In search of 'swag'

To me, it meant stolen goods; but what did it mean to my teen son?

By Robert Klose / February 28, 2013

How rich American slang has become. I feel as if I am hanging on for dear life as the language shifts and morphs around me, leaving me at sea in an increasingly unfamiliar vernacular. Such are the wages of the passing years.

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The latest fragment to arrive on the shores of my ignorance is "swag." When my 16-year-old son first uttered it, I was caught off guard. Here's what he said in reference to one of his friends: "Jesse's got swag." Now, in my experience, swag has two meanings: It refers to either stolen goods or a collection of goodies, such as the boxes of toiletries that colleges distribute to students at the beginning of the school year. But when I said to my son, "Where did Jesse get it?" he regarded me with a pained expression and asked, incredulously, "What are you talking about?"

When I explained what I understood "swag" to mean, Anton laughed ? laughed! ? at me. Then he shook his head. "OK," I said. "Then what does 'swag' mean?" His answer: "If you had it, you'd know."

There it was: I had to first have swag in order to know what it meant. A perfect Catch-22. So I sought another route to enlightenment ? the seventh-grader I mentor in the local middle school. During one of our sessions, as we pored over his Spanish homework, I broached the delicate topic. "Do you know what swag is?" I asked him. "Sure," he said. "It means that you're cool."

Ah, so simple, but yet so proprietary that my own son couldn't admit me to the cabala of its meaning. Pressing my luck, I swallowed my dignity and quietly asked my mentee, "Do you think I have it?" Without taking his eyes from his work, he shrugged, "Yeah, you've got a lot of it."

Glowing, I communicated this intelligence to Anton at my first opportunity. "Ricky said I have swag," I announced as he hovered in front of the open fridge. "A lot of it."

Anton shook his head, as if he didn't know what he was going to do with me. "How old is Ricky?" he asked.

"Twelve."

Anton let out a deprecating breath. "Twelve?" he echoed. "What does he know!"

Hmm ? swag was clearly in the eye of the beholder, and seemingly difficult to earn or get credit for. The next day, as I was chatting with my students in the college biology class I teach, I was moved to ask them about this word. They were, of course, familiar with it. Then one of them asked why I wanted to know. I didn't feel it appropriate to tell them how haunted I was by the realization that I might not possess swag, so I dodged the inquiry and commenced the lesson.

Well, no matter, I told myself. I had lived in blissful ignorance of my swaglessness until now, so I was sure I could continue on intact. But some perceptive, caring soul in my class must have detected my note of despondency in mentioning the elusive quality. The next day, when I came to school, there was a multicolored sticker affixed to my office door: I'VE GOT SWAG.

Need I mention that when I returned home I lay in anxious wait for Anton? As he came through the door, I accosted him with, "Someone put a sticker on my office door. It says, I'VE GOT SWAG." What I didn't add by way of emphasis was, "So take that!"

"It doesn't matter," said Anton as he headed for the fridge.

"Doesn't matter?" I already felt my heart sinking.

"No," he said offhandedly. "Swag is out. There's a new word now."

"A new word?" I echoed. "What is it?"

Turning to me, Anton's eyes were once again filled with pity. "You mean you don't know?"

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/8W1UikBBU_0/In-search-of-swag

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Democrats nominate Robin Kelly in Illinois special election (Washington Post)

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FIFA bans 74 for match-fixing in Italy, South Korea

Associated Press Sports

updated 10:57 a.m. ET Feb. 27, 2013

ZURICH (AP) - FIFA has banned 74 more officials and players from world soccer for helping fix matches, this time in Italy and South Korea.

FIFA says it imposed sanctions on 70 people, including 11 who were banned for life, after a series of cases prosecuted by Italian soccer authorities.

FIFA says the charges involved "match-fixing (direct involvement or omission to report match-fixing), illegal betting or corrupt organization (association to commit illicit acts)."

Prosecutors in Cremona, Bari and Napoli have pieced together a conspiracy they believe was organized from Singapore to bet on rigged Italian soccer games.

Last week, Italian authorities detained suspect Admir Suljic, a Slovenian national, when he landed in Milan on a flight from Singapore. Suljic, alleged to be an associate of Singaporean businessman Tan Seet Eng, faces charges of criminal association and sports fraud.

Tan, also known as Dan Tan, is accused of heading a crime syndicate that has made millions of dollars gambling on fixed matches around the world.

Singapore police said last week that Tan was assisting its investigation into alleged match-fixing.

FIFA said the four new South Korean cases follow worldwide sanctions imposed on 10 people last year and a further 41 last month.

The latest global sanctions were announced two days after FIFA extended bans to 58 people found guilty of match-fixing offenses in China. Of those, FIFA expelled 33 from soccer for life, including 2002 World Cup referee Lu Jun.

FIFA can apply worldwide sanctions after national associations complete their own investigations and impose bans.

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

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Galaxy on quest for three-peat

PST: David Beckham is gone, Landon Donovan will start the season late and Robbie Keane is the new captain. But the Galaxy are still contenders for a third-straight MLS title.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44932236/ns/sports-soccer/

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Anne Hathaway Apologizes For Oscars Dress

'I deeply regret any disappointment caused,' Hathaway said in a statement regarding her last-minute change of Oscar attire.
By Josh Wigler

Anne Hathaway at the 2013 Oscars
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702694/anne-hathaway-oscars-dress.jhtml

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3 Myths about Heartburn

Myth #1: You should avoid spices.

Reality?- "Seasonings won't necessarily cause acid reflux," says Douglas Adler, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at the University of Utah. "The real culprits are usually acidic foods like citrus and tomatoes, which are used in spicy meals." Other offenders are caffeine (don't forget it's in chocolate too) and peppermint.
?
Myth #2: You'll only feel a burning in your chest.

Reality?- Difficulty swallowing, a cough and a hoarse voice are other signs of acid reflux, says Vivek Kaul, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center. If your throat feels funny after eating acidic foods, try antacids, not cough drops.?
?
Myth #3: You don't need to see a doctor.

Reality?- Talk to your M.D. if you're taking OTC meds more than twice a week or for more than two weeks in a row. Untreated, chronic heartburn may damage your throat and eventually lead to esophageal cancer. An M.D. can write you a prescription or suggest dietary tweaks.
?
All content on this Web site, including medical opinion and any other health-related information, is for informational purposes only and should not be considered to be a specific diagnosis or treatment plan for any individual situation. Use of this site and the information contained herein does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always seek the direct advice of your own doctor in connection with any questions or issues you may have regarding your own health or the health of others.
?
More from Family Circle:
?

What is your experience with heartburn? What has surprised you?
?

Source: http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=3_myths_about_heartburn

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Senate approves Hagel as new secretary of defense

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate confirmed Chuck Hagel as President Barack Obama's new secretary of defense on Tuesday, after an unusually acrimonious confirmation fight that threatened to complicate his work as civilian leader at the Pentagon.

The Senate voted 58-41 to confirm the former Republican senator, the closest vote ever to approve a defense secretary.

Just four Republicans - Mike Johanns of Nebraska, who holds Hagel's old Senate seat, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Richard Shelby of Alabama and Rand Paul of Kentucky - joined the Democrats and independents in support of Hagel's nomination.

After the hard-fought victory, the Democratic president said he was pleased there had been bipartisan support for Hagel, a decorated veteran who served during the Vietnam War as an enlisted man before becoming a Republican U.S. senator.

"I am grateful to Chuck for reminding us that when it comes to our national defense, we are not Democrats or Republicans, we are Americans, and our greatest responsibility is the security of the American people," Obama said.

The bruising battle over Hagel was one of many bitter partisan struggles between Democrats and Republicans at a time when Congress is widely criticized for its inability to agree on even the most basic measures to run the country.

The Senate had voted earlier on Tuesday to end debate on Hagel and move forward, almost two weeks after Republicans launched a filibuster to block the nomination. It was the first ever used to delay consideration of a defense nominee, prompting Democrats to accuse Republicans of jeopardizing national security.

Republicans have also challenged Obama's choice to be CIA director, John Brennan, although that nomination appears to be on track, with a vote by the Senate Intelligence Committee expected on Thursday.

In a sign that opposition to Obama's nominations could be easing, the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday backed his nominee to lead the U.S. Treasury, Jack Lew, with the support of about half the panel's Republicans.

BUDGET, IRAN, ISRAEL AMONG CONCERNS

Hagel had angered party leaders as a senator when he criticized former President George W. Bush's handling of the Iraq war.

Many Republicans opposed to Hagel's nomination raised questions about whether he is sufficiently supportive of Israel, tough enough on Iran or truly committed to maintaining a robust nuclear deterrent.

After Hagel's shaky performance during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, opponents questioned whether he was capable of running the vast Pentagon bureaucracy. Some feared he would be too complicit in efforts by Obama to cut Pentagon spending as a way to deal with yawning U.S. budget deficits.

Some defense industry executives worried that Hagel would be hamstrung from the start, saying his difficult confirmation could severely limit his ability to negotiate with Congress.

"They've neutered him already," said one industry executive, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Although the Senate rejected John Tower as President George Bush's Pentagon pick in 1989 by a 53-47 vote, defense nominees are typically confirmed by large margins. Leon Panetta, whom Hagel replaces as defense secretary, was approved by a unanimous vote of 100 to nothing in June 2011.

But political experts said such concerns were overblown, given the vast partisan divide that already exists between the Democratic White House and Republicans in Congress on most issues.

"The confirmation process probably leaves a few light scars on Hagel because Republican critics have raised doubts about his judgment," said Sarah Binder, a congressional expert at the Brookings Institution.

"But I think Hagel would have faced tough scrutiny and criticism from Republicans once in office, even had he originally sailed to confirmation," she said.

Hagel said he was honored to return to public service. "I will work closely with Congress to ensure that we maintain the strongest military in the world and continue to protect this great nation," he said in a statement.

Hagel will be sworn in on Wednesday morning.

SEQUESTRATION CUTS LOOM OVER PENTAGON

Hagel's confirmation comes as the Pentagon faces the prospect of cutting $46 billion in spending over the next seven months of the fiscal year. The cut, scheduled to go into effect on Friday, comes as the department is already implementing $487 billion in spending reductions over the next decade.

Some of Hagel's most vehement opponents made a last-ditch appeal to stop the nomination before the vote.

James Inhofe, the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he had even called Panetta and asked him not to retire. Panetta, 74, who has made no secret of his desire to be home in California, declined.

After the vote, Inhofe said he still had "serious concerns" about Hagel's ability to lead the Department of Defense but was "ready and willing" to work with him. He urged Hagel to make his first order of business averting the looming defense cuts.

(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, David Alexander, Andrea Shalal-Esa, Phil Stewart and Matt Spetalnick; Editing By Doina Chiacu)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-approves-hagel-secretary-defense-003636792.html

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20 NYC schools starting Software Engineering Pilot program next year

Back in our day, software engineering training in junior high and high school meant a couple of Apple IIs and a game of Snake on our graphing calculators (if we were lucky). These days, it's becoming something of a necessity for students, and New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg, is looking to get out in front of the curve, with the launch of the city's new Software Engineering Pilot program, a curriculum set to kick off at the beginning of the next school year. The program, which will serve 1,000 students (that number jumping to 3,500 in 2016), was designed to help kids prepare for higher education and jobs in the tech sector. We've got to admit, we're feeling a bit jealous of the list of topics, which includes not only things like programming and web design, but also embedded electronics, robotics, animation and 3D printing. The full list of schools can be found in the press release after the break.

Filed under: Software

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Source: City of New York

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/26/nyc-school-software/

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Danica boosts Daytona's TV ratings from last year

NEW YORK (AP) ? With Danica Patrick starting from the pole, the Daytona 500's television ratings were much higher than last year's.

Sunday afternoon's race earned a 9.9 rating and 22 share on Fox, the network said Tuesday. That's up 24 percent from 2012, when rain pushed the event to a Monday night. It was the highest rating since 2008.

Jimmie Johnson won the race while Patrick was eighth, the best finish by a woman at the Daytona 500.

The race had plenty of buildup: Patrick making history as the first woman to start a Sprint Cup race from the pole, the revamped cars, no more tandem drafting and a frightening crash the day before in the second-tier Nationwide Series.

The increases in viewership were particularly notable in some of the country's biggest cities. Ratings were up 91 percent in Chicago, 64 percent in San Francisco, 60 percent in Los Angeles, 59 percent in Boston and 43 percent in New York.

The average rating for women between the ages of 18 and 34 grew by 16 percent.

Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned to a program. Shares represent the percentage of all homes with TVs in use at the time.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/danica-boosts-daytonas-tv-ratings-last-152607166--spt.html

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Battered Monti may still be key player in Italy vote

ROME (Reuters) - Prime Minister Mario Monti has put his image as an independent technocrat at risk by joining the hurly-burly of Italy's election campaign but investors hope he will retain a key role in government after the vote, whatever the outcome.

Monti's centrist bloc is expected to come a lowly fourth in the election on Sunday and Monday, which polls suggest will be won by the center-left, but it may still be needed to help form a stable government.

Whatever happens, the former economics professor will be remembered for helping to save Italy from a perilous debt crisis thanks to his personal credibility and decisive action to shore up public finances.

Opinions differ over the merits of his policies, but in just one year of office he restored Italy's international standing and made progress in reforming key areas such as pensions and the labor market.

He also won the admiration, if not the affection, of most Italians, who appreciated his professorial manner and expertise even while they felt the pain of his tax hikes.

All that may have led him to overplay his hand at the end of last year when, after months of denial followed by weeks of indecision, Monti announced that instead of leaving front-line politics he would seek a second term.

The aura of the respected, non-partisan technocrat vanished almost overnight and at the age of 69, Monti embarked on an unlikely new career as a campaigning politician, a role for which he immediately seemed strikingly ill-suited.

His attempt to present his "Civic Choice" as a breath of fresh air on Italy's political scene has been undermined by his choice of coalition allies, political veterans many Italians see as typical representatives of old and discredited parties.

At the same time his campaigning style has wavered uneasily between maintaining an austere, authoritative image and trying to appear more likeable by cuddling puppies, downing beers and playing stiffly on the carpet with his grandchildren.

He has also appeared uncomfortable and out of character trading insults with his opponents and has committed a number of gaffes, including suggesting that German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not want his center-left rivals to win the election.

Such efforts have reaped little reward. The most recent polls put Monti's alliance in fourth place with 13 percent of the vote behind Pier Luigi Bersani's center-left, Silvio Berlusconi's center-right and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement led by comedian Beppe Grillo.

Persistent murmurings since a poll black-out two weeks before the vote suggest that Monti is losing even more ground, mainly in favor of Grillo.

SAVAGED BY BERLUSCONI

Clearly in difficulty, Monti has transformed his policy positions to try to improve his fortunes, with escalating promises of tax cuts which seem out of line with his record of fiscal rigor while in office.

But after being widely revered as prime minister he has been savaged as a candidate, especially by Berlusconi who has put his renowned campaigning skills to good effect, reeling off data to show how his policies have hurt the economy.

"Berlusconi has attacked and destroyed Monti's image in the eyes of the Italians," said prominent pollster Nicola Piepoli.

Yet despite all this, investors inside and outside Italy still see the former European Commissioner as an anchor of stability and believe his coalition offers the best prospects for the kind of structural reforms that Italy's stagnant economy needs.

It is likely that a fragmented result would mean Bersani needs to join forces with Monti in order to govern.

What this would mean for Monti remains to be seen. When he entered the race he said he aimed to remain prime minister and virtually ruled out the idea of serving as a minister under anyone else. But his many supporters will hope that he can swallow his pride and agree to serve as economy minister.

Otherwise he may have a chance of succeeding Giorgio Napolitano as state president after the election or, perhaps more likely, of taking a top job in the European Union.

The positions of European Commission president held by Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President occupied by Herman Van Rompuy both fall vacant in 2014.

(Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/battered-monti-may-still-key-player-italy-vote-100642487--business.html

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Meatballs pulled from Ikea shelves

STOCKHOLM (AP) ? Swedish furniture giant Ikea became entangled in Europe's widening meat scandal Monday, forced to withdraw meatballs from stores across Europe amid suspicions that they contained horse meat.

Stores in the U.S. and Canada were not affected, Ikea said.

The company reacted after authorities in the Czech Republic said they had detected horse DNA in tests of 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) packs of frozen meatballs that were labeled as beef and pork. The Czech State Veterinary Administration said it tested two batches of Ikea meatballs and only one of them contained horse meat. It did not say how much.

Meatballs from the same batch had been sent from a Swedish supplier to 12 other European countries ? Slovakia, Hungary, France, Britain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Ireland ? and would be pulled off the shelves in all of them, Ikea said.

Later Monday, the company expanded the withdrawals to stores in 21 European countries and in Hong Kong, Thailand and the Dominican Republic, all of which were getting meatballs from the same Swedish supplier.

Ikea spokeswoman Ylva Magnusson said that included most European countries, but not Russia and Norway, which use local suppliers. Stores in Poland and Switzerland use both local suppliers and the Swedish one, but would now only use locally produced meatballs, she said.

"This is an extraordinary effort to ensure that no one is worried," Magnusson told The Associated Press.

She added that two weeks ago Ikea tested a range of frozen food products, including meatballs, and found no traces of horse meat. The company plans to conduct its own tests to "validate" the Czech results, she said.

Ikea's North America branch said the U.S. stores get their meatballs from a U.S. supplier.

"Based on the results of our mapping, we can confirm that the contents of the meatballs follow the Ikea recipe and contain only beef and pork from animals raised in the U.S. and Canada," Ikea North America spokeswoman Mona Astra Liss said in a statement.

Ikea is known for its assemble-it-yourself furniture but its trademark blue-and-yellow megastores also have cafeteria-style restaurants offering Swedish dishes such as meatballs served with boiled or mashed potatoes, gravy and lingonberry jam.

European Union officials met Monday to discuss tougher food labeling rules after the discovery of horse meat in a wide range of frozen supermarket meals that were supposed to contain beef or pork. So far those foods include meatballs, burgers, kebabs, lasagna, pizza, tortelloni, ravioli, empanadas and meat pies, among other items.

Authorities say the scandal is a case of fraudulent labeling but does not pose a health risk.

Gunnar Dafgard AB, a family-owned frozen foods company in southwestern Sweden that supplies Ikea's meatballs in Europe, posted a brief statement on its website saying "the batch in question has been blocked and we are investigating the situation."

Spokesman Ola Larsson said the company was conducting its own DNA tests and wouldn't comment further until it has those results.

Sweden's food safety authority said it wasn't taking any action but was waiting for Czech authorities to specify the quantity of horsemeat detected.

"If it's less than 1 percent it could mean that they handled horsemeat at the same facility. If it's more, we assess that it's been mixed into the product," said Karin Cerenius of Sweden's National Food Agency.

The Czech authority said a total of 760 kilograms (1,675 pounds) of the meatballs were stopped from reaching the shelves. It also said it found horse meat in beef burgers imported from Poland during random tests of food products.

"Unfortunately, the testing method we use detects just the quality ... the presence or non-presence of horse DNA," said Jan Vana, a senior official at the State Veterinary Administration. "At the moment, we can't say the quantity of it."

Spanish authorities, meanwhile, announced that traces of horse meat were found in a beef cannelloni product by one of the brands of Nestle, a Switzerland-based food giant.

In a statement on its website, Nestle Spain said it was withdrawing six "La Cocinera" products and one "Buitoni" product from store shelves. It said it was taking the action after traces of horse meat were found in beef bought from a supplier in Spain and that it was taking legal action against the company.

Processed food products ? a business segment with traditionally low margins that often leads producers to hunt for the cheapest suppliers ? often contain ingredients from multiple suppliers in different countries, who themselves at times subcontract production to others, making it hard to monitor every link in the production chain.

Standardized DNA checks with meat suppliers or more stringent labeling rules on disclosing the origin of processed food's ingredients will add costs that producers will most likely hand over to consumers, making food more expensive.

The scandal has created a split in the European Union between nations like Britain, which see further rules as a protectionist hindrance of free trade under the 27-nation bloc's single market, and those calling for tougher regulation, including Austria and Germany.

"Consumers have every right to the greatest-possible transparency," German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner said.

At the meeting in Brussels, several EU agriculture ministers called upon the Commission, the bloc's executive arm, to speed up presenting a proposal on tougher regulation by this summer.

The scandal began in Ireland in mid-January when the country announced the results of its first-ever DNA tests on beef products. It tested frozen beef burgers taken from store shelves and found that more than a third of brands at five supermarkets contained at least a trace of horse. The sample of one brand sold by the British supermarket kingpin Tesco had more than 25 percent horse meat.

___

Associated Press writers Juergen Baetz in Brussels, Karel Janicek in Prague and Ciaran Giles in Madrid contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ikea-withdraws-meatballs-more-20-countries-211231901--finance.html

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J&J sees 4 cent per share Q1 charge for Venezuela devaluation

(Reuters) - Diversified healthcare company Johnson & Johnson, which makes consumer products like the Neutrogena-brand line, said on Monday that Venezuela's February 13 devaluation of its currency would cut first quarter profit by 4 cents per share.

The company said it would take the $100 million charge to make changes to its balance sheet to reflect the 32 percent cut in the bolivar's value. It does not expect that cut to change its earnings-per-share forecast for 2013.

In January, the company forecast 2013 earnings in a range of $5.35 per share to $5.45 per share.

Venezuela lowered the value of its currency to shore up government finances. It is the fifth devaluation in the past decade. Because of the move, other companies that sell consumer products in Venezuela have also announced charges this quarter.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/j-j-sees-4-cent-per-share-q1-132417502--finance.html

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5 live Sport: Premier League Football 2012-13: QPR v Manchester United

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.

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Hey. I just made a RP a while ago called Discord: love is war. It's a slice of life roleplay that takes place in a huge mansion that is used as a private, boarding scholarship for the gifted. But here's the thing, they are gifted talent wise. Not power or mutation wise. The student are each a prodigy when it comes to their separate talents. Their are only twelve students attending at one given time.

The main focus to this is story, romance and relationships. Love and friendship are the two main driving forces behind this story RP. The reason behind it being named discord is due to the cheating, revenge, backstabbing, and love triangles that are likely to(and will, mind you.) Take place. And everyone can agree that love is a battlefield.

What i need are experienced role players that don't mind participating in a long term role play and be consistent with posting. I don't want this RP to die. If you think you want to join please do, I have lots of open spots. Or if you know someone who would fit perfectly in this Story Role Play then please give them a link or something. I'ed be grateful. ^^

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/yYU0UimoCEM/viewtopic.php

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Kanye West Slams Justin Timberlake, New Track

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/kanye-west-slams-justin-timberlake-new-track/

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Lessons from cockroaches could inform robotics

Feb. 22, 2013 ? Running cockroaches start to recover from being shoved sideways before their dawdling nervous system kicks in to tell their legs what to do, researchers have found. These new insights on how biological systems stabilize could one day help engineers design steadier robots and improve doctors' understanding of human gait abnormalities.

In experiments, the roaches were able to maintain their footing mechanically -- using their momentum and the spring-like architecture of their legs, rather than neurologically, relying on impulses sent from their central nervous system to their muscles.

"The response time we observed is more than three times longer than you'd expect," said Shai Revzen, an assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science, as well as ecology and evolutionary biology, at the University of Michigan. Revzen is the lead author of a paper on the findings published online in Biological Cybernetics. It will appear in a forthcoming print edition.

"What we see is that the animals' nervous system is working at a substantial delay," he said. "It could potentially act a lot sooner, within about a thirtieth of a second, but instead, it kicks in after about a step and a half or two steps -- about a tenth of a second. For some reason, the nervous system is waiting and seeing how it shapes out."

To arrive at their findings, the researchers sent 15 cockroaches (one-by-one, in 41 trials) running across a small bridge onto a placemat-sized cart on wheels. The cart was attached to an elastic cord that was pulled tight like a loaded slingshot and held in place with a strong magnet on the other side. Once a roach was about a body length onto the cart, the researchers released the magnet, sending the cart hurling sideways. The force was equivalent to a sumo wrestler hitting a jogger with a flying tackle, said Revzen, adding that cockroaches are much more stable than humans.

To gather detailed information about the roaches' gait, the researchers utilized a technique Revzen developed several years ago called kinematic phase analysis. It involves using a high-speed camera to constantly measure the position of each of the insects' six feet as well as the ends of its body. A computer program then merges the continuous data from all these points into an accurate estimate of where the roach is in its gait cycle at all times. The approach gives scientists a more detailed picture than just measuring the timing of footfalls -- a common metric used today to study gait.

In kinematic phase analysis, the signals are converted into a wave graph that illustrates the insect's movement pattern. The pattern only changes when the nervous system kicks in. How do the researchers know this? In a separate but similar experiment, they implanted electrodes into the legs of seven cockroaches to measure nerve signals.

The nervous-system delay the researchers observed is substantially longer than scientists expected, Revzen said. And it runs contrary to assumptions in the robotics community, where computers stand in for brains and the machines' movements are often guided by continuous feedback to that computer from sensors on the robots' feet.

Revzen said the new findings might imply that the biological brain, at least in cockroaches, adjusts the gait only at whole-step intervals rather than at any point in a step. Periodic, rather than continuous, feedback systems might lead to more stable (not to mention energy-efficient) walking robots -- whether they travel on two feet or six.

Robot makers often look to nature for inspiration. As animals move through the world, they have to respond to unexpected disturbances like rocky, uneven ground or damaged limbs. Revzen and his team believe that patterns in how they move as they adjust could give away how their machinery and neurology work together.

"The fundamental question is, 'What can you do with a mechanical suspension versus one that requires electronic feedback?" Revzen said. "The animals obviously have much better mechanical designs than anything we know how to build. But if we could learn how they do it, we might be able to reproduce it."

More than 70 percent of Earth's land surface isn't navigable by wheeled or tracked vehicles, so legged robots could potentially bridge the gap for ground-based operations like search and rescue and defense.

For human gait analysis, Revzen and colleagues said their noninvasive, high-resolution kinematic phase approach could be valuable in the biomedical community.

"Falls are a primary cause for deterioration in the elderly," Revzen said. "Anything we can do to understand gait pathology and stabilization of gait is very valuable."

These experiments were conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, before Revzen came to U-M. The work was funded by the National Science Foundation.

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Journal Reference:

1. Shai Revzen, Samuel A. Burden, Talia Y. Moore, Jean-Michel Mongeau, Robert J. Full. Instantaneous kinematic phase reflects neuromechanical response to lateral perturbations of running cockroaches. Biological Cybernetics, 2013; DOI: 10.1007/s00422-012-0545-z

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/n63Fs5xz7M8/130222143233.htm

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Live: London Irish v London Wasps

Live: London Irish v London Wasps

By Alan Manicom
February 21, 2013

London Irish continue their battle to avoid relegation from the Aviva Premiership when high-flying local rivals London Wasps visit Madejski Stadium on Sunday (12.05pm kick-off).

Alan Manicom will bring live updates from the crunch derby and he wants you to get involved too.

Click below after 11.55am and you can interact with Alan and other supporters by posting your own views.

There are no comments about this article at the moment.

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Source: http://www.getbracknell.co.uk/sport/rugby/london_irish/s/2129533_live_london_irish_v_london_wasps

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U.S. drones kill 4,700

A Predator B unmanned aircraft taxis at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Eric Gay/AP)Just how many people have America?s drones killed? Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has put the death toll at 4,700?the first time an American official has publicly put a figure on the impact of strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles. The South Carolina lawmaker's office said he was citing an estimate already discussed on cable television.

Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, disclosed the figure during a question and answer session on Tuesday with the Rotary Club of Easley in his home state of South Carolina. His remarks were first reported by the Easley Patch.

?We've killed 4,700,? the lawmaker said. ?Sometimes you hit innocent people, and I hate that, but we're at war, and we've taken out some very senior members of al-Qaida.?

Drone strikes, President Barack Obama?s signature tactic for killing suspected al-Qaida and other extremist fighters, have been ?very effective,? said Graham. ?It's a weapon that needs to be used.?

Amid a controversy sparked by Obama?s targeted assassination of American citizens overseas suspected of consorting with terrorists, Graham came down sharply against any judicial oversight of the drone war, calling the idea ?crazy.?

?I can't imagine, in World War [II] for Roosevelt to have gone to a bunch of judges and said, 'I need your permission before we can attack the enemy,'? Graham said.

Drone war expert Micah Zenko of the Council on Foreign Relations noted on his blog that Graham?s figure lined up with the high-end estimate by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

?Either Graham is a big fan of TBIJ?s work, or perhaps he inadvertently revealed the U.S. government?s body count for nonbattlefield targeted killings,? Zenko said.

Asked about the disclosure, Graham's office forwarded a clip from MSNBC in which the anchor cites the figure of 4,700 killed.

Obama's National Security Council and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately say whether the lawmaker's comments amounted to an inappropriate disclosure.

Graham did not specify whether he was discussing CIA drone strikes or military drone strikes.

Obama's expanded drone war has broad popular support in the U.S., according to a poll released earlier this month by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. That survey found 56 percent support such strikes and 26 percent oppose them. At the same time, 53 percent worry about potential civilian casualties. But overseas it faces majority opposition, Pew found last year.

(Hat tip: Agence France-Presse via the London Telegraph)

US defense contractor selling unarmed Predator drones to UAE

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/drones-killed-4-700-u-senator-says-141143752--politics.html

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Slick Syncing May Sell You on Firefox for Android

I've taken to browsing the Web with a mobile device like a duck to water, despite the generally appalling user experience. I remember well the days of balancing hot and heavy Dell laptops on my middle, recumbent on a sofa -- peering awkwardly at an obscurely angled keyboard, lap getting hotter and hotter. Relief came when the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet debuted in the U.S. in November 2005.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/28d8ffe8/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C77350A0Bhtml/story01.htm

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Utica shale wells producing huge oil and gas yields for Chesapeake Energy

Chesapeake had drilled 184 wells, including 45 producing wells, in the Utica play as of Dec. 31.

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NYSE: CHK) is satisfied with results from its liquid-rich Utica shale wells in eastern Ohio, reports the Akron Beacon-Journal.

The Utica play ?will be solid for a lot of years to come,? company spokesman Steve Dixon said Thursday as the Oklahoma City-based company held an earnings call with analysts.

Chesapeake, the top shale gas driller in Ohio, is projecting what the industry calls ?estimated ultimate recovery? of 5 billion to 10 billion cubic feet of oil and gas equivalents from each well over its lifetime in its core area of Carroll and surrounding counties in eastern Ohio. That is significantly higher than what has been reported from wells drilled in the Marcellus shale play in Pennsylvania, the Beacon-Journal reported.

There also are Utica shale numbers in the press release that Chesapeake issued with its fourth quarter earnings report. Among them: The company had drilled 184 wells, including 45 producing wells, in the Utica play as of Dec. 31 and plans to operate 14 drilling rigs there this year.

Jeff Bell covers public policy, utilities, energy and the business of sports for Business First.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vertical_30/~3/Q6X2G_cCCTw/utica-shale-wells-producing-huge-oil.html

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NATO may keep Afghan forces at peak strength longer

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO officials are strongly considering a proposal to keep Afghan forces at their peak strength of 352,000 until at least 2018, as opposed to current plans to cut the force by a third after 2015, alliance officials said on Thursday.

Backers say the proposal, disclosed to a small group of reporters during NATO talks in Brussels, would send a crucial signal of enduring support for Afghanistan and bolster Afghan confidence after the United States and its allies declare their long, unpopular war in the country over at the end of 2014.

But it could also cost allies billions of dollars more at a time when budget pressures are already squeezing defense spending and forcing Western nations to make tough choices about military priorities.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, asked about the proposal, stressed that no final decisions had been made. But he also argued that paying for the larger force was possible and preferable to fielding foreign forces.

"I feel confident that we will be able to finance Afghan security forces of that size," he told a news conference.

The United States this year is providing $5.7 billion of the $6.5 billion cost to field the Afghan forces, which are nearly at peak strength. Other NATO members are providing $300 million and the Afghans are paying for $500 million of that total.

In recent months, top U.S. and NATO commanders have expressed growing confidence about the ability of Afghan forces to take the lead successfully in all operations starting this Spring and to take full responsibility for security at the end of 2014, despite a still resilient insurgency.

But U.S. officials, including President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the U.S. military's Central Command, General Lloyd Austin, have strongly backed the idea of keeping the Afghan forces at peak strength longer.

Austin, who will head Central Command if confirmed by the Senate, said at his Senate confirmation hearing last week that a more robust Afghan force, while more costly, would "hedge against any Taliban mischief" following America's longest war.

A NATO official, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO defense ministers, cautioned that the larger issue at hand was ensuring confidence among Afghans that the international community was committed to Afghanistan.

"This confidence thing ... it isn't (Afghan) confidence in the fight, it's not confidence in battle," the official said.

"It really is, are we (Afghans) still going to have a job after 2014? We heard the force was going to be 228,000. What happens to me?"

MEMORIES OF 1992

Memories are still fresh in Afghanistan about how foreign aid dried up after the Soviets' humiliating defeat in their decade-long war against mujahideen fighters in 1989.

Moscow continued to prop up the communist government of Mohammad Najibullah but when the Soviet Union collapsed two years later, the aid vanished, Najibullah was ousted in 1992 and civil war engulfed Afghanistan.

"If I have a clear vision about 2015, then I just keep doing my job, I keep staying focused. I keep training my soldiers," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"If I think that this thing may run out in December 2014, and the narrative of 1992 gets played, as unrealistic and as completely different as the circumstances may be, now what I might be doing is actually trying to siphon money off from my soldiers. I may be trying to buy a house in Dubai."

"I may be trying to figure out how I am going to take care of my family after 2014 when the well runs dry."

Obama is weighing up how many troops to keep in Afghanistan after 2014. Proposals under consideration range up to around 9,000. He announced on February 12 a plan to withdraw 34,000 U.S. troops by early 2013, or about half the current total of 66,000.

It remains unclear if NATO allies will cut numbers by a similar proportion over the next year, but the NATO official said allies were aware of the need to help keep the focus on supporting the Afghans during the peak summer fighting months.

"All the troop contributing nations are very much appreciative of what we want to do in the summertime and what we don't want to do in the summertime," the official said.

"What we don't want to do in the summertime is incur an undue amount of friction and turn the focus to be closing bases and redeploying, when really the focus ought to be setting the Afghans up for success in their first fighting season."

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Adrian Croft; Editing by Vicki Allen and David Brunnstrom)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nato-may-keep-afghan-forces-peak-strength-longer-180405829.html

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Prince Michael Jackson: Hired as Entertainment Tonight Correspondent!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/prince-michael-jackson-hired-as-entertainment-tonight-correspond/

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LG Optimus F5 and F7 smartphones now official with LTE and Jelly Bean

Based on this morning's leak, you already knew that LG's smartphone lineup was about to become more diversified, but now we're able to share concrete details of the Optimus F5 and F7, which will be unveiled at Mobile World Congress. As the naming scheme suggests, the Optimus F7 is the larger of the two with a 4.7-inch (312ppi) True HD IPS display, a dual-core 1.5GHz CPU, an 8-megapixel primary camera, 2GB RAM and a 2,540mAh battery. Meanwhile, the Optimus F5 will be targeted at those who prefer a more compact smartphone, as it wields a 4.3-inch (256ppi) IPS display, a dual-core 1.2GHz CPU, a 5-megapixel primary camera, 1GB RAM and a 2,150mAh battery.

Common among both devices are Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean), support for LG's QSlide and Live Zooming software features, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing shooter, 8GB built-in storage, microSD support and LTE connectivity. The Optimus F5 will come to market first in Europe during the second quarter, which is to be followed by the Optimus F7 "in select markets." Sadly, pricing has yet to be announced for either smartphone. For those curious, we've included the complete list of known specs after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, LG

Comments

Source: LG

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/20/lg-optimus-f5-and-f7-official/

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Multi-Channel and Cloud Virtual Contact Center Conference to be ...

Event to Focus on Best Practices in Creating Customer Loyalty and Retention Strategies

Montvale, NJ (PRWEB) February 19, 2013

CRMXchange, in association with Yankee Group and Vanguard Communications, presents the 3rd Annual Multi-Channel and Cloud Virtual Contact Center Conference on March 19-21. The event focuses on best practices in creating customer loyalty and retention strategies.

Customers are not only demanding better, more responsive service, they are insisting that it be delivered through alternate, more convenient, and more readily available channels. Today, the multi-channel contact center is gaining prominence. Your representatives are addressing customer issues, not just by phone, but by email, social media, instant messaging, mobile, and more. There are many key issues affecting your organization as you embark on your multichannel journey. Is your strategy in place?

Customers want to know that they can get accurate answers they need when they want them on the channel of their choice. The cloud revolution has leveled the playing field, enabling greater agility and flexibility, as well as rapid deployment and cost savings.

The Multi-Channel and Cloud Virtual Contact Center Conference addresses new strategies, emerging technologies, and reliable metrics for building customer loyalty and strengthening relationships. This event enables your entire customer care team to take part in expert-led live workshops with no conference fees, no travel costs, and no time away from the office. If the scheduled times and dates are not convenient for everyone, there?s no problem. All workshops are recorded and will be available for 14 days after the event.

The conference keynote presentation, ?Measuring Multi-Channel Success,? will be delivered by Don Van Doren, principal and co-founder, UniComm Consulting and Vanguard Communications, and Elaine Cascio vice president, Vanguard Communications.

Other conference sessions include:

• Improving Customer Experience Using 3 Powerful Concepts
• Beyond Social Listening: New Frontiers In Delivering Social Customer Service
• Building Loyalty With Your Multi Channel Customer
• Do Your Callers Hate Your IVR?
• The Socially Empowered Customer ? How To Build Relationships That Last
• Tracking and Reducing Customer Effort Across All Channels
• Go Home - Best Practices For Work At Home Agents
• Mobile Touch Points Are The Future Key Interaction Channel

Presenters include: Joe Alwan, vice president and general manager of AVOKE Analytics, Raytheon BBN Technologies; Dr. Natalie Petouhoff, chief strategist for Social Media, Digital Communications & ROI; Madelyn Gengelbach, senior manager, product marketing, inContact; Jane Hendricks, senior product marketing manager, Aspect Software; Sheryl Kingstone, director, Enterprise Research, Yankee Group; Liz Osborn, vice president product and solutions marketing, Five9.

For more information about this or other virtual conferences presented by CMXchange, contact info(at)crmxchange(dot)com or call 201-505-1743.

About CRMXchange

Founded in 1995, CRMXchange has long been recognized as a premiere destination on the Internet for the exchange of information and ideas on customer relationship management, sales, contact center, and telemarketing issues. Today, the site offers a wide variety of resources for CRM professionals. CRMXchange has developed unique insights into the kinds of business intelligence and professional development programs required for successful contact center operations. And as a pioneer of the Internet, CRMXchange understands the profound role the Web can play in the all-important arena of peer-to-peer communication. Known by our audience as the ?event site,? CRMXchange has gained a reputation as an expert in the hosting and marketing of webcasts and other online events.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2013/2/prweb10431163.htm

Source: http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2013/02/19/multi-channel-and-cloud-virtual-contact-center-conference-be-held-march-19-21

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Wedding Guest Book Reminder Sign-"Please write your warm wishes to the new Mr & Mrs",remind your guests to sign your guest book by AndTheSignSays

Great sign for your wedding reception to sit or hang where your guest book is located to remind your guests!

Please see my shop for some great Guest Book alternative signs (in wedding section)! Then display your sign in your home as a keepsake after your big day!

A Design your own:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/68065612/wedding-guest-book-alternative-sign?ref=v1_other_2
and a fun 'Keep Calm and MARRY On", a fun take on the ever popular British saying "Keep Calm and Carry On'
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Measures 3 1/2 x 12"

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Please note ~ I use pine wood which may have knots, small dinks and imperfections as to be expected of wood. I do not attempt to completely cover these. I think they add warmth, charm & character to the sign. Each sign will vary slightly depending on those characteristics, grain of the wood and distressing.

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Please allow up to 3-4 business weeks for production time. If you need a rush, please convo me.

SHIPPING:
Smaller signs will normally be USPS Priority.
Larger signs will be USPS priority or parcel post depending on how large it is.

REFUNDS AND EXCHANGES:
If for some reason you are not happy with your item, please contact me so we can resolve any issues. Please do not leave unfair feedback. I would like every customer to be completely happy with their purchase and will work to resolve any issues should they arise. In exchange for that, I would appreciate positive feedback. :) Thank you!

See polices for complete payment and shipping details.

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Source: http://www.etsy.com/listing/88776153/wedding-guest-book-reminder-sign-please

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13 Presidential Tech Firsts: From Running Water to UFOs

It's Presidents' Day, the annual Monday in February when we close our banks and sleep in to honor our leaders. But who was the first early-adopter-in-chief to use a telephone? To ride in a car? To send an email? Here's a look back at which of our 44 presidents have been on the forefront of technology. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Zu2HQoacwr8/13-presidential-technology-firsts-from-running-water-to-ufos

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McCready's ex: Apparent suicide 'didn't come as a major shock'

By Scott Stump, TODAY contributor

After witnessing her personal struggles over the years, the father of one of Mindy McCready?s two children was grief-stricken but not surprised after hearing the country singer died Sunday from what police say was a self-inflicted single gunshot wound to the head.

?As sad as it is, it didn?t come as a major shock because she?s just been battling demons for so long,?? ex-boyfriend Billy McKnight told Carl Quintanilla on TODAY Monday. ?Of course, I was around her when she attempted suicide twice, so I knew it was in her. I feel for her mother and her family and especially my son, but I can?t say that it shocked me.??

Country singer Mindy McCready dead in apparent suicide

McCready was admitted to an inpatient facility for unspecified causes on Feb. 6, according to her publicist, and her two sons were placed in foster care during that time. She was still grieving the loss of boyfriend David Wilson, who died of a gunshot wound in his home in Heber Springs, Ark., in January. His death is still being investigated by police, and McCready had not been named a suspect. She denied shooting Wilson in an interview with NBC?s Andrea Canning in January.

?It was hurting so bad and then they just did what they could to make it hurt even more,?? McCready told Canning. ?My life hasn?t really ever made sense to me because I do know what kind of person I am, and I do know that I try to be as good a person as I can possibly be every day.??

McCready?s body was found on the same porch at the home in Heber Springs where Wilson?s body was found. Had McCready remained in inpatient care, McKnight believed there is a possibility it might have prevented her from apparently taking her own life.

?I would like to think that,?? McKnight said. ?I don?t know how she got out. I don?t have those exact details. Mindy does have a way of talking her way out of situations that maybe she shouldn?t have been so good at.

?Perhaps staying in there and grieving around people that could help her over the death of her fianc? could?ve calmed her down, but the demons that she hasn?t beaten were there, and until she was going to face them, something was going to happen and everyone who knows her personally knew that. She would?ve had to probably stay in somewhere quite a long time until she really healed and started looking into herself for getting better.??

McKnight, who knew McCready for 15 years, is hoping to regain custody of their 6-year-old son, Zander. In 2011, Zander and McCready were reported missing by McCready?s mother, who was Zander?s legal guardian at the time, and Zander was returned by order of a judge. McCready also had a son with Wilson, 9-month-old? Zayne. Both boys were placed in foster homes during her treatment earlier this month and remain there at this time.

?(Zander) shouldn?t have been taken from me to begin with,?? McKnight said. ?He was taken out of Florida, and he has a happy home here. I can provide for him, and it?s just been a really big mess and enough is enough. He?s up there all alone. He has no family in Arkansas. He has plenty of family who love him here. He needs to come home.

?I would like to keep those boys being brothers together and try to turn my son?s life around. He?s had a rough first six years, and he deserves better than this, and my heart?s broken for him right now. I?m very worried.??

McKnight and McCready had a tumultuous, sometimes violent relationship. In 2005, McKnight pleaded guilty to domestic assault after injuring McCready and sending her to the hospital. He served 30 days in jail.?

In the days leading up to her death, McCready wrote a song called ?I?ll See You Yesterday? to help those contemplating suicide. She shared it with friend Danno Hanks, a Los Angeles-based private investigator, and asked him to help her put together a video for it.

?I would?ve never guessed that she would?ve gone ahead and done what she did,?? Hanks told NBC News. ?Now it?s real clear that?s what she was doing. It?s like she was preparing her last statement in this video.??

Read more:?

Mindy McCready denies shooting boyfriend: 'He was my soulmate'

Authorities: Mindy McCready's boyfriend shot himself

McCready's sons placed in foster care

McCready denies shooting boyfriend

?

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/02/18/17003544-mccreadys-ex-apparent-suicide-didnt-come-as-a-major-shock?lite

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Trip to the Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow

Feb18

(Matthew Novenson) This week at the University of Edinburgh?is Innovative Learning Week, a mid-term week set aside for a range of beyond-the-classroom academic opportunities. Among a number of offerings from the School of Divinity, Helen Bond and I are taking a group of undergraduate and postgraduate students to the Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow. The main attraction for us is a special exhibition on the Antonine Wall,?the lesser known, more northerly counterpart to Hadrian?s Wall. Built under the order of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius in the early 140s C.E., the wall crosses Scotland from the Clyde in the west to the Forth in the east.?Remains of it are still visible here and there across the central belt, and the Hunterian has a number of very well preserved milestones, votive altars, and other Roman artifacts from the construction.?We also plan to see the museum?s collection of Ptolemaic and Roman coins (including some Tyrian shekels and Judaea capta coins) and?artifacts from John Garstang?s excavation of Jericho in the 1930s, among other things. In short, lots of material remains pertinent to ancient Jewish and Christian history, right here in Scotland.?

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Source: http://christianorigins.co.uk/2013/02/18/trip-to-the-hunterian-museum-university-of-glasgow/

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Video: Obama?s leaked immigration bill inflames debate

>>> bipartisan effort to craft a way forward on immigration reform hit a bump in the road today when a story hit saying that the obama administration had already written up a plan of its own. that upset many republicans and sent the white house and democrats into damage control. nbc's kristen welker is in port st. lucie tonight with more on that. kristen ?

>> reporter: lester, good evening. president obama has long said if congress can't come up with an immigration reform bill, he will submit his own proposal to the hill. but now that leaked copy of his plan is inflaming an already heated debate. while president obama vacationing in florida hit the links with tiger woods in this palm city community, the immigration debate got a fresh jolt when " usa today " reported on a leaked copy of the president's immigration proposal. according to the paper, the draft bill would create a new lawful prospective immigrant visa that would allow illegal immigrants to become legal permanent residents in eight years and the plan would boost border security funding and require employers to check immigration status of new hires.

>> good evening.

>> reporter: that drew sharp criticism from republican senator marco rubio , a key figure in the bipartisan group working on immigration reform . in a statement, he said, "if actually proposed, the president's bill would be dead on arrival in congress, leaving us with unsecured borders and a broken legal immigration system for years to come."

>> well, let's make sure it doesn't have to be proposed.

>> reporter: today, white house chief of staff dennis mcdonough doned the report, insisting you the president has not put a bill forward yet, hoping that congress will act first.

>> we will be prepared in the event that the bipartisan talks going on the hill, which, by the way, were very aggressively supporting, if those do not work out, then we will have an option that will be ready to put out there.

>> reporter: but republicans suggested the white house was playing politics.

>> leaking this out does set things in the wrong direction.

>> this raises the question that many of us continue to wonder about. does the president really want a result or does he want another cunning jill to beat up republicans?

>> reporter: democratic senator chuck schumer tried tamp down tensions over the leaked report.

>> we have talked to senator rubio and he is fully on board with our process and i am very hopeful that in march, we will have a bipartisan bill.

>> reporter: that bipartisan group of senators continues to work on immigration reform but passage remains uncertain with lawmakers sharply divided over a number of key issues, including a path to citizenship. lester?

>> kristen , i want to talk to you about another major issue. we ended the week with president's nomination of chuck hagel as defense secretary on hold were do thing goes from here?

>> reporter: well, on "meet the press," senator john mccain said while he doesn't believe hagel is qualified, he also doesn't believe his nomination process should be held up any longer. the full senate is expected to vote on hagel when it reconvenes next week.

>> kristen welker tonight. thank you.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/50842910/

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