly moving in to tweeting fun facts and even the cover of her upcoming album, "ARTPOP," which will be released Nov. 11. The cover shows a Jeff Koons sculpture of a naked, blonde Gaga, with a shiny blue mirrored ball strategically placed between her legs.
NVIDIA head Jen-Hsun Huang revealed G-Sync this morning, a module for gaming monitors that helps alleviate screen tearing and skipping issues. A variety of display companies are already on board, including ASUS, BenQ, Philips and ViewSonic. Huang said the module kills stutter entirely, pushes down ...This is the 40th anniversary of the Arab Oil Embargo, which triggered a seven-year energy crisis. The results of the energy crisis are still with us — both in the political fault-lines in Washington and in the cars that are on our roads.
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ShareContact: Leland Kim
leland.kim@ucsf.edu
415-502-6397
University of California - San Francisco
In recent years, studies have reported inconsistent findings regarding whether calcium supplements used to prevent fractures increase the risk of heart attack.
Now, in an assessment of the scientific literature, reported as a perspective piece in the October 17, 2013 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, a UC San Francisco researcher says patients and health care practitioners should focus on getting calcium from the diet, rather than supplements, when possible.
"Osteoporosis may result from inadequate calcium intake and it's quite common for certain segments of our population, such as the elderly, to consume less than the recommend amount," said Douglas C. Bauer, MD, UCSF professor of Medicine, Epidemiology and Biostatistics. "But a high calcium diet should be the preferred method to receive adequate amounts of the nutrient. The Institute of Medicine's recommended dosage for post-menopausal women over the age of 50 and men over 70 is 1,200 mg per day.
"If it is not possible to consume enough calcium from the diet, the use of calcium supplements is most likely safe and not associated with cardiovascular outcomes," he said.
Calcium supplements are known to have several side effects, the most common being indigestion and minor constipation, and kidney stones are a rare complication. However, several recent studies have suggested that calcium supplements can also lead to an increase risk of heart attacks.
A 2010 British Medical Journal study, which pooled nearly a dozen randomized trials, concluded that calcium supplements "are associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction [heart attacks]" and went on to say, " As calcium supplements are widely used, these modest increases in risk of cardiovascular disease might translate into a large burden of disease in the population."
A 2013 JAMA Internal Medicine non-randomized study examined 11,778 cardiovascular-related deaths and found an increased risk with calcium supplement use. The authors concluded, "high intake of supplemental calcium is associated with an excess risk of CVD (cardiovascular disease) death in men but not in women."
However, several other studies have shown no relationship between the use of calcium supplements and cardiovascular events.
For example, a 2010 meta-analysis that included all of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial participants showed "no significant relationship between supplementation and cardiovascular events" in three trials of calcium supplements alone.
Bauer recommends consuming dairy products to increase one's dietary intake of calcium as well as food products that are fortified with extra calcium, such as kale, broccoli and Bok Choy.
Dr. Bauer has received research support from Amgen and Novartis in the past for his work on independent adjudication of endpoints in clinical trials unrelated to calcium, which ended two years ago.
###
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ShareContact: Leland Kim
leland.kim@ucsf.edu
415-502-6397
University of California - San Francisco
In recent years, studies have reported inconsistent findings regarding whether calcium supplements used to prevent fractures increase the risk of heart attack.
Now, in an assessment of the scientific literature, reported as a perspective piece in the October 17, 2013 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, a UC San Francisco researcher says patients and health care practitioners should focus on getting calcium from the diet, rather than supplements, when possible.
"Osteoporosis may result from inadequate calcium intake and it's quite common for certain segments of our population, such as the elderly, to consume less than the recommend amount," said Douglas C. Bauer, MD, UCSF professor of Medicine, Epidemiology and Biostatistics. "But a high calcium diet should be the preferred method to receive adequate amounts of the nutrient. The Institute of Medicine's recommended dosage for post-menopausal women over the age of 50 and men over 70 is 1,200 mg per day.
"If it is not possible to consume enough calcium from the diet, the use of calcium supplements is most likely safe and not associated with cardiovascular outcomes," he said.
Calcium supplements are known to have several side effects, the most common being indigestion and minor constipation, and kidney stones are a rare complication. However, several recent studies have suggested that calcium supplements can also lead to an increase risk of heart attacks.
A 2010 British Medical Journal study, which pooled nearly a dozen randomized trials, concluded that calcium supplements "are associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction [heart attacks]" and went on to say, " As calcium supplements are widely used, these modest increases in risk of cardiovascular disease might translate into a large burden of disease in the population."
A 2013 JAMA Internal Medicine non-randomized study examined 11,778 cardiovascular-related deaths and found an increased risk with calcium supplement use. The authors concluded, "high intake of supplemental calcium is associated with an excess risk of CVD (cardiovascular disease) death in men but not in women."
However, several other studies have shown no relationship between the use of calcium supplements and cardiovascular events.
For example, a 2010 meta-analysis that included all of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial participants showed "no significant relationship between supplementation and cardiovascular events" in three trials of calcium supplements alone.
Bauer recommends consuming dairy products to increase one's dietary intake of calcium as well as food products that are fortified with extra calcium, such as kale, broccoli and Bok Choy.
Dr. Bauer has received research support from Amgen and Novartis in the past for his work on independent adjudication of endpoints in clinical trials unrelated to calcium, which ended two years ago.
###
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By Tabassum Zakaria and Warren Strobel
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Richard Ledgett, who heads a new task force at the National Security Agency to handle information leaks, is expected to take over as the deputy director of the spy agency after the current No. 2 retires in January, sources told Reuters.
Ledgett is the executive in charge of matters related to unauthorized media disclosures, a position that was created after the unauthorized leaks to media of top secret spy surveillance programs by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden this year.
Ledgett's duties include overseeing improvements to internal systems and assessing what information was taken in unauthorized disclosures.
He was previously director of the NSA's Threat Operations Center and director for collection/national intelligence manager for cyber at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
He is expected to replace John "Chris" Inglis who is due to retire in January, said sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
An NSA spokeswoman declined to comment.
Next year, the director and deputy directors of NSA and Cyber Command will be stepping down, giving President Barack Obama an opportunity to reshape the leadership structure.
Army General Keith Alexander, who wears the dual hat of NSA director and head of Cyber Command, plans to leave in March.
Cyber Command has the authority to engage in both defensive and offensive operations in cyberspace. The vacancies give Obama the opportunity to decide whether the NSA and Cyber Command should have separate leaders.
The deputy at Cyber Command, Marine Corps Lieutenant General Jon Davis, is due to leave in June when his two-year assignment is completed.
(Editing by Alistair Bell and Mohammad Zargham)
AT&T has two new short-term data plans for tablet users — $5 for 250MB in a day, or $25 for 1GB over three months. These are in addition to the $10 a month customers pay to add a tablet to a shared plan. [9t05Mac]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/at-t-just-announced-a-5-a-day-data-plan-for-traveling-1447238682
1 hour ago
southparkstudios.com
"South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker got caught in the dark.
Oh my God! They killed — the lights! On Tuesday, a blackout plunged the Los Angeles-based South Park Studios into darkness, preventing this week's show from being completed — which meant for the first time in its 17-season history, the series was unable to turn in a fresh episode of "South Park" on time.
Trey Parker (co-creator of "South Park" with Matt Stone) wrote on the studio's website: "It sucks to miss an air date but after all these years of tempting fate by delivering the show last minute, I guess it was bound to happen."
The animators are known for cutting their deadlines close; they usually turn in episodes to Comedy Central with less than 24 hours before they air for the first time. The delay of a blackout meant the final touches couldn't be made to Episode 1704, "Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers," so Comedy Central had to run an encore presentation of "Scott Tenorman Must Die."
"Posers" will air next Wednesday, Oct. 23, but here's a clip (includes some bleeped-out vulgarity)!
General Electric (NYSE:GE) is expected to report earnings on Friday, October 18. The whisper number is $0.36, one cent ahead of the analysts’ estimate. Whispers range from a low of $0.33 to a high of $0.38. General Electric has a 36 percent positive surprise history, having topped the whisper in 19 of the 52 earnings reports for which we have data.
- Beat whisper: 19 qtrs
- Met whisper: 2 qtrs
- Missed whisper: 31 qtrs
Our primary focus is on post earnings price movement. Knowing how likely a stock’s price will move following an earnings report can help you determine the best action to take (long or short). In other words, we look at what happens when the company beats or misses the whisper number expectation.
The table below indicates the average post earnings price movement within a one and thirty trading day timeframe.
The strongest price movement of -1.2 percent comes within thirty trading days when the company reports earnings that beat the whisper number, and -1.9 percent within thirty trading days when the company reports earnings that miss the whisper number. The overall average price move is ‘negative’ (beat the whisper number and see weakness, miss and see weakness) when the company reports earnings.
The table below indicates the most recent earnings reports and short-term price reaction.
The company has reported earnings ahead of the whisper number in one of the past four quarters with a whisper number. In the comparable quarter last year, the company reported earnings one cent short of the whisper number. Following that report, the stock realized a 5.5 percent loss in five trading days. Last quarter, the company did not have a whisper number. Overall historical data indicates the company to be (on average) a ‘negative’ price reactor when the company reports earnings.
Enter your expectation and view more earnings information here or let us know your expectation in the comments section below.
John Scherr is the founder and President of WhisperNumber.com, an independent financial research firm focused on earnings expectations. He is a regular contributor to CNBC and Fox Business Network, and has been featured in Barron’s, The Wall Street Journal, and MarketWatch. He is considered a leading expert on ‘whisper numbers’ and post earnings price movement analysis. WhisperNumber.com provides specific earnings trade alerts to take advantage of earnings report price movement with their Whisper Reactors subscription service.
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"Linux has been around for so long that you wonder what Valve are thinking, but it does serve their interest in that this is a FOSS OS that can be picked up by any OEM," suggested Lewis Ward, a research manager at IDC. "What Valve is doing could have the potential not to work but, from my experience, they're very careful about how they go about doing what they do."
Close to a third of all websites use Linux, according to W3Techs, and Linux system users are arguably second only to Mac users in their devotion to their platform of choice, yet Linux gamers have traditionally been the red-headed stepchildren of the gaming community.
Xbox 360 was the top-selling console for the 32nd straight month in August, NPD's video games sales figures indicate, while Nintendo's 3DS led hardware platform sales for the fourth month in a row.
"Linux on the desktop always has had a very small share compared to Windows, so most developers, and especially big companies, didn't care much for it," sighed Maxim Bardin, who founded Linux Gaming News.
"There is also the misconception that it's hard to develop for Linux, but such claims are usually made by non-Linux developers," Bardin told LinuxInsider. "In recent years, demand for Linux games has grown rapidly and -- with the help of the extremely popular game engine Unity, which makes it easy to port games to Linux -- more and more titles are coming to Linux."
Indeed they are, not least because Linux gaming was recently given perhaps the biggest boost yet when Valve announced plans to ship prototypes of its own, Linux-based game box, the Steam Machine.
Later this year, Valve will release 300 Steam boxes to beta users and seek their feedback. Testers can hack the boxes, install their own OSes on them or build their own boxes by purchasing their own components.
Hard on the heels of Valve's announcement, Nvidia promptly announced increased Linux driver support, with plans to provide documentation for the Nouveau project, which builds free drivers for its graphics cards.
"SteamOS is great for the industry, and we're very excited for Valve and for gamers," Nvidia spokesperson Brian Burke told LinuxInsider. "We're in favor of any initiative that promotes open-platform gaming and takes advantage of our market-leading Linux support."
AMD, meanwhile, released the new AMD Catalyst 13.11 Beta 1 video driver for Linux platforms. While the new release fixes some problems, it's also elicited some concern because it does not support anything later than Linux Kernel 3.10 and does not specify which build of that kernel it supports.
In any case, it's clear that Linux gaming has survived and begun to flourish because of the devotion of the OS's fans.
There is a SteamLug Linux gaming channel at Freenode.net and there is the Linux Games database. There are several e-zines dedicated to Linux gaming, including Linux Gamecast and Linux Gaming News, and there's commercial Linux gaming site GamesOnLinux.com, which earlier this month updated its list of commercially available games for the OS.
Most of those games are, unsurprisingly, from Steam. They include PixelJunkMonsters Ultimate, Arma Tactics and Crusader Kings II.
Other games listed are KarBOOM, Mousecraft, Inverto, Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded and Tennis Elbow 2013.
GamesOnLinux.com also lists several crowdfunding projects for games including Crypt Run, Champions of Demah and Dungeon of Elements.
Several of these games run on Windows and Mac OS as well as Linux.
In fact, if developers avoid platform-specific code such as Microsoft DirectX APIs and use libraries that support all targeted OSes, making a Linux client for a game is not a problem, Bardin said. Otherwise, the porting costs might not cover the expenses.
Now, however -- with Valve's announcement of its Steam boxes -- Linux "will become more popular," Bardin predicted.
"Linux has been around for so long that you wonder what [Valve] are thinking, but it does serve their interest in that this is a FOSS OS that can be picked up by any OEM," Lewis Ward, a research manager at IDC, told LinuxInsider.
"What Valve is doing could have the potential not to work but, from my experience, they're very careful about how they go about doing what they do," Ward continued.
Valve's move is likely to encourage more emphasis on open development platforms, Jordan Cwang, managing editor and cohost of Linux Gamecast Weekly, told LinuxInsider.
There will be a "proliferation of PC manufacturers trying to get some of that sweet console cash, and more people will be making games as barriers to entry wither away," Cwang opined.
However, that does not mean console gamers will "suddenly jump ship to becoming PC gamers," contended Liam Callahan, an analyst at NPD.
"For the cross-section of gamers playing on both consoles and PCs, there could be more of a reason to defer to PC gaming with a 'box' or OS that optimizes PC gaming for the living room," Callahan told LinuxInsider.
"This would be especially true for those that have a library of Steam games just waiting to be played on their TV," he added.
The introduction of the Steam box could bring a shift in terms of the genre games that are popular on the PC, with family games that are typically reserved for consoles in the living room being played through a Steam box, Callahan suggested.
However, most PC gamers "already have a gaming rig that is capable of playing the games they want," Callahan noted. The market for Steam boxes will be PC gamers looking to buy a new PC who find Steam OS-enabled features attractive, he added -- if the price is right. 
I'm so excited for this to start!
(Oh and BTW I did like your faces~)
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/xsfcvslopgA/viewtopic.phpLOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles International Airport officials plan to meet with law enforcement authorities to examine potential security enhancements after two dry ice bombs exploded in an alleged prank by an employee at the airport.
The meetings also will explore the handling and transport of dry ice and other hazardous materials and possible improvements to those procedures.
Arif Alikhan, deputy executive director for Homeland Security and Law Enforcement at Los Angeles World Airports, said Wednesday that such meetings are routine after such an incident and will look at lessons learned.
Dicarlo Bennett was arrested Tuesday and booked for possession of a destructive device near an aircraft. The 28-year-old is being held on $1 million bail.
Two bombs exploded Sunday night; one was found undetonated Monday.
LONDON - British boy band One Direction, Katy Perry and Robin Thicke are among the latest music stars set to perform on the U.K. version of The X Factor.
Executive producer Mark Sidaway announced on Twitter Tuesday that One Direction would appear on one of the live episodes of the ITV music competition show later this season. He didn't provide a specific date.
Photos: Fully Exposed: A Brief History of Nudity in Music Videos
This coming weekend, Perry will perform on the Simon Cowell-created show to promote her new album, Prism, which is being released in the U.K. next week. She will be joined by "Blurred Lines" singer Thicke.
Previously announced music stars set for appearances on upcoming episodes of The X Factor include Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and last year’s winner James Arthur.
The X Factor U.K. entered its live shows stage this past weekend with performances from Cher and Ellie Goulding.
The show drew the biggest TV audience in the U.K. this Sunday, ahead of hit costume drama Downton Abbey, which also airs on ITV.
E-mail: Georg.Szalai@THR.com
Twitter: @georgszalai
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A baggage handler has been arrested following a police investigation into two dry ice explosions at Los Angeles International Airport.
Dicarlo Bennett, a 28-year-old employee for the ground handling company Servisair, was booked Tuesday for possession of a destructive device near an aircraft. He is being held on $1 million bail.
Police had stepped up patrols and increased its checks on employees after the blasts took place Sunday night and then again Monday night.
Bennett took the dry ice from a plane and placed it in an employee restroom Sunday night and another device that was found on a tarmac outside the international terminal, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation who wasn't authorized to speak publicly.
Police had previously said they didn't believe the explosions were an act of terror because of the locations of the devices and because people weren't targeted.
No one was injured in either incident, although some flights were delayed Sunday.
The incidents could be the work of a disgruntled employee due to an internal labor dispute, said Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Michael Downing, who heads the department's counter-terrorism and special operations bureau.
Swissport recently agreed to acquire Servisair and the transaction is expected to close by the end of the year. An afterhours message seeking comment from Servisair was not immediately returned.
It wasn't immediately known what Bennett's motives were, but he was riding in a van with several others, including a supervisor, when he decided to plant one of the dry ice bombs, the official told The Associated Press. Those in the van were aware of the dry ice, the official said, but no other arrests have been made.
The bombs were made by putting dry ice in 20-ounce plastic bottles and could have caused serious injury to anyone in close proximity, Downing said.
One device exploded in an employee men's room Sunday night in Terminal 2. Remnants of an exploded bottle also were found that night on the tarmac area near the Tom Bradley International Terminal, but an employee threw it away. The same employee found an unexploded bottle Monday evening and then reported what he found the previous day.
While there are cameras in some of these restricted-access areas, Downing said there isn't as much camera coverage as in the public-access areas and investigators had been reviewing available video.
Dry ice is widely used by vendors to keep food fresh.
By Jessica Wohl
(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc
The world's largest retailer sees a "tough" and "unpredictable" economy around the world, Chief Executive Officer Mike Duke said, a week after the International Monetary Fund trimmed its outlook for global growth.
In the United States, by far Wal-Mart's largest market, customers are trying to stick to budgets. More than 1 million people have already signed up for holiday layaway, which allows shoppers to put items on hold and pay for them over time. Four of the top five items on layaway are electronic tablets, Walmart U.S. said.
The government shutdown is also weighing on customers' minds, Duke said at the company's meeting with investors and analysts in Arkansas on Tuesday. The meeting was also webcast.
Thousands of federal workers have been furloughed in the impasse over the U.S. budget and Walmart U.S. Chief Executive Bill Simon said if people were not getting paid, they were not shopping as much.
Sam's Club CEO Rosalind Brewer said that just over 40,000 people came to shop at its warehouse clubs after the chain waived its usual fee for those who could not access military commissaries closed in the shutdown.
But Duke added: "No matter what environment we are in, Wal-Mart will win."
Wal-Mart shares were down 2 cents, or 0.03 percent, at $74.66 in afternoon trading on Tuesday. Through Monday, the shares were up 10 percent this year, underperforming the 19.7 percent gain in the S&P 500 <.spx>.
SLOWING INTERNATIONAL GROWTH
Wal-Mart now plans to open just 14 million square feet of new store space in international markets this year, down from its prior forecast of 20 million to 22 million square feet, said Walmart International Chief Executive Doug McMillon.
The company is closing about 50 under-performing stores out of hundreds it has in the major emerging markets of Brazil and China, McMillon said. The company said the stores set to close represent about 2 percent to 3 percent of its sales in each of those markets, although it is still opening new stores as well.
Walmart International's slower growth continues a trend that coincides with its practices coming under scrutiny. In April 2012, the New York Times reported allegations the company had bribed Mexican government officials to speed up store approvals.
Walmart International added 19 million square feet of store space in fiscal 2013, after first targeting growth of 30 million to 33 million square feet, then lowering that target to 21 million to 23 million square feet.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said it still wants to invest in India. Last week, Wal-Mart and Bharti Enterprises broke off their joint venture there, leaving Wal-Mart with just the 20 Best Price Modern Wholesale cash-and-carry stores.
SUPERCENTERS AS DISTRIBUTION HUBS
Wal-Mart has already felt pressure from the economy. Same-store sales at Walmart U.S. unexpectedly fell 0.3 percent in the 13-week period that ended in late July.
Walmart U.S. feels pretty good about its profit, but is not satisfied with its sales, Simon said. Same-store sales at the bottom 10 percent of its large U.S. supercenters were down 7.5 percent over the same period, he added.
For the first time, Walmart U.S. plans to open more smaller-format stores than supercenters, he added. Walmart U.S. plans to open 235 to 265 stores in fiscal year 2015, about 120 to 150 of them small stores. It is planning for about 245 openings this year, slightly above an earlier forecast.
Walmart U.S. said it is testing using its supercenter stores as "cross docks" to supply nearby smaller stores, a move that could help it keep goods in stock and cut costs, Simon said. The plan is being tested and will roll out in the first of three unnamed markets in March, he said.
Using the back room of a supercenter as a holding area for goods to be sold there and as a "little mini warehouse" to prepare for daily deliveries to smaller stores would eliminate the need to send 53-foot trucks from distribution centers to the smaller stores, cutting transportation costs, Simon said.
The company's supercenters are the backbone of its business, selling a mix of groceries and general merchandise in stores that are each roughly 182,000 square feet. Walmart U.S. is building more of its smaller Neighborhood Market stores, which are about 38,000 square feet each and operate more like traditional grocery stores. It also has about 20 Walmart Express stores, which are roughly 15,000 square feet.
Walmart U.S. also talked about opening 70,000-square-foot supercenters, which would cost less to build and operate.
Walmart U.S. raised its capital spending forecast for fiscal 2014, which began in February, by $500 million, to a range of $6 billion to $6.5 billion, and projected spending $5.8 billion to $6.3 billion in fiscal 2015.
(Reporting by Jessica Wohl in Chicago; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, John Wallace, Andre Grenon and Krista Hughes)
