HBT: Howard drops pipe on toe, done for season

Ryan Howard?s season ended last year when he was getting out of the batter?s box, but this year it ended in the on-deck circle.

According to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com, Howard will miss the rest of the season?due to a broken big right toe. Howard suffered the injury Thursday when he dropped the lead pipe he uses as a warm-up bat in the on-deck circle on his foot. Seriously. The fracture was confirmed with an X-ray yesterday in Miami.

This is a fitting end to a disappointing season for Howard, who didn?t make his season debut until July 6 after Achilles tendon surgery. He ended up batting just .219/.295/.423 with 14 home runs, 56 RBI and a .718 OPS in 292 plate appearances, including an ugly .604 OPS and 45/5 K/BB ratio in 106 plate appearances against southpaws.

Chances are Howard will see some improvement with a full offseason to get back into shape, but he turns 33 in November and is still owed $20 million next season, $25 million from 2014-2016 and a $10 million buyout on his $23 million club option for 2017. This is one of those contracts where you keep looking back at it to see if it?s as bad as you originally thought. Yep, still bad.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/29/ryan-howard-to-miss-rest-of-season-with-broken-toe/related

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How to Block Spam on WordPress

Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Spam-Blocker Articles from EzineArticles.com

How to Block Spam on WordPress

Spam is the scourge of the internet. No one wants to have spam comments filling up their WordPress website. It reflects poorly on you as a site owner, and this is especially true if you WordPress site represents your business! Fortunately there are some great tools available to make eradicating spam on your WordPress site a piece of cake.

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Experts Blame IT Spoofing on Lack of Awareness About Digital Security

RIYADH, 23 April ? Inadequate knowledge of firewalls and other elements of the data security system is rendering some of the Kingdom?s major organizations vulnerable to cyber attacks. ?One of the problems we have faced ?

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UK teen who ran away with teacher found in France

LONDON (AP) ? A 15-year-old British schoolgirl who sparked an international search when she went missing along with her math teacher was found safe and well in France on Friday, police said.

Megan Stammers was located along with 30-year-old Jeremy Forrest, a teacher at her school, police in the southern England county of Sussex.

France's Sipa news agency said the pair were in a car when they were found in the city of Bordeaux in southwestern France. Back in the Sussex town of Lewes, Stammers' stepfather Martin expressed relief at the news.

"We just can't wait to be reunited with her. Our family are overjoyed at the outcome. As you can imagine it's been an absolute emotional rollercoaster," he told reporters.

Police say Forrest has been arrested on suspicion of child abduction and Stammers has been taken into protection. Sipa reported that she would undergo unspecified medical tests.

Stammers failed to show up for school in her hometown of Eastbourne, near Lewes, on Sept. 21, and authorities said she had been spotted on a ferry to France with Forrest the same day.

The parents of both Stammers and Forrest made emotional televised pleas for them to get in touch. Police said the two were located as a result of media coverage of the case in France.

Britain's Channel 4 News reported that the schoolgirl would be flown out of Bordeaux airport back to the U.K. later Friday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-teen-ran-away-teacher-found-france-161452447.html

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Indian government tells carriers to end 3G roaming pacts, doesn't stop to explain why

For those of us on the outside, India's telecommunications setup can seem a little murky. While the country has 900 million mobile connections, for example, there hasn't been a valid 2G license in operation since February. Now, authorities are asking 3G carriers to suspend the practice of allowing customers to switch between different operators as they roam across the country's 22 wireless regions -- with no explanation as to why. Roaming was originally outlawed back in December, but a number of networks appealed -- a move which only seems to have postponed the final ruling until today.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Indian government tells carriers to end 3G roaming pacts, doesn't stop to explain why originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Curfew on Iraqi town as security hunts escapees

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Iraqi authorities enforced a curfew Saturday on Saddam Hussein's hometown so that security forces could track down scores of fugitives including al-Qaida-linked militants who escaped from a prison there, authorities said.

The Interior Minister meanwhile said the jailbreak at the Tasfirat prison in Tikrit, 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Baghdad, was an inside job. It put the death toll at 20, including 16 inmates and four guards.

Of 303 inmates at the prison, 102 escaped in the jailbreak, including 47 al-Qaida-linked inmates awaiting execution. Some 23 were recaptured, the statement said.

Mohammed al-Assi, a spokesman for Salahuddin province where the city is located, said Saturday that a curfew was imposed after the Friday jailbreak and remained in force. "The security forces have intensified efforts to hunt down those still on the run," he said.

The new security breach drew sharp criticism of the Iraqi security forces, who have been unable to stabilize the country almost a year after the withdrawal of U.S. troops. It follows several smaller escapes and attempted jailbreaks that have deeply embarrassed Iraq's government, which is eager to demonstrate it can run its justice and detention systems.

The ministry there was "clear collusion" between some guards and inmates in the Tasfirat prison. Weapons were brought into the prison during family visits, and wardens left locks inside the facility open.

"The cells were not searched for a long period, which indicates more deliberate negligence that led to this incident," it said.

The break began when inmates seized weapons and clashed with security guards in an hours-long standoff.

After taking over a large part of the prison, the rioters used other inmates as human shields in order to make their way out, the late Friday statement said.

The Interior Ministry statement also said that Salahuddin police chief, Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim al-Khazraji, was sacked.

Authorities earlier reported 12 people dead and 32 wounded in the break.

Prison escapes have frequently occurred in Iraq.

The Tikrit prison itself was moved to a different location after 16 prisoners, including five al-Qaida-linked inmates awaiting execution, made their escape after plying open the bars on a prison bathroom window with a pipe wrench in September 2009.

At the time, the entire prison staff and the provincial prison official were detained for questioning. Six of the escaped inmates were later captured.

In 2010, a dozen detainees held on terrorism charges broke out of a prison in the southern city of Basra, disguised in police uniforms. And last year, al-Qaida smuggled weapons and grenades into a prison in Mosul, supposedly one of the country's most secure detention centers, and attempted an ultimately unsuccessful jailbreak that left 17 dead.

In July 2011, detainees linked to al-Qaida escaped at least twice from a Baghdad area prison known as Camp Cropper shortly after the U.S. handed it over to Iraqi authorities.

___

Associated Press writer Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/curfew-iraqi-town-security-hunts-escapees-110437886.html

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Voter registration problems widening in Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) ? What first appeared to be an isolated problem in one Florida county has now spread statewide, with election officials in at least seven counties informing prosecutors or state election officials about questionable voter registration forms filled out on behalf of the Republican Party of Florida.

State Republican officials already have fired the vendor it had hired to register voters, and on Thursday took the additional step of filing an election fraud complaint against the company, Strategic Allied Consulting, with state officials.

A spokesman for Florida's GOP said the matter was being treated very seriously.

"We are doing what we can to find out how broad the scope is," said Brian Burgess, the spokesman.

Florida is the battleground state where past election problems led to the chaotic recount that followed the 2000 presidential election.

The Florida state party has paid Strategic Allied Consulting more than $1.3 million, and the Republican National Committee used the group for nearly $3 million of work in Nevada, North Carolina, Colorado and Virginia.

The company said earlier this week that it was cooperating with elections officials in Florida. It said the suspect forms were turned in by one person, who has been fired.

"Strategic has a zero-tolerance policy for breaking the law," Fred Petti, a company attorney, said Thursday.

An email request to the company seeking additional comment, following the company's instructions, was not immediately returned Friday.

In Florida, it is a third-degree felony to "willfully submit" any false voter registration information, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

The questionable forms have showed up in South Florida, including Miami-Dade, as well as northeast Florida and the Florida Panhandle.

Election officials in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties on Thursday handed over more than 100 suspect forms to local prosecutors. They did so days after officials in Palm Beach County also alerted prosecutors.

Ann Bodenstein, the elections supervisor for Santa Rosa County, said her staff started raising questions after an employee saw a form that changed the home address of a neighbor.

Paul Lux, election supervisor for Okaloosa County, said questionable forms in the Florida Panhandle appear to have all come from Strategic's effort based at the local Republican Party headquarters. He said his office has turned up dozens of suspect forms.

Lux said there have been forms that listed dead people and were either incomplete or illegible. He met with local prosecutors on Friday, but added that his staff was still going through hundreds of forms dropped off by Strategic employees.

Lux, who is a Republican, said he warned local party officials earlier this month when he first learned the company was paying people to register voters.

"I told them 'This is not going to end well,'" Lux said.

But Lux added that he did not blame the Republican Party of Florida.

"I can't place the blame on RPOF if they hired a firm and that firm wasn't following the rules they were given to follow," Lux said.

Lux also heard a complaint from the head of the local chapter of the League of Women Voters, who raised questions about Strategic employees.

Mary Blackwell said the league's Okaloosa County chapter held a voter registration drive at a college campus in Niceville and that a person who was registering voters told her he was "lucky" he only had applications from Republicans or independents. Blackwell said she was "distressed" by the comments and became worried that he may be discarding voter registration forms filled out by Democrats.

The state party filed the complaint against Strategic Allied Consulting with state election officials, who can refer the case to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement if it is found legally sufficient.

__

Follow Gary Fineout on Twitter: http://twitter.com/fineout

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/voter-registration-problems-widening-florida-154156242--election.html

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Tiny medical electronics dissolve harmlessly inside your body

16 hrs.

Devin Coldewey

A team of researchers has created a form of electronics that can be implanted in a patient's body then forgotten about ? because the implants will dissolve within a week or two. Such safe and hassle-free electronic monitoring could revolutionize medical care.

Implanting devices in the body is nothing new, but usually the risk is only worth it for life-threatening problems: a pacemaker, for instance, or an insulin pump. But there are lots of?situations where constantly monitoring some vital statistic would be useful. A thermometer or blood sugar monitor could help make sure a post-operative patient is safe during the critical first week ? but the stress and cost of the implantation and removal operations can't be justified.

But what if the implant was inexpensive and made of nontoxic materials that would break apart and be resorbed into the body after a set period of time? That's just what researchers, led by Professor?Fiorenzo Omenetto at Tufts and?John A. Rogers at the University of Illinois, have accomplished.

The tiny devices, which they call "transient electronics," are made from silicon and silk. Silicon is, of course, a?normal material for electronics, but it is also a common organic element found in our own bodies, and small amounts of silicon are easily dissolved in water or bodily fluids. Modern manufacturing techniques allowed the team to make silicon circuits only tens of nanometers thick, meaning they are well within healthy quantities?to be ingested.

Circuits are usually mounted on plastic or some other non-soluble material. But on transient electronics, the circuit?board is made of silk protein extracted from silkworm cocoons, a material that is strong but also very biodegradable. Omenetto and his team managed to adjust its properties so they can control how long it takes for the silk to degrade ? meaning they can create devices that melt down after a day, a week, or more. Theoretically,?it could last for years,?Rogers told NBC News via email,?but the design the team has been working on was made for the two-week post-operative period.

They use wireless power ? harvesting energy from radio transmissions to operate?the circuits. Rogers said that they can do non-rechargeable batteries, too, but that work isn't published yet.

So far, they've put together a temperature monitor and a tiny camera, both of which could be used for a number of purposes in the medical establishment. The next step, aside from applying for the usual testing and approvals, is to make the devices responsive to things like light or pressure, so that they could be activated or perhaps even destroyed at the command of a doctor or patient.

Beyond the body, such biodegradable devices could also safely be introduced to natural environments without the need to recover them, and without the risk of polluting or poisoning local wildlife.

The research was made possible by a number of grants from DARPA, the NSF, the NIH, and others. The paper is entitled "A physically transient form of silicon electronics," and can be found in this week's edition of the journal Science.

Devin Coldewey is a?contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is?coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/tiny-medical-electronics-dissolve-harmlessly-inside-your-body-6146659

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Modular Outdoor Deck Tiles ? Build Your Dream Deck or Patio ...

Having the deck of your dreams can be a reality. Modular decking tiles ? real hardwood tiles that easily interlock together ? are the next hot thing for do-it-yourselfers out to expand their outdoor living space.

Upgrading an existing deck, patio or balcony, is among the top five home improvement projects; it enhances a home?s value and is cheaper than building an actual room addition. Yet traditional deck building has required homeowners to either layout a substantial sum of cash to have professionals do the job, or invest hours of their own time learning the skills needed to do it themselves.

Recently featured on HGTV?s ?Red, Hot & Green?, hosted by expert carpenter Carter Oosterhouse, these modular interlocking decking tiles can make a beautiful do-it-yourself deck possible for even home improvement neophytes.

Each one sqft. modular wooden tile is mounted on a high-impact polypropylene backing. The grid allows the tiles to lock together like children?s plastic building blocks. They are so easy to put together, so you can reasonably expect to invest 60 minutes or less installing a 100 square foot deck.

The 1-3/16 inch-thick tiles are made of beautiful, durable Ipe hardwood, also known as Brazilian Walnut (ironwood). The tiles are manufactured in 12-inch by 12-inch and 12-inch by 24-inch dimensions. The tiles are imported from South America.

Besides easy installation, modular decking tiles have several advantages over traditional decks:

* No concrete footings or complicated support systems are necessary. Modular decking tiles and pavers can be placed over any reasonably flat surface ? from an existing concrete patio, weathered traditional deck, or balcony, to screened in porches, basements and flat-top roofs.

* The average cost per square foot of traditional decks range from $18 to over $35 per square foot, depending on the wood or composite material choice. Modular interlocking decking tiles retail between $8.95 and $11.99 per square foot, depending on the style and material.

* Once assembled, modular decking tiles are as sturdy as a traditional deck. They can easily be disassembled should you decide to relocate your deck, or take it with you when you move.

* Because they snap together, modular tile decks never have any exposed screws or nails, making them child and pet friendly.

* Cleanup and maintenance are easy. Simply hose off your modular decking tiles as needed for regular cleaning. Once a year, treat them with a wood sealer containing UV protection.

* Modular decking tiles can also be used to easily create patios, paths and posh pool areas outdoors, and as flooring in home spas or on apartment or condo balconies. Decking tiles can also be laid in three different designs: traditional, offset or parquet, to create a truly unique look.

For more information on modular decking tiles, please visit www.OutdoorFloors.net, a leading distributor of outdoor flooring, decking materials, premade modular patios, and fire pits.

---

About the Author: Joe Swantack has years of experience in the concrete, hardscapes, and home remodeling industry. He brings you the expertise and advice you need to see your project through to successful completion.

Source: http://www.pimpampum.info/2012/09/Modular-Outdoor-Deck-Tiles-Build-Your-Dream-Deck-or-Patio/

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Amber Alert issued for 2 missing after Tenn. fire

Workers are still on the job Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, near Shelbyville, Tenn., at the site of a house fire that where an elderly couple and two young children lived. Authorities were searching the debris for the remains of the two missing children, 9-year-old Chloie Leverette and 7-year-old Gage Daniel. The two children were initially believed to have perished in the intense fire, which firefighters battled overnight Sunday and early Monday. (AP Photo/Kristin M. Hall)

Workers are still on the job Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, near Shelbyville, Tenn., at the site of a house fire that where an elderly couple and two young children lived. Authorities were searching the debris for the remains of the two missing children, 9-year-old Chloie Leverette and 7-year-old Gage Daniel. The two children were initially believed to have perished in the intense fire, which firefighters battled overnight Sunday and early Monday. (AP Photo/Kristin M. Hall)

A worker moves a wheel barrel on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, near Shelbyville, Tenn., at the site of a house fire where an elderly couple and two young children lived. Authorities were searching the debris for the remains of the two missing children, 9-year-old Chloie Leverette and 7-year-old Gage Daniel. The two children were initially believed to have perished in the intense fire, which firefighters battled overnight Sunday and early Monday. (AP Photo/Kristin M. Hall)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ? Authorities in Tennessee issued a statewide Amber Alert on Friday for two children missing since their home was destroyed by an intense fire.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation sent out the alert late Friday evening after investigators spent a fifth day trying to determine if there were any remains of the children in the fire debris.

The children, identified as 9-year old Chloie Leverette and 7-year old Gage Daniel, were living with their step-grandparents at the house that burned Sunday night and early Monday.

"We don't know where they are," said TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm, adding that the alert has not been sent to other states. "We don't have any indication that they're in another state."

Two bodies tentatively identified as 72-year-old Leon "Bubba" McClaran and his wife, 70-year-old Molli McClaran, were recovered Monday and have been sent to the Nashville medical examiner's office for autopsy.

Multiple fire experts had processed the debris of the incinerated farmhouse and no trace of the children was found, the TBI said in a news release announcing the alert.

On Wednesday, the TBI issued an endangered child alert for the two when officials said they could not find the children's remains.

Helm said the TBI does not have any direct evidence that the children are victims of foul play. She said there are no persons of interest in the case and that investigators are following all leads, but would not elaborate.

Forensic teams from Middle Tennessee State University and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville were brought in to help in the search.

Forensic anthropologist Steven A. Symes, who formerly worked in the medical examiner's office for Shelby County, said it was a smart decision for authorities to bring in these teams because they have the expertise.

"It just takes some screening and some close looking and understanding that a piece of drywall and piece of skull bone burned look about identical," he said.

Symes said the recovery of remains from fires has advanced as the forensic anthropology field grows, but he acknowledged it is still a slow process. He said the length of time to recover remains depends on the scene and how detailed the search is.

"Unfortunately sometimes a case that you least expect to be suspicious or difficult turns into that type of case," he said.

Christopher Garrett, a spokesman for the State Fire Marshal's office, said he did not have any information on a cause of the fire.

________

Associated Press Writer Janet Cappiello contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-09-28-Deadly%20Fire-Children/id-433c8df017dd4ca28e6dc07638d919ec

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B - Medium - Adult - Male - Cat - Boston Classifieds - Kijiji

Domestic Medium Hair - B - Medium - Adult - Male - Cat

A270922
Gray & White Domestic SH
Male
Age: 2 Years
Arrival Date: 9/14/12

I came to the MSPCA because: My owner didn't have a lot of time for me, and I was living outside.

Best Qualities: Hi, my name is B! Yeah, that's right, my entire name is one letter. I love getting attention, and you'll be able to hear me when I want you to come pet me! I'm a curious guy, and I like poking my head out of the cage and checking out the other cats. There are so many cool cats around here! I'm FIV positive, please ask a staff member for more information.

A little about my history:
Kids: I don't have a history of living with kids. Please introduce me to new children slowly and carefully.

Other Cats: I don't have a history of living with cats. Please introduce me slowly and carefully to new feline friends.

Dogs: I don't have a history of living with dogs. Please introduce me slowly and carefully to new canine companions.

CHARACTERISTICS:
Breed: Domestic Medium Hair
Size: Medium
Petfinder ID: 24207087

CONTACT:
MSPCA Boston Animal Care and Adoption Center | Boston, MA | 617-522-5055

For additional information, reply to this ad or see: http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=24207087

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Suited Science: What Are the Odds of Drawing That Card?

CARDSHARP: Learn about probabilities and put your counting skills to the test in the classic card game "Go Fish." Image: George Retseck

Key concepts
Mathematics
Probability
Chance
Strategy
Cards

Introduction
Have you ever been playing cards and wished you could use psychic powers to draw the card you wanted? You may not be psychic, but you can still have the power of probability on your side. In this activity you'll investigate the probabilities of drawing specific types of cards from a deck. You'll discover how math can help you avoid the dreaded phrase, "Go fish!"

Background
When you draw a card from a deck, you have a certain chance of getting a specific type of card, such as a spade or face card, or one particular card, such as the queen of hearts. Consider the game "Go Fish" with a regular card deck. The goal is to get the most four-of-a-kind sets by asking your opponent for matching cards or by drawing them from the deck. To win, you can rely on chance or you can increase your probability of getting matching cards, but how?

By understanding how chance is related to math, you can play with a winning strategy. For example, if you have three kings and one queen in your hand and it's your turn to ask for a card, which one should you ask your opponent for? You might think you should ask for a king, but it's actually better to take a queen! Why? Because you have a better chance of getting it. There are four kings and four queens in the deck, and with three kings and one queen in your hand, there's one king and three queens left. This gives you only one chance to get a king, but three chances to get a queen out of the remaining cards.

Materials
??? ? Standard deck of playing cards
??? ? Piece of paper
??? ? Pencil or pen
??? ? Calculator

Preparation
??? ? Count the cards in the deck and make sure it is complete. (There should be 54 cards total.) Take out the two jokers. Shuffle the deck three times and set aside.
??? ? Pick four types of cards to investigate, such as a color, suit, number or face card, and a specific one. For example, you could investigate red cards, spades, kings and the queen of hearts.
??? ? Draw a table to in which to record your data. Make a column for each card type you'll investigate. In the first row write how many of that type of card are in the deck. For example, there are 26 red cards in a deck, 13 spades, four kings and one queen of hearts. Make 10 rows below this one for the 10 trials you will be doing.

Procedure
??? ? Decide which type of card you will investigate first. Draw cards from the top of the deck and flip them over one at a time, counting as you go, and stop when you see that type of card. How many cards did you draw until you reached that card? Write down the answer in your table.
??? ? Shuffle the deck again and repeat this process, flipping over the cards and looking for the same type of card. How many cards did it take this time? Write down the answer in your table. Repeat this for a total of 10 times for one type of card.
??? ? Repeat this process for each of the four types of cards you picked to investigate. This means that you will have looked for each type of card a total of 10 times.
??? ? Calculate the average number of cards you drew to reach each type of card. Label the last row in your table "Averages" and write them in this row.
??? ? Which types of cards were the easiest to draw? Which were the most difficult? How do you think the chances of drawing a card relate to the total number of that card type in the deck?
??? ? Based on what you saw in this activity, how do you think probability can help you choose the right strategy in a card game?
??? ? Extra: A more advanced way of showing the results of your experiment would be to make histograms, which are a type of graph to show distributions. Try making a separate histogram for each type of card you tested by graphing the number of cards drawn for each trial separately in a bar graph. When all of the bars are lined up next to each other, what does the overall shape of the distribution look like?
??? ? Extra: The probability of drawing a particular type of card also depends on the number of cards drawn each time. Try doing this activity again but draw samples of three, five or seven cards at a time. Do your chances improve as more cards are taken?
??? ? Extra: Probabilities can change your strategies for playing a card game. Can you design an experiment to show how probabilities can help you choose cards and win "Go Fish"? What about other popular card games? Can you invent your own game based on probabilities?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=f59b65c472371d313f5a2320f23c68d6

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Streaming Video on Televisions Surpasses Computers for the First ...

SmartTVs becoming choice for Entertainment options

By James DeRuvo (doddleNEWS)

Convergence is the one thing that Hollywood and Technology can actually agree on. It?s the moment where the computer met the TV and they had a love child that not only watches TV, but also gets information from the web. And as most people who surf the net around dinner time can attest, Netflix has made convergence even closer than ever. And now, studies show that for the first time, cable cutters are watching streaming video more from their TV sets, than from their computers. Convergence is almost here.

NPD?s recent ?Digital Video Outlook? report reveals that home installation of millions of Internet-connected TVs is changing the way that consumers access and view streaming video. ? NPD Press release

The study, known as the ?Digital Video Outlook? report, was conducted by the NPD Group.? It found that 45% of Americans choose video streaming from the web and watch it with TVs being their primary screen for viewing.? Thirty-one percent are watching services like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube on their personal computers, and the rest are likely viewing using a mobile device like a tablet or mobile phone.? The results are a mirror image of 2011, which found that nearly fifty percent of viewers were steaming video directly to their PCs.? This is the tipping point for the lean back vs. lean forward style of video.

?The growth in connected TVs is another sign that online video is maturing,? said Russ Crupnick, senior vice president of industry analysis for The NPD Group. ?Streaming video has moved from the dorm room to the living room; and, as more households obtain and connect TVs to the Web, we predict increased trial and engagement for video distribution services.?

The survey also found that Netflix is the preferred choice for streaming video, with 40 percent watching the subscription service, 12 percent choosing HuluPlus, and 4 % for Vudu, making it a distant third.

The results of the survey is good news for companies like Apple, which is working to make AppleTV the central entertainment hub for all online streaming, as well as broadcast television.? As more users look to the web and cut their cables, Apple is working to convince content providers that having an App living in the Apple ecosystem will do for television what the iPod did for music ? save it from itself, and from the rapidly evolving technology which is supplanting their outdated business models.

But Apple has met with some resistance from cable and satellite providers, who see Apple?s business model as one that requires a piece of the pie go to Cupertino, and could end up cutting them out of the deal altogether as content creators bypass the middle man and go straight to the audience.??? And it?s something that causes concern the other way as well, as companies like DISH are offering ways to completely omit commercial breaks from television broadcasts in an attempt to keep viewers from cutting their cords.? And the result is going to be the usual round of legal action, followed by either hampering of emerging technologies in a Faustian bargain, or providers will go the way of buggy operators.? Either way, the future looks bright for convergence.

*****

Press Release

NPD Group: TVs Overtake PCs as the Primary Screen for Home Viewing of Online Video

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, September 26, 2012?? According to?The NPD Group, a leading market research company, over the past year, the number of consumers reporting that the TV is their primary screen for viewing paid and free video streamed from the Web has risen from 33 percent to 45 percent. During the same period, consumers who used a PC as the primary screen for viewing over-the-top (OTT) streamed-video content declined from 48 percent to 31 percent. This shift not only reflects a strong consumer preference for watching TV and movies on big screen TVs, but also coincides with the rapid adoption of Internet-connectible TVs.

NPD?s recent ?Digital Video Outlook? report reveals that home installation of millions of Internet-connected TVs is changing the way that consumers access and view streaming video. As of the second quarter (Q2) of 2012, 12 percent of the installed base of consumer TVs in the U.S. were connected TVs, totaling more than 29 million devices. Approximately 10 percent of U.S. consumer households currently own at least one connected TV. NPD research conducted over the past year has found that 43 percent of connected TV users accessed online entertainment directly from their TVs, including online video, music, and cloud services.

?The growth in connected TVs is another sign that online video is maturing,? said Russ Crupnick, senior vice president of industry analysis for The NPD Group. ?Streaming video has moved from the dorm room to the living room; and, as more households obtain and connect TVs to the Web, we predict increased trial and engagement for video distribution services.?

Netflix Watch Instantly is the dominant application for Web-to-TV video. Of those viewing online video on the TV, 40 percent use their connected TVs to stream video via Netflix, 12 percent access HuluPlus, and 4 percent connect to Vudu. Connected TVs, which offer direct access to these and other popular online video services via TV apps, represent a convenient alternative to PCs, or the use of other Internet-connected peripheral devices.

NPD?s study also found that nearly one in five connected-TV installations resulted in consumers no longer using peripheral devices, such as streaming media players, video game consoles, and Blu-ray Disc players, to access streaming video on the TV. This decline in usage could impact the usage models and utility of peripheral devices.

Data note: NPD?s ?Digital Video Outlook? report is based on data collected from multiple sources, including two electronic surveys. The quarterly survey includes approximately 1,200 U.S. broadband households. Survey data was weighted to represent U.S. population (age 13 and older) and tested for statistical significance at the 95 percent confidence level. The semi-annual survey includes approximately 10,000 respondents. Data from this survey has a 97% level of confidence, with a +/- 0.7% margin of error.

Hat Tip ? BGR

Source: http://news.doddleme.com/equipment/streaming-video-on-televisions-surpasses-computers-for-the-first-time/

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Latest Technology in Computer Hardware ? headline news

The rate at which new computer hardware products are arriving in the market is simply mind-boggling. As the technology advances, the size and the price of the devices come down, while the efficiency and capacity increase. The scenario is same in all cases, whether it is about internal components like processor, motherboard, RAM, graphics card, and hard disk or for peripheral accessories like mouse, keyboard, and monitors. Personal computers became popular only before about three decades back. But already there are huge piles of outdated and antique hardware components and devices. This is a tribute to the tremendous rate of development of latest technologies in computer hardware field. Perhaps, the newest entrant into the archeological catalogue of computer peripherals is CRT monitors. The sleek looking LCD monitors are spreading like computer virus.Data storage devices have attracted considerable attention of the technology developers. New kinds of storage devices such as newer versions of flash memory cards, hard disks using latest technology and disks of ever-increasing capacity are the results of advancement in latest technology in compute hardware. The memory size of the random access memory (RAM) cards is soaring to enable the smooth functioning of graphics animation software packages and streaming video websites. Also, computer motherboards have undergone substantial changes over the years. More and more functions are being added to the motherboard. Also, despite the incredible improvement in performance and functionalities, the price of these components has actually fallen steadily.The most vital component of a computer is the microprocessor. It is in this field that a battle of developing latest technologies in computer hardware takes place. The pace of development of microprocessor increases as the competition between the major processor chip manufacturing companies, Intel and AMD, intensifies. Both the companies are engaging in a neck and neck competition and continuously outdo each other in introducing new technologies.In the field of computer peripherals, the latest technology in computer hardware is in developing yet another version of wireless mouse and keyboard. The concept of wireless mouse and keyboard is about a decade old. But the development of these items is still a work in progress. The latest products of wireless mouse and keyboard are said to be highly durable and error free.Some of the developments in the latest technology in computer hardware are gearing up for changing the present concept of desktop and laptop computers. With new developments making possible the convergence of mobile phone technology and computers, a new breed of fully functional palm-top computers are going to be introduced in near future. With touch screen monitors and without the need for a mouse, these gadgets are likely to become the next big leap in the constantly leaping technological development field.

Source: http://headlinenews.talkposts.com/2012/09/27/latest-technology-in-computer-hardware-2/

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Uruguay poised to legalize abortion

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) ? Uruguay's congress appeared ready on Tuesday to legalize abortion, a groundbreaking move in Latin America, where no country save Cuba has made abortions accessible to all women during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Compromises made to secure votes disappointed both sides of the abortion divide, which gathered in protest. Once it gets through Uruguay's lower house, the measure would go back to the Senate for approval of changes, but President Jose Mujica has said he will allow it to become law.

The measure would give women the right to a legal abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and decriminalize later-term abortions when the mother's life is at risk or when the fetus is so deformed that it wouldn't survive after birth. In cases of rape, abortions would be legal during the first 14 weeks.

The goal is to reduce the number of illegal abortions in Uruguay, Congressman Ivan Posada of the center-left Independent Party told his fellow lawmakers Tuesday. Posada wrote the measure and is expected to provide a key 50th vote against the opposition of 49 other lawmakers.

"They talk of 30,000 a year, a hypothetical number, but whatever the number is, it's quite dramatic for a country where 47,000 children are born each year," Posada explained earlier in an Associated Press interview.

A poll this month showed 52 percent of Uruguayans would vote to legalize abortion if the question were put to the people, while 34 percent would vote against it. The survey of 802 people nationwide by the CIFRA consulting firm had a 3.4 percentage point margin of error.

Compromises include requiring women seeking abortions to justify their request before a panel of at least three professionals ? a gynecologist, psychologist and social worker ? and listen to advice about alternatives including adoption and support services if should she decide to keep the baby.

Then, she must wait five more days "to reflect" on the consequences before the procedure.

"It's important that the woman who decides to have an abortion attend this meeting where she will be informed, where they'll explain all the options including alternatives that she is free to choose from," Posada told the AP.

The review panel should obtain the father's point of view, but only if the woman agrees. Women under 18 must show parental consent, but they can seek approval from a judge instead if they're unwilling or unable to involve their parents in the decision.

The measure also allows entire private health care institutions, as well as individual health care providers, to decline to perform abortions.

Such requirements raised objections from Amnesty International and other groups, which say layers of bureaucracy will create barriers and delay abortions until more than 12 weeks have passed, thus forcing women and health care providers into criminal territory.

"This is not the law for which we fought for more than 25 years," complained Marta Agunin, who directs Women and Health, a non-governmental organization in Uruguay.

Also opposed are Uruguay's Catholic and evangelical institutions, which along with public hospitals provide much of the available health care in Uruguay.

A statement from Uruguay's Catholic University says it makes no sense to punish a woman for killing a fetus that is 12 weeks and 1 day old, but to decriminalize abortions before then. Conservatives also object to the removal of a proposal to require the father's consent before any abortion.

Cuba, which decriminalizes abortions in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, is the only country in Latin America where legal abortion is common. Argentina and Colombia allow it only in cases of rape or when the mother's life is endangered. Colombia also allows it when there is proof of fetal malformation. Mexico City has legalized first-trimester abortions, but there are restrictions in most other parts of the country.

Many countries ban abortions under any conditions.

Uruguay's lawmakers have no desire to make their country a destination for women from other countries seeking abortions. The measure says only Uruguayan citizens and women who can prove at least one year's residency can apply. "This is a solution for those who live here, not that Uruguay becomes a place that attracts people from other countries for this procedure," Posada told the AP.

Opposition Deputy Javier Garcia of the center-right National Party accused lawmakers of treating living embryos as if they were "disposable," which he equated with murder.

The margin for the law was razor-thin on Tuesday after Deputy Andres Lima of the ruling Broad Front coalition said he would refuse to vote. With Posada joining the coalition, the measure appeared headed for passage by a 50-49 vote margin.

Dr. Marie Gonzalez, bioethicist at the University of the Republic, called the measure "evil" and vowed to work to persuade her fellow gynecologists to refuse to perform the procedure if it becomes law.

"The embryo-fetus is a human being, and as such has rights, like the human right to live," she said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uruguay-poised-legalize-abortion-165321212.html

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Romney: My health care law is evidence of empathy (The Arizona Republic)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/251307228?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Disabled children in school, too many difficulties. Why? - West

Why is integration of disabled people at school still an objective to be achieved in Italy, where there is one of the most advanced laws in Europe on disabilities?

This flop is even more surprising if you think that the number of pupils with disabilities in Italian schools has increased by 56 percent over the last 10 years. In the school year 2011/2012, they were about 200 thousand, mainly ? about 75 thousand ? in primary schools and the others divided between nursery, middle and high schools.

Yet, in practice, something seems to have gone wrong. After that special institutes closed down a few decades ago, no complete alternative has been provided and attempts to integrate handicapped people into schools, especially in the most serious cases, has often failed.

For three reasons, at least:

Firstly, shortage and poor specialization of the so-called special education teachers. Often, this particular category of students is followed by teachers who lack specific education.

Secondly, it is important not to underestimate the fact that most schools in Italy are not equipped with technological services and devices for this category of students. Not to mention that today, architectural barriers are still the grim reality in 1 out of 10 schools.

Thirdly, and finally, as the OECD recently reported, in Italy, the amount of total investments in education is the lowest across Europe: 4.7 percent of the GDP against a EU average of 5.8. These figures, however, must be read cum grano salis since the feeling on this front is that the real problem does not reside in the quantity of resources particularly destined to young disabled people, as in their quality: that is, how they are used.

The truth is that handicapped students integration requires individual educational programs and a connection between disabled pupils, classmates and teachers, as well as between school and family that only a special education teacher and the support given by classmates can guarantee. These latter, among other things, will be able to take advantage from the relationship with disabled mates, starting from a higher awareness of diversity.

Source: http://www.west-info.eu/disabled-children-in-school-too-many-difficulties-why/

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Argentina and Iran to discuss 1990s bombings

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran and Argentina have agreed to a meeting to discuss two 1990s attacks on Jewish targets in Buenos Aires that were allegedly sponsored by the Islamic Republic, Argentina's president said on Tuesday.

Argentine courts have accused Iran of sponsoring a 1994 attack on a Buenos Aires Jewish center that killed 85 people.

That assault came two years after a group linked to Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on the Israeli embassy in the Argentine capital, which killed 29. Tehran has denied links to either attack.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, said that after years of mostly fruitless diplomacy Iran had extended the offer to have a meeting last week.

Fernandez said the discussions would take place at the foreign minister level on the sidelines of the annual gathering of U.N. member states. Iran "wants to cooperate and collaborate over the investigation" of the attacks, she said.

An Iranian representative to the United Nations did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request from Reuters to confirm that a meeting would take place.

Iran has vehemently denied any role in the bombings for the past two decades, and it was unclear whether its decision to agree to a meeting now was related to mounting international pressure over its nuclear program.

Speculation over a possible Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear installations has increased in recent months. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has also come under fire recently for anti-Israeli rhetoric, including his statement on Monday that Israel will be "eliminated.

Under sanctions and increasingly isolated due to its nuclear program, Tehran has few allies and needs friends. Argentina is also on the 35-nation board of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, where Iran's nuclear program is a key issue.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported in December, citing U.N. diplomats, that Argentina has quietly explored closer relations with Iran. The countries have seen growing trade ties, with Iran one of the biggest buyers of Argentine corn.

Nevertheless, Fernandez was careful to say that she would consult victims of the bombings during any talks - highlighting the political sensitivities she faces in Argentina, which is home to Latin America's largest Jewish population.

She also reiterated a previous offer to have courts in a third-party country investigate the bombings.

"I must tell you I expect results from this meeting," she said.

(Editing by Jackie Frank, Christopher Wilson and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/argentina-iran-discuss-1990s-bombings-fernandez-203836831.html

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Memories of a fatwa bygone: Reviewing Rushdie's memoir | Firstpost

The self-comparisons with Dostoevsky and Rabelais, and other great writers of the past, also seem a little pompous, until one realises that this memoir is not just about Salman Rushdie?s life or relationships. It is a defense of literature itself and a chronicle of our times. AFP

By Oindrila Mukherjee

The epigraph of Joseph Anton: A Memoir (Random House; 636 pages) includes the words ?what?s past is prologue? from Shakespeare?s The Tempest. Certainly, the last couple of weeks, following the release of an anti-Islam YouTube video and the subsequent murder of the US ambassador to Libya would indicate exactly that. The past is not over; it is merely an indication of what?s to come.

Salman Rushdie?s much awaited memoir begins on that fateful day, 14 February, 1989, when the author received his Valentine?s Day greeting from the Ayatollah Khomeini, and traces Rushdie?s life for the next decade, lived under the shadow of the fatwa. Except it isn?t really his life. It?s the life of Joseph Anton.

This Tom Clancy-esque life

Rushdie was asked to come up with an alias that would enable him to rent homes and write checks, and also prevent the secret police assigned to protect him from inadvertently saying his name in public. Indian names were forbidden because they might be too obvious. Rushdie said in a recent interview with Charlie Rose that he had to give up not only his home but even the ethnicity of his name. In the end, he ?retreated into literature,? and found the names of two of his favourite writers ? Joseph Conrad and Anton Chekov. Thus, a new persona was born.

The creation of this persona might be one reason why this memoir is written entirely in third person. Rushdie has said he felt like the events were happening to someone else. The third person perhaps helped him to detach himself and novelise his life. The device has a curious effect. It is so clearly Rushdie?s voice and life, that I unconsciously inserted the ?I? into the sentences.

Rushdie has said he felt like the events were happening to someone else.?AP

In many parts, the memoir reads like a spy novel. With the help of a journal he kept at the time, Rushdie recreates the daily trials of his surreal life. We see him ducking behind a kitchen counter, fleeing from home to home every time his cover was blown, living in hotels and friends? homes for days, weeks, or months at a time, and being ?dry-cleaned? by police vehicles on the streets when he needed to go somewhere ? an elaborate ritual that involved mixing up car speeds, and changing lanes to throw off potential tails. The need to constantly hide, live with protection officers, and notify the police of every move, reveals an existence that was devoid of privacy, spontaneity, and of course, independence.

The long, dark months are contrasted by occasional, brief visits to the USA, where Joseph Anton was able to enjoy the ordinary pleasures of life, such as a walk in Battery Park, a buggy ride, or throwing a football around on the beach. In recent times, the American media has portrayed Rushdie as a party animal, who is frequently sighted at various social events across New York. The freedom to go out in public at will, after years of being imprisoned in temporary homes, must be euphoric.

Celebrity encounters

Salman Rushdie is the ultimate cosmopolitan. Even in the darkest times, his life still would seem glamorous to many. The memoir mentions his surprise appearance at a U2 concert, dinners with the who?s who of the literary world, friendships with Martin Amis, Angela Carter, and Edward Said, encounters with Vaclav Havel, John Major, and other heads of state.

Listening to one of Rushdie?s talks or reading his memoirs have a similar effect. Both include a generous sprinkling of celebrity anecdotes. He travels to America on a plane whose interior is designed by Ralph Lauren. He played croquet with EM Forster when he was a student at Cambridge. He stayed at Bono?s home in Ireland where guests were asked to scribble messages on the bathroom wall. He received a kiss on the mouth from Hugh Grant during the filming of Bridget Jones? Diary, but it never made the final cut.

We get interesting information not only about Rushdie, but about other iconic figures. Edward Said was a hypochondriac until he really fell seriously ill with leukemia. The painter MF Husain painted over a portrait of Rushdie?s mother made by the artist Krishen Khanna, sold it, and later refused to divulge its whereabouts. Writer Thomas Pynchon appears at a dinner hosted by Sonny Mehta, publisher at Knopf, ?looking exactly as Thomas Pynchon should look. He was tall, wore a red-and-white lumberjack shirt and blue jeans, had Albert Einstein white hair and Bugs Bunny front teeth.? Angela Carter sat upright in an armchair and bravely poured tea a month before she died of lung cancer.

Along with his faithful recording of loyal friends who stood by him, Rushdie makes sure to mention the detractors. Cat Stevens repeatedly ?bubbled up in The Guardian like a fart in a bathtub,? demanding that Rushdie withdraw his book and ?repent.?

Of Arundhati Roy he says he ran into her at the launch of The God of Small Things, and wanted to congratulate her for a positive review she?d received by John Updike in the New Yorker. But he found her in a surprisingly icy mood. When he suggested she enjoy her books success instead of being so cool, she looked him straight in the eye, said, ?I am pretty cool,? and turned away.

The memoir could easily have been a hundred pages shorter. There are esoteric passages on the history of Mauritius, when he goes there for a vacation, or the life of German photographer Gustavo Thorlichen for instance, that seem a tad long. But if you?ve heard Rushdie speaking in public, he is both erudite and voluble.

Last spring, when I was teaching fiction writing at Emory University, I requested Rushdie to visit my class. It was without a doubt one of the most entertaining 75 minutes in the history of creative writing pedagogy.?He told the students in my class, quite accurately, if they wanted their protagonist to sleep with a woman, they probably shouldn?t have him tell her that.

Source: http://www.firstpost.com/living/memories-of-a-fatwa-bygone-reviewing-salman-rushdies-memoir-465821.html

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Suu Kyi visit a homecoming for many in Ind. city

In this Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 photo, Nai Sike and Paung Pakong, right, walk out of Sike's grocery store, where a display of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is displayed in front, in Fort Wayne, Ind. The city of 256,000, home to one of the nation?s largest Burmese populations, has become an unlikely base for opposition to the former Burma?s military regime. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

In this Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 photo, Nai Sike and Paung Pakong, right, walk out of Sike's grocery store, where a display of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is displayed in front, in Fort Wayne, Ind. The city of 256,000, home to one of the nation?s largest Burmese populations, has become an unlikely base for opposition to the former Burma?s military regime. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

In this Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 photo, Burmese residents wait in the lobby of the Burmese Advocacy Center in Fort Wayne, Ind. The center, which is funded by federal grants and private donations, helps refugees find jobs and homes and navigate issues from laws and customs to getting a driver?s license. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

In this Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 photo, Nai Sike, a former Buddhist monk who runs a grocery store with his wife, waits for a customer in his store in Fort Wayne, Ind. The city of 256,000, home to one of the nation?s largest Burmese populations, has become an unlikely base for opposition to the former Burma?s military regime. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

In this Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 photo, Patricia Tin eats lunch at Ma Hnin Burmese-Thai restaurant in Fort Wayne, Ind. Tin, who works at a bank, is also attending college to become a teacher. Fort Wayne, home to one of the United States' largest Burmese populations, has become an unlikely base for opposition to the country's former military regime. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

In this Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 photo, Tun Oo, who was a construction engineer in Asia and now works in a Fort Wayne, Ind. factory, speaks during a new conference in Fort Wayne, Ind. When he?s not working, Oo heads the local branch of Aung San Suu Kyi?s party. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) ? Eight thousand miles separate southeast Asia from the American Midwest, but when Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi visits an Indiana city on Tuesday, it will be a kind of homecoming.

Fort Wayne, home to one of the United States' largest Burmese populations, has become an unlikely base for opposition to the country's former military regime.

Here, Suu Kyi's followers meet regularly, criticizing what's happening in their homeland through Voice of America broadcasts and YouTube videos, lobbying Congress for continued economic sanctions and raising money for the opposition in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

"They cannot talk in there, so we talk for them here," said Thiha Ba Kyi, 57, a former dentist who earned an MBA after coming to the U.S. in 1994 and now hosts a weekly Burmese-language talk show on local television. "We are very staunch and very outspoken. ... I believe that's why Suu Kyi come here."

The visit by the 67-year-old Nobel laureate, who spent 15 years under house arrest for opposing military rule, marks the zenith of a two-decade influx of Burmese refugees that has brought a new global awareness to the city of 256,000 people two hours north of Indianapolis.

Since 1991, when a single Burmese refugee resettled here, thousands more have followed, many of them relocating under a federal program after years in refugee camps in Thailand. They join other political refugees from a host of countries who have made the city a second home since the fall of Saigon in 1975, thanks largely to the help of Catholic Charities.

The 2010 census found 3,800 Burmese in Allen County, where Fort Wayne is located, but Fred Gilbert, a retired welfare worker who now runs a website designed to help immigrants adjust to American life, says the number may be actually be a few thousand higher because some Burmese identify themselves by ethnic origin rather than nationality.

Many of those residents plan to turn out when Suu Kyi speaks to a crowd expected to number more than 7,000 Tuesday at Memorial Coliseum. The visit is part of a 17-day trip to the U.S. during which she has met with President Barack Obama and received the Congressional Gold Medal.

Signs welcoming her have shown up throughout the city. Local students gathered recently to make flags depicting the fighting peacock that appears on the flag of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.

"She is the hope for the people," said Ba Kyi, who now works for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and helps the Burmese opposition in exile. "She can bring democracy again in Burma."

For many of the city's Burmese residents, Suu Kyi's visit will be the first tangible connection in years, even decades, with the homeland some hope to return to one day.

Many, like Ba Kyi, left behind careers when they fled their homeland and learned new skills to get a job. U Tun Oo, who chairs the local welcoming committee for Suu Kyi's visit, was elected to parliament in the 1990 election won by Suu Kyi's party that was nullified by the military regime and served as finance minister for the elected government in exile.

"I'm finance minister in the jungle," he said with a laugh. "Jungle minister."

Now Tun Oo, who was a construction engineer in Asia, works in a Fort Wayne factory. When he's not working, he heads the local branch of Suu Kyi's party.

"We see people who were university professors and members of parliament who are very accomplished who are doing all kinds of work," said Tom Lewandowski, president of the AFL-CIO's are labor council. "They'll do what it takes to get by."

Refugees qualify for federal government assistance, but Meghan Menchhofer, a staffer at the Burmese Advocacy Center, said while many newcomers rely on food stamps, only a handful accept cash welfare. The center, which is funded by federal grants and private donations, helps refugees find jobs and homes and navigate issues from laws and customs to getting a driver's license.

"It was different. Vastly different. I knew very little English," said May Ayar Oo, 26, who came to the U.S. at age 16. She graduated in the top five in her high school class and now works as an engineer while attending graduate school.

Patrick Proctor, a member of the board of directors at the Burmese Advocacy Center, said some people in Fort Wayne harbor a negative stereotype of the Burmese who live there. About two years ago, some of that prejudice came to light when a worker at a coin-operated laundry posted a sign barring Burmese "for sanitary reasons," apparently a reference to some people's habit of spitting out the residue from chewing betel nuts.

But many of the city's Burmese seem to have found their way. Burmese-run businesses have popped up across the city, and both the valedictorian and salutatorian at a local high school this year were Burmese.

Former Buddhist monk Nai Sike, 48, and his wife operate a Burmese grocery, one of several in town.

Sike said he would like to stay in the United States because of his business, but he might go back to visit Myanmar. Like the other Indiana Burmese, he is excited about Suu Kyi's visit.

"It's good she's coming here, because of democracy," he said through a translator.

Those attending Tuesday's speech will be eager to hear Suu Kyi's views on sanctions toward Myanmar. Since her release in 2010, she has joined hands with members of the former ruling junta that detained her to push ahead with political reform. She is under pressure from Myanmar President Thien Sein's government to press the U.S. to remove the restrictions.

Ba Kyi wants to be a part of the change Suu Kyi is expected to bring. He said he wants to teach his people, who have no experience of freedom, what democracy is about.

"I would like to move back," he said. "Hopefully, they'll need educated people who have experience in a democratic country."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-09-24-Suu%20Kyi-Indiana/id-1337060078a6463ebb9e3250ffcf6a88

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Dutch Van Gogh Museum closes, masterpieces moved

AMSTERDAM (AP) ? The operation began moments after the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam closed Sunday evening. Men removed alarm tags from behind some of Vincent Van Gogh's greatest masterpieces, including "Sunflowers," ''Irises" and the famously crooked "Bedroom," and quickly pulled the paintings down from the museum's walls.

Fortunately, they were not thieves carrying out an epic heist, but curators preparing the works for transport to a temporary location across town where they will be on display for the next seven months while the museum is closed for renovations.

In all, 75 pieces ? the cream of the biggest collection of Vincent Van Gogh's work ? are moving to The Hermitage, an Amsterdam dependency of the Russian state museum.

Watching the lifeblood of his museum disappear, Director Axel Ruger said he wasn't nervous about the possibility the paintings could be damaged or stolen before they return next year.

"We do this all the time" when individual paintings go on loan to another museum, he said. But never on this scale, he conceded.

"I cannot really say much about the (security) measures that are being taken, because you will understand that we need to keep those confidential in order to safeguard the security of the transport," he said.

Standing near a blank space on the wall where Van Gogh's final work, the 1890 painting "Wheatfield with Crows," had hung just minutes earlier, Curator Leo Jansen described in brief the treatment the paintings would undergo.

After being loaded onto felt-covered trolleys, they would be taken to a workshop to be wrapped in protective insulation and packed into hard-shell carrying cases called "turtles" that are resistant to both physical shocks and temperature changes.

The cases have been assigned code numbers rather than bearing the paintings' individual names.

About an hour later, the first shipment was loaded onto a yellow van and then driven away under police escort. The route each shipment followed was kept secret until the last moment.

The operation continued like clockwork through Sunday night and into the day Monday in order to get the paintings on display again as soon as possible: the Van Gogh Museum is Amsterdam's most popular, attracting 1.6 million visitors in 2011 ? eclipsing both the Rembrandt-rich Rijksmuseum and the Anne Frank House museum.

The exhibit at The Hermitage opens Saturday and runs through mid-April, with the Van Gogh Museum to reopen on April 25, 2013.

The closure of the Van Gogh Museum was timed in part to coincide with the reopening next door of the lesser-known Stedelijk, or city museum, which houses works by Dutch Modernists Piet Mondriaan and Gerrit Rietveld, as well as Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Henri Matisse and many others.

Dubbed "the bathtub" by local press, the most notable new feature of the renovated Stedelijk is a white roof with an overhang that stretches so far from the side of the building it looks like it might simply break off.

Architects say it is structurally sound, made possible thanks to a stronger-than-steel composite material.

.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dutch-van-gogh-museum-closes-masterpieces-moved-095536291.html

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