Argentina, Iran say to talk until 1990s bombings resolved

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina and Iran will keep talking until they resolve diplomatically sensitive issues stemming from two 1990s attacks on Jewish targets in Buenos Aires that were allegedly sponsored by Tehran, both countries said on Thursday.

Dialogue with Tehran is risky for Argentina, even if the focus is on Tehran's possible culpability in a pair of bombings. The opening of a diplomatic channel with Tehran could anger the United States and Israel, which are seeking to isolate Iran as it appears to pursue nuclear weapons.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez surprised the United Nations General Assembly this week by announcing the talks.

The foreign ministers of the two countries held their first meeting at U.N. headquarters in New York. They issued a statement saying their lawyers will meet next month in Geneva.

"The goal is to explore a legal mechanism that does not go against the systems of either Argentina or Iran," the statement said. "This process will continue until a mutually agreed solution is found to all issues concerning the case."

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 bombing attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, which killed 29. Tehran has denied links to either attack.

Talking with Iran is a gamble for Fernandez, whose popularity has fallen since her October 2011 re-election. Argentina is home to Latin America's largest Jewish population.

"The risks for Argentina at the domestic and international level are high," said Ignacio Labaqui, a political science professor at the Catholic University of Argentina.

"Approaching Iran is not the best signal that the government can send to the U.S. and Israel," he added. "For Iran though, this is a diplomatic success. Any measure reducing isolationism is good for Iran."

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.

Guillermo Borger, head of Argentina's AMIA Jewish association, the headquarters of which was bombed in the 1994 attack, told local radio that talking with Iran was an "improbable and absolutely unreliable" approach to seeking justice over the attacks.

(Reporting By Hugh Bronstein; editing by Todd Eastham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/argentina-iran-talk-until-1990s-bombings-resolved-012821408.html

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The 233-Foot Tall, 4600-Ton Crane That Builds Aircraft Carriers [Video]

Aircraft carriers are, how to say, big. Building them is a lot easier if you have a really, really big crane. Meet Big Blue. She's the largest crane in the western hemisphere, and she's hard at work piecing together the new Ford-class aircraft carriers in Newport News, Virginia. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ATkjSHy7TqA/the-233+foot-tall-4600+ton-crane-that-builds-aircraft-carriers

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Computers match humans in understanding art

ScienceDaily (Sep. 25, 2012) ? Understanding and evaluating art has widely been considered as a task meant for humans, until now. Computer scientists Lior Shamir and Jane Tarakhovsky of Lawrence Technological University in Michigan tackled the question "can machines understand art?" The results were very surprising. In fact, an algorithm has been developed that demonstrates computers are able to "understand" art in a fashion very similar to how art historians perform their analysis, mimicking the perception of expert art critiques.

In the experiment, published in the recent issue of ACM Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage, the researchers used approximately 1,000 paintings of 34 well-known artists, and let the computer algorithm analyze the similarity between them based solely on the visual content of the paintings, and without any human guidance. Surprisingly, the computer provided a network of similarities between painters that is largely in agreement with the perception of art historians.

The analysis showed that the computer was clearly able to identify the differences between classical realism and modern artistic styles, and automatically separated the painters into two groups, 18 classical painters and 16 modern painters. Inside these two broad groups the computer identified sub-groups of painters that were part of the same artistic movements. For instance, the computer automatically placed the High Renaissance artists Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Michelangelo very close to each other. The Baroque painters Vermeer, Rubens and Rembrandt were also clustered together by the algorithm, showing that the computer automatically identified that these painters share similar artistic styles.

The automatic computer analysis is in agreement with the view of art historians, who associate these three painters with the Baroque artistic movement. Similarly, the computer algorithm deduced that Gauguin and C?zanne, both considered post-impressionists, have similar artistic styles, and also identified similarities between the styles of Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, and Giorgio de Chirico, all are considered by art historians to be part of the surrealism school of art. Overall, the computer automatically produced an analysis that is in large agreement with the influential links between painters and artistic movements as defined by art historians and critiques.

While the average non-expert can normally make the broad differentiation between modern art and classical realism, they have difficulty telling the difference between closely related schools of art such as Early and High Renaissance or Mannerism and Romanticism. The experiment showed that machines can outperform untrained humans in the analysis of fine art.

The experiment was performed by computing from each painting 4,027 numerical image context descriptors -- numbers that reflect the content of the image such as texture, color and shapes in a quantitative fashion. This allows the computer to reflect very many aspects of the visual content, and use pattern recognition and statistical methods to detect complex patterns of similarities and dissimilarities between the artistic styles and then quantify these similarities.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Lawrence Technological University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Lior Shamir, Jane A. Tarakhovsky. Computer analysis of art. Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage, 2012; 5 (2): 1 DOI: 10.1145/2307723.2307726

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/most_popular/~3/XEZiSaWwwBY/120926094546.htm

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Benefits of Business Networking Groups | Fox Chapel News

Within the age of selling and communication, networking performs a serious role. The extra you?ll be able to build a network of people, the higher it is for the company. Be it a product or a service, every business sells something at the finish of the day. To spread your business much more effectively, it is rather vital to have business networking groups. The truth is no business can work with out the correct steerage of the skilled professionals. Whether or not it?s a small business or a midsized, you?ll want to have a network of people who will build a powerful status on your company in the market.

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Before you start any business, it is rather vital to know what your long time goals are. You probably have good knowledge about your business, that will enable you to grow to be much more confident. When you will meet folks from completely different business networking groups, it is possible for you to to deliver them all the details. So no matter query they ask, it is possible for you to to answer each query with full confidence. It is only when folks might be positive that you are a serious businessman who is taken with long time business, will they arrive ahead to make partnership with you.

To start with it is likely to be tough to create skilled networking groups. Initially start with spreading the phrases among your mates and colleagues. You too can submit your business concepts and ideas on the favored social networking websites just like the Fb , Twitter or different popular social websites. In order to create a powerful networking folks, you possibly can add them to your profile also. You need to hold updating your profile on a regular basis, so that it is possible for you to to create a powerful communication with all the possible clients. One other greatest benefit is you can trade concepts on the social networking websites also. However for that it is rather vital to optimize your website and try to hold it person pleasant as much as possible.

Within the course of of making business networking groups, it can be that two individuals will meet up and create new business concepts that are useful for the future prospects of both of them. So if you end up attempting to communicate your business concepts with the opposite individual, exude the arrogance and fervour within you. Attempt to create an impression on the opposite individual so that he?ll keep in mind you even on pleasant terms. So to create an efficient business, it is rather vital to communicate your concepts and create a professional impression.

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Source: http://foxchapeloffice.com/benefits-of-business-networking-groups/

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Neil Patrick Harris adding author to his stage, film, TV credits

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Neil Patrick Harris, star of stage, television and film, is adding "author" to his extensive r?sume.

The singer, director, producer, three-time Emmy-winning actor and perennial awards show host plans to release a memoir chronicling his life from Doogie Howser to coming out to "How I met your mother" to parenthood.

Yet to be titled, the comedy-heavy book will be "an imaginative nonfiction that delivers an interactive, nonlinear reading experience," Crown Archetype, which is publishing the book, announced on Friday.

Harris' memoir will release in print and digital formats across the U.S. and Canada in 2014.

"I'm excited to be writing a book of the observations and stories of my life," he said in a statement. "I read with great fondness Tina Fey's ?Bossypants,' so my plan is just to reprint those exact stories but change the names to people that I knew. What editor would take issue with that?"

Harris began his Hollywood career in 1988, playing opposite Whoopi Goldberg in "Clara's Heart." From 1989 to 1993, he gained fame as the child lead character in "Doogie Howser, M.D."

Harris is also known for his roles as the womanizing Barney Stinson in "How I Met Your Mother," a fictionalized version of himself in the "Harold & Kumar" movie franchise and the title role in Joss Whedon's musical web series "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/neil-patrick-harris-adding-author-stage-film-tv-221415061.html

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Apple sells over 5 million of its iPhone 5 on first weekend

Featured

43 min.

Rosa Golijan

The iPhone 5 started shipping (and hitting store shelves) on Friday, Sept. 21. According to Apple, the company has sold more than?five million of the new iPhone model in the three days since its debut.

?We are working hard to get an iPhone 5 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible," Apple CEO?Tim Cook said?in a press release from the Cupertino-based company. "While we have sold out of our initial supply, stores continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly and customers can continue to order online and receive an estimated delivery date. We appreciate everyone?s patience and are working hard to build enough iPhone 5s for everyone."

Folks who try to order an iPhone 5 at this point will find that the device won't ship for three to four weeks, but based on calls to a random selection of Apple's own stores as well as several carriers' retail locations, there still appears to be a small amount of stock in the brick-and-mortar shops. (And as Cook said, stores are regularly receiving additional?shipments of devices.)

If you are in a rush to get an iPhone 5, we suggest that you lace up your boots and pound the pavement. As?Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Brenda Raney points out, you should not only?get to a store early (in hopes of snagging a device from a recent product replenishment), but also strategize as to which store you will visit.

"Select a store away from the center of the city or places where commuters and shoppers congregate," she told NBC News. "A?stand-alone store on the outskirts of town may be a better bet than the one in a mall.

In case you somehow missed all the excitement about the device, let's review the basics about the iPhone 5,?the latest generation of Apple's popular smartphone. In appearance, it is similar to the iPhone 4S, its predecessor, though it has?a 4-inch display (rather than a 3.5-inch display) and is a bit thinner.?The iPhone 5 offers 4G LTE connectivity (meaning users will see faster data speeds), improved battery life, a faster processor, and a lighter body.?

Out of the box,?the new smartphone will run iOS 6, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system, which means that it will have?an improved version of Siri, a new app called Passbook (which will store boarding passes, discount cards, and similar items), and about 200 other?new features.?

Much to the dismay of many, the new operating system does not offer a Google-powered Maps app, but instead uses Apple's own creation (which is not earning much praise so far).

In better news, the iPhone 5 is considered to be "easier than ever" to repair, much to the relief of those who?live in constant?fear of dropping their iPhones and damaging the devices.

Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/apple-sells-over-5-million-its-iphone-5-first-weekend-1B6042213

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Israel moves to encourage multinationals to free up profits

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel's parliamentary finance committee on Sunday approved a Finance Ministry proposal for the handling of "trapped profits" earned by multinational firms that is expected to add 3 billion shekels ($771 million) to government tax revenue.

Trapped profits are profits earned by multinational firms after they had been provided with tax incentives to invest in Israel. The ministry has been seeking to give the firms incentives to repatriate some of those profits and generate tax revenue for the government.

Israel's law for the encouragement of capital investment granted tax exemptions for companies setting up plants in Israel but required them to pay corporate taxes if they decided to distribute a dividend from the profits earned while they were exempt from paying taxes. Many of these companies refrained from distributing dividends to avoid taxation.

Under the Finance Ministry's amendment to the law approved by the finance committee, the higher the amount of profit transferred abroad by these companies, the higher the tax benefit they will receive.

The proposal, which still needs final approval by the full parliament, would enable multinationals to pay only 40-70 percent of the amount of taxes they would have owed, although no less than a 6 percent corporate tax rate.

These companies would also be required to reinvest in Israel an amount equal to half of the tax benefit they receive.

Some politicians had argued against the tax benefit, saying the companies should be obliged to pay the full amount of tax.

But Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz has said the tax breaks would encourage the companies to free up the profits that have been sitting in Israel for years, thereby boosting tax revenue and narrowing next year's expected revenue shortfall.

"At this stage it is important to make pertinent decisions and continue to preserve the Israeli economy for the good of its citizens," Steinitz said in a statement.

"The move I initiated will lead to billions of shekels in revenue from the large companies, which will save us from having to collect billions of shekels from the citizens of this country."

Last month, Israel implemented tax hikes and spending cuts aimed at reining in the budget deficit. For 2013, Israel will need further such measures to meet a budget deficit target of 3 percent of gross domestic product.

(Reporting by Tova Cohen)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israel-moves-encourage-multinationals-free-profits-153110130--business.html

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The article from the Dr. Oz blog talks about binge eating disorder. ?Binge eating is defined by, ?the consumption of large quantities of food in discrete periods of time? and, ?is characterized by a person feeling a loss of control while eating.? ?If you know someone who suffers from binge eating this article gives some good insights into what sets of binge eating as well as some suggestions on how to help the person who has it.

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Basics of a Disruptive Job Search | CAREEREALISM

How long have you been looking for work?

Honestly, can you step back and realistically calculate the actual time you?ve spent in the hunt? Is it days, weeks, months? See if you can guestimate the hours. Then, divide the total number of job interviews you?ve been on in to that number and you?ll have your current ?job search hours per interview? statistic.

How?s that number looking to you?

My guess ? not so good.

10 Interviews to Land a Job

If your job search isn?t getting you interviews, you aren?t going to get any job offers. In fact, my personal experience shows today?s job seeker can complete as many as 10 or more interviews with different companies before they get a job. The competitive job market and your own performance in the interview will impact that number greatly, but suffice it to say you need a way to get more interviews, preferably with the least amount of job search hours possible.

Solution: Disruptive Job Search

The term ?disruptive? is being used a lot lately in the marketing world.

(Click here to check out Wikipedia?s definition of ?disruptive innovation.?)

The old techniques for selling products and services aren?t working any more. The Internet, and more specifically, social media have created a need for marketers to find new ways to engage their target audience. Experts say the solution is to be disruptive in the market as a way to get an audience?s attention, with the key to success being you make a positive impression in the process.

Disruptive is not about acting silly or crazy ? it?s about being unexpected? in a good way. Job seekers need to pay attention to what these marketers are saying.

That?s because, as a business-of-one who is selling their services to employers, conducting a Disruptive Job Search could help a job seeker stand out, land more interviews, and get hired faster.

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Source: http://www.careerealism.com/disruptive-job-search/

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Reince Priebus: Last Week Was 'Good' For GOP

Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus called the past week a "defining week in both campaigns," describing it as a "good week" even as the GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney came under fire after secretly-taped comments he made at a fundraiser earlier this year became public.

"I think that we had a good week last week, I think in retrospect, in that we were able to frame up the debate last week in the sense of, what future do we want," Priebus said this morning on "This Week."

"I think we can look back at last week as a campaign in a couple months and say, this was the defining week in both campaigns," he said earlier.

On Monday, Mother Jones released secretly taped footage of Romney speaking at a fundraiser in Florida earlier this year in which he described 47 percent of voters as "victims," adding they are "dependent upon government" and "believe the government has a responsibility to care for them." Romney, who subsequently called his remarks inelegant, was bashed by Democrats. A number of prominent Republicans, including Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, distanced themselves from the remarks.

During my interview with Priebus, he conceded that last week was not the "best" of the campaign for Romney.

"I think Governor Romney's been pretty clear, it probably wasn't the best-said moment in the campaign and probably not the best week in the campaign," Priebus said.

I spoke to Obama campaign senior adviser David Axelrod right after my interview with Priebus and he quickly went after Romney for his "47 percent" comments.

"I don't know what prism he's looking through. I don't think anybody else would define it as a good week. But it was an enlightening week," Axelrod said. "The week began with Governor Romney basically slandering 47 percent of America, saying that they were, you know, hooked on dependency, didn't pay their taxes, and so on. "

Like "This Week" on Facebook here. You can also follow the show on Twitter here.

Get more pure politics at ABC News.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/reince-priebus-last-week-good-gop-173227537--abc-news-politics.html

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Lodi Dances to Garratt Wilkins & the Parrotheads ? Lodi, California

The City of Lodi threw a terrific ?End of Summer? musical event with Garratt Wilkins & the Parrotheads performing.? This cover band is known nationally as the #1 Jimmy Buffett tribute band and they definitely had the audience on their feet!?? About 250 people attended the event at Hutchins Street Square.

Concert goers feasted on cheeseburgers cooked by the Boosters of Boys and Girls Sports Organization (BOBS) and margaritas, wine, and beer from the Lodi Arts Foundation. Wine was generously donated by the Michael~David Winery.

According to Jeff Hood, interim Parks & Recreation Director and Cultural Services Director, ?this is the first time these two groups have worked together so this is a great way to join forces for the benefit of our community and our youth.?

Sales from these two non-profit organizations will provide opportunities for underserved youth to participate in local sports and for Tuition Assistance for art, music, dance, and theatre classes at Hutchins Street Square. To volunteer or donate please call Ros Bollinger @ 209-368-1977 for the Lodi Arts Foundation and for the BOBS organization; contact the Parks & Recreation Department at 209-333-6742.

The next big fundraiser is the ?Bump City? Tower of Power Tribute Band performing on October 19 at Hutchins Street Square.? Tickets are available @ www.loditickets.com or call the Box Office at 209-333-5550.

Photographs by Keith Colgan Photography

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Source: http://lodi360.com/2012/09/22/lodi-dances-to-garratt-wilkins-the-parrotheads/

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Mitt Romney 2011 Tax Returns: Released!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/09/mitt-romney-2011-tax-returns-released/

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Was This Summer A Climate Change Event?

James McCarthy, professor of biological oceanography at Harvard, says this summer's record heat and dryness could have occurred with lower atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations--but it would have been highly unlikely. Steve Mirsky reports.

More 60-Second Science

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Was the extreme heat and dryness of the summer of 2012 the result of climate change?

?It?s the old problem of saying any one event is the result of climate change.? That?s James McCarthy, professor of biological oceanography at Harvard and current president of the board of the Union of Concerned Scientists, speaking September 21st in New York City at an event hosted by the Union.

?We have been locked in a two year now strong La Nina cycle. The La Nina cycle brings more aridity to the center of continents. Would it have been, from previous La Ninas, likely to be as dry as it is now, setting record after record of number of days over 100 degrees, number of days without rain?

?This year we actually hit a point where there were 400 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere. If it was more like 350 or maybe 280, which is what it was in the middle of the 19th century, would this have been as likely? And we?d say no, the odds of this would have been far less likely. It could have still occurred, but it would have been an extremely rare event. And as we look forward, this is going to be more common.?

?Steve Mirsky

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast]

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=26b4d3a411afbae919801eadd91fb7df

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House ethics panel to end bank aid probe of lawmaker

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives' ethics panel plans to drop allegations against Democratic Representative Maxine Waters following a long probe into whether she improperly aided a bank in which her husband owned shares, the panel's head said on Friday.

Acting House Ethics Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte, a Republican, said the panel was prepared to accept a recommendation from an outside lawyer hired to examine Waters' conduct, Billy Martin, not to pursue further investigation of her role in the matter.

"We are prepared to accept that recommendation," Goodlatte said in a statement.

At issue were allegations that during the depths of the financial crisis in 2008, Waters may have violated House ethics rules for seeking help from the U.S. Treasury Department for OneUnited Bank of Boston. Her husband owned stock in the bank and once sat on the board.

Waters, a high-ranking Democrat from Los Angeles on the House Financial Services Committee, maintained that she had called then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to seek help for minority owned banks in general. She said she dropped her involvement upon learning that OneUnited sought assistance from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which was set up in 2008 to shore up banks during the financial crisis.

The bank eventually received $12 million in federal bailout capital.

Goodlatte said the panel was still considering whether to admonish Waters' chief of staff and grandson, Mikael Moore, over allegations that he used his office for personal gain, dispensed personal favors and brought dishonor to the House by continuing to work on OneUnited's behalf. The move is short of a formal reprimand under House rules.

The committee held a public hearing on the matter on Friday and could decide on further action later in the day.

(Reporting By Donna Smith; Writing by David Lawder; Editing by Fred Barbash and Vicki Allen)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/house-ethics-panel-end-bank-aid-probe-lawmaker-161207862--finance.html

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Corrections

Photograph by Gabriela Insuratelu.

In a Sept. 19 ?Brow Beat? post, June Thomas originally claimed that How I Met Your Mother?s title referenced a woman. Since the ?I? of the title is a man, it belongs in the mixed-gender category.

In the Sept. 18 ?Explainer,? Brian Palmer stated that the Mercatus Center is at George Washington University. The center is at George Mason University.

In a Sept. 18 "Future Tense" blog post, Roseann Cimo originally cited the wrong locations for the group houses Rainbow Mansion and Tortuga. Rainbow Mansion is in Cupertino, not Palo Alto, and Tortuga is located in Mountain View, not Menlo Park.

In a Sept. 18 ?Politics,? John Dickerson misspelled the last name of political commentator Erick Erickson.

In a Sept. 17 "Food," Rachel Levin described Karen Adelman, the co-owner of Saul's Deli, as 5-foot-1. She is 5-foot-3.

In a Sept. 17 "History," Robert M. Poole misspelled Civil War photographer Mathew Brady's first name.

In a Sept. 17 "Moneybox" blog post, Matthew Yglesias stated that the iPhone 5 had less battery life than its predecessor rather than more.

In a Sept. 14 "Explainer," Jasmeet Sidhu wrote that Megan Simpson underwent a gender-selection technique called PGD twice, the second time successfully conceiving a girl. She used PGD once, unsuccessfully, and then used a sperm-sorting technique plus in-vitro fertilization to conceive a girl.

In the Sept. 14 "History," James M. Lundberg incorrectly referred to Franklin Pierce as the 13th president of the United States. Pierce was the 14th president.

In a Sept. 14 "Medical Examiner," Jasmeet Sidhu wrote that Megan Simpson underwent a gender-selection technique called PGD twice, the second time successfully conceiving a girl. She used PGD once, unsuccessfully, and then used a sperm-sorting technique plus in-vitro fertilization to conceive a girl.

In a Sept. 14 ?Politics,? David Weigel wrote that the Obama administration is not enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act. It is not defending DOMA in court. In addition, because of a copy-editing error, the article stated that Obama ?appointed two anti-abortion Supreme Court justices." They were two pro-abortion-rights justices.

In a Sept. 12 ?Future Tense? blog post, Rachel Stern incorrectly stated that it is illegal in Germany for Google to include certain terms in Autocomplete. It is instead Google policy not to use them.

Slate strives to correct all errors of fact. If you've seen an error in our pages, let us know at corrections@slate.com. General comments should be posted in our comments sections at the bottom of each article.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=af7c358ecc393df534e1536515c21ee2

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The 47 percent: a case study

Gleckman profiles a single mom who likely owes?no income tax thanks largely to the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit.

By Howard Gleckman,?Guest blogger / September 20, 2012

Tax payers search through tax forms at the Illinois Department of Revenue in Springfield, Ill., in this April 2010 file photo. Low-income workers benefit far less from tax subsidies than middle-income households, and vastly less than high-income households, Gleckman writes.

Seth Perlman/AP/File

Enlarge

About that 47 percent: Let me introduce you to Andrea. When I met her a couple of years ago, she was a home health aide who typically worked six days-a-week and often put in 50 hours.

Skip to next paragraph Howard Gleckman

Howard Gleckman is a resident fellow at The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, the author of Caring for Our Parents, and former senior correspondent in the Washington bureau of Business Week. (http://taxvox.taxpolicycenter.org)

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She loved her work, but it is not something most of us would want to do. According to the Labor Dept., aides are more likely to be hurt on the job than?coal miners.? Her pay: $8.40-an-hour.

Andrea was 22 and a single mom. Her daughter, Trinity, was 3. Andrea got up before 7 each morning, rode the city bus with Trinity to day care, then took another bus to her job?caring for a patient in his home.? After ?a grueling seven-hour day, she?d take a bus to pick up Trinity, then another bus home, where she?d make dinner, help Trinity learn her letters, and work on her own GED.

At $8.40-an-hour, Andrea could earn $420 for a 50-hour week. And if she worked 50 hours, 52 weeks a year, that?s $21,840?well below the income tax threshold for a single mother with one dependent child.

For someone in Andrea?s situation, that?s no accident. I don?t know about her personal tax situation, but a typical head of household like her would owe no income tax thanks largely to the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, both subsidies passed by large majorities in Congress and intended to encourage people to work.

Without them, she?d face stiff marginal tax rates for taking a job?a penalty that would punish both her and society at large. In fact, as my former Tax Policy Center colleague Len Burman noted in a TaxVox ?post?last year, the EITC is the single most effective government program aimed at getting people out of poverty.

Of course, people like Andrea still pay taxes. For 2012, someone making $21,840 would pay about $2,900 in Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes (including her employer?s share). Next year, if the payroll tax holiday expires as scheduled, her payroll tax would rise to roughly $3,300. She?d also likely pay other levies, including state and local taxes.

On net, someone in her situation would indeed be a federal taxpayer, though barely. In 2012, she?d receive a $2,856 income tax payment, not quite enough to offset $2,900 in payroll taxes. If the temporary payroll tax cut expires, she?d owe about $450 in net federal taxes.

Keep in mind that?60 percent of recipients claim the EITC for only a year or two, and only about 20 percent take it for five years or more. With better skills and more experience, many eventually earn enough that they no longer qualify. And, that it seems, is the point.

After spending a few days with Andrea, I?m pretty sure Mitt Romney got it wrong in his videotaped talk to a group of contributors. To Romney, people like Andrea ?believe that they are victims, ?believe the government has a responsibility to care for them?.? He added, ?I?ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.? But Andrea in no way thinks she is a victim and is already taking responsibility for her life. ?She does not need a politician to encourage her. ?She has Trinity.

Romney went off the tracks by confusing the EITC and CTC with a sense of victimization and entitlement. People who benefit from these subsidies are exactly the opposite of that stereotype. Many want desperately to work, and struggle more than many of us can imagine to achieve the American Dream. For people like Andrea, those subsidies are the difference between keeping their heads above water and drowning.

Romney, like many who focus on the 47 percent, is also blinded by the deceptively simple binary status of taxpayer/no taxpayer. In truth, low-income workers benefit far less from tax subsidies than middle-income households, and vastly less than high-income households.

Let?s just take two examples:?According to TPC, a household making between $20,000 and $30,000-a-year got an average EITC benefit of $866 in 2011. By contrast, those making more than $1 million got an average tax cut of $7,000+ thanks to the deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes alone.? The EITC may have moved a household from federal income taxpayer to non-taxpayer. But who was really better off?

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

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/leP3jr64mC0/The-47-percent-a-case-study

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Creative Family Series | Neuroses Galore

by Jennifer Cooper, posted on September 19th, 2012 in Creativity, Parenting

---

Today I?d like to introduce you to Stephanie?a mom of three who is also a lawyer, blogger, crafter, advocate and one of the most fascinating people I know. She is that blend of dreamer and doer that downright amazes me.

As talented crafter, Stephanie has contributed patterns to the popular sewing books One Yard Wonders and Fabric by Fabric One Yard Wonders. You can also find a contribution of hers in the upcoming Little Wonders Book. How incredible is that?!

Oh and did I mention she?s got some seriously mad marble playing skills?

I?m thrilled to have Stephanie here today to talk about creativity and how she and her family celebrate it together.

How would define creativity?

I don?t know. Gosh. This question is really hard for me. For me it?s the opportunity to make something with my hands. To turn raw materials into something beautiful. Or maybe even something fun or useful.

Have you always considered yourself creative?

I think so. When I was a kid my mother really encouraged me to be creative. She?d always let me play with her oil paints or help me to make clothes for my dolls. When I was in high school I would ride the metro into DC to take classes at the Corcoran on weekends. I was always doing something, dance, art, sewing.

How do you nurture your own creativity?

This sounds so lame but, right now, I have so little time that mostly I nurture my creativity by buying supplies. I make lots of plans about what I?ll do when I have lots of extra time. I love looking at Pinterest and don?t bother going to the library for craft books because I?ve already cleaned them out too. I like challenging myself. Developing the few patterns that I?ve created was really fulfilling (but takes so much time!).

Did you grow up in a creative household? If so, what were some of the ways your parents nurtured your creativity and curiosity?

I did. My mother designed clothing lines for a women?s clothing manufacturer. She would help me design and crank out all kinds of things for my dolls. I got all of my love for craft books from my mom too and we used them often to work on projects at home. Also, she bought me tons of supplies.

How do you nurture it in your children?

I use the same salt dough recipe from the same book that my mom used. I try to do fun things with my girls, expose them to lots of different stuff and let them have the same fun experiences that I had as a kid. I try to find opportunities for them to go to the theater, hear live music, visit museums, go to festivals and stuff like that. I try not to say no when they bring me a project idea. I like to keep supplies for stuff on hand and now that my oldest is five I give her lots of freedom to cut and glue as she sees fit without a whole lot of supervision. I try to make creating a fun and relaxing experience.

What are some of your favorite ways to spend time together as a family?

We like to get out and do stuff together like berry or apple picking, my husband and kids are really into geocaching and I like visiting historical sites and museums. Sometimes we manage to squeeze all of those things into the same outing. I guess we like to be out and about. Strolling main streets is another big favorite.

How have you been able to integrate work with pursuing your creative passions?

I?ve developed a few patterns that are published. I just sent another one off a couple of weeks ago for an upcoming book! I haven?t done a great job of figuring out how to make it all work together. Being a grown up is hard like that. Mostly my creative and professional pursuits are separate because even when I contributed a piece for publication on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a law that impacted lots of creative types, a few years back it wasn?t quite the ticket. The legal profession kind of sucks all of the creativity out of stuff. Unless you?re making creative arguments but even that?s a stretch.

What are you working on now?

Right now I?m canning up a storm. I consider kitchen time to be one of my creative outlets too. I would like to sew some dresses for myself. I usually sew for my girls so I?m kind of dragging my feet on getting started. I?ll get there eventually.

From time to time everyone?s creative juices wane. How do you handle that? Does it cause you any anxiety or do you just let it pass?

Everything causes me anxiety! When I get really stuck I like to work on a really quick project. Something cute and fast. That usually helps me kick it into gear. Sometimes even tackling a simple mending project is enough to move me forward. I also find buying more supplies to be helpful in that regard : )

Isn?t Stephanie incredible? This line here: ?I haven?t done a great job of figuring out how to make it all work together. Being a grown up is hard like that.? Oh mama, can I relate. How about you?

Would you like to chat about creativity and how you celebrate/struggle/nurture it your and your family?s life? Drop me a note! I?d love to hear from you.

Share it!

Source: http://www.classic-play.com/creative-family-series-neuroses-galore/

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Experimental drug may help some autism cases, researchers say

An experimental drug can improve sociability in patients with fragile X syndrome and may be helpful as a treatment for autism, according to the authors of a new study.

Fragile X is a rare genetic disorder that affects about 1 in 4,000 boys and 1 in 8,000 girls, according to the National Institutes of Health. It usually results in mental retardation and ? in about half of cases ? some form of autism.

In fragile X, which accounts for 2% of autism cases, a mutation in a gene on the X chromosome turns off production of a regulatory protein known as FMRP. That leads to out-of-control activation of the brain chemical glutamate, which plays a key role in learning and memory, potentially explaining social anxiety and other symptoms of the disorder.

A group of researchers tested a drug known as STX209 in mice that were genetically engineered to have an animal version of fragile X. The researchers found that it helped correct the biochemical abnormalities associated with the mutation and reduced seizures and repetitive behaviors in the mice, they reported Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

In a related study published in the same journal, 46 children and 17 adults with fragile X were assigned to take the drug for four weeks and a placebo for four weeks. Patients made bigger improvements on a "social avoidance" scale while they were taking the drug compared with when they were taking the placebo.

"This study nails a core feature in autism," said Dr. Randi Hagerman, an expert in neurodevelopmental disorders at the UC Davis MIND Institute and coauthor of the human study. "We think this is a great drug."

But scientists who were not involved in the study said the improvements were modest at best and that their applicability to autism ? a highly variable disorder that may have many distinct causes ? was unclear.

"The data have to be viewed with extreme caution," said Dr. Christopher McDougle, a psychiatrist and autism expert at Harvard University. "They're interesting. That's about all you can say."

An explosion in autism diagnosis over the last two decades makes the disorder an obvious target for drug developers. But with little understanding of its biological underpinnings, researchers have not known which chemical pathways to focus on.

Two drugs, both antipsychotic medications designed for schizophrenia, are currently approved to treat autism. But they target irritability and not its hallmark symptoms of social dysfunction, communication problems and repetitive behaviors.

The new study in people was designed to measure the effect of STX209 on irritability, but there was no difference between the drug and the placebo. So the researchers considered a variety of other measures, including a 12-point rating scale used to measure social avoidance in fragile X patients.

During treatment with the drug, patients improved from a mean of 4.5 to 3.3; while taking the placebo, they went from 3.9 to 3.6. Patients, their families and the doctors assessing them did not know when they were getting the drug and when they were on the placebo.

Though the scores were similar at the end of both parts of the trial, patients made greater improvements while taking the drug, said study leader Elizabeth Berry-Kravis, a child neurologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

"They're willing to go out in public," she said, describing reports from patients' parents. "They're willing to come downstairs. They're willing to stay at a birthday party. They're willing to go to a dentist."

Outside experts warned that the social impairments in fragile X may be unique to that disorder.

"I would be cautious in concluding this drug is effective for the social deficits of autism on the basis of this study," said Larry Scahill, a drug researcher at Yale University.

Seaside Therapeutics, the Cambridge, Mass.-based company that makes STX209, funded the two studies. Dr. Paul Wang, an executive at the company, said the drug was being tested in two larger clinical trials for fragile X as well as a study involving 150 patients with autism.

"We need to prove ? which we have not done ? that this drug can help people with autism," he said.

alan.zarembo@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/xdXmFQPsGgw/la-sci-autism-fragile-x-drug-20120920,0,2836504.story

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Misinformation: Why it sticks and how to fix it

ScienceDaily (Sep. 19, 2012) ? Childhood vaccines do not cause autism. Barack Obama was born in the United States. Global warming is confirmed by science. And yet, many people believe claims to the contrary.

Why does that kind of misinformation stick? A new report published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, explores this phenomenon. Psychological scientist Stephan Lewandowsky of the University of Western Australia and colleagues highlight the cognitive factors that make certain pieces of misinformation so "sticky" and identify some techniques that may be effective in debunking or counteracting erroneous beliefs.

The main reason that misinformation is sticky, according to the researchers, is that rejecting information actually requires cognitive effort. Weighing the plausibility and the source of a message is cognitively more difficult than simply accepting that the message is true -- it requires additional motivational and cognitive resources. If the topic isn't very important to you or you have other things on your mind, misinformation is more likely to take hold.

And when we do take the time to thoughtfully evaluate incoming information, there are only a few features that we are likely to pay attention to: Does the information fit with other things I believe in? Does it make a coherent story with what I already know? Does it come from a credible source? Do others believe it?

Misinformation is especially sticky when it conforms to our preexisting political, religious, or social point of view. Because of this, ideology and personal worldviews can be especially difficult obstacles to overcome.

Even worse, efforts to retract misinformation often backfire, paradoxically amplifying the effect of the erroneous belief.

"This persistence of misinformation has fairly alarming implications in a democracy because people may base decisions on information that, at some level, they know to be false," says Lewandowsky.

"At an individual level, misinformation about health issues -- for example, unwarranted fears regarding vaccinations or unwarranted trust in alternative medicine -- can do a lot of damage. At a societal level, persistent misinformation about political issues (e.g., Obama's health care reform) can create considerable harm. On a global scale, misinformation about climate change is currently delaying mitigative action."

Though misinformation may be difficult to correct, all is not lost. According to Lewandowsky, "psychological science has the potential to counteract all those harms by educating people and communicators about the power of misinformation and how to meet it."

In their report, Lewandowsky and colleagues offer some strategies for setting the record straight.

• Provide people with a narrative that replaces the gap left by false information
• Focus on the facts you want to highlight, rather than the myths
• Make sure that the information you want people to take away is simple and brief
• Consider your audience and the beliefs they are likely to hold
• Strengthen your message through repetition

Research has shown that attempts at "debiasing" can be effective in the real world when based on these evidence-based strategies.

The report, "Misinformation and its Correction: Continued Influence and Successful Debiasing," is published in the September issue of Psychological Science in the Public Interest and is written by Stephan Lewandowsky and Ullrich Ecker of the University of Western Australia, Colleen Seifert and Norbert Schwarz of the University of Michigan, and John Cook of the University of Queensland and the University of Western Australia.

The report also features a commentary written by Edward Maibach of George Mason University.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Association for Psychological Science.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. S. Lewandowsky, U. K. H. Ecker, C. M. Seifert, N. Schwarz, J. Cook. Misinformation and Its Correction: Continued Influence and Successful Debiasing. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2012; 13 (3): 106 DOI: 10.1177/1529100612451018

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/YOHIorEP93o/120919191212.htm

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Russia accuses USAID of trying to sway elections

MOSCOW (AP) ? Russia explained its decision to end the U.S. Agency for International Development's two decades of work in Russia by saying Wednesday that the agency was using its money to influence elections ? a claim the U.S. denied.

The U.S. State Department announced Tuesday that Russia has demanded USAID leave the country, a culmination of years of resentment over what Moscow sees as American interference aimed at undermining President Vladimir Putin's hold on power.

"We are talking about attempts through the issuing of grants to affect the course of political processes, including elections on various levels, and institutions of civil society," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said.

Nearly 60 percent of the aid agency's $50 million annual budget this year has been allocated for the promotion of democracy and civil society in Russia. Some of this money has gone to support Russia's only independent election monitoring group, Golos, which fielded thousands of observers in last winter's elections and compiled reports of widespread vote fraud in support of Putin's party.

Putin had accused Western governments of trying to influence the December parliamentary vote through their grant recipients, and a state-owned television channel directly denounced Golos, showing suitcases full of dollars that the group supposedly had received. After those elections set off an unprecedented wave of protests, Putin accused the demonstrators of being in the pay of Washington.

The U.S. State Department denied that it was trying to affect the outcome of elections.

"We completely reject the notion that our support for civil society, democracy, human rights in any way interferes with elections, whether in Russia or anywhere else in the world," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington. "We do these programs all over the world. We are even-handed as to access to the resources for political parties."

Grigory Melkonyants, the deputy director of Golos, said the expulsion of USAID was a logical extension of a Kremlin crackdown on dissent since Putin returned to the presidency in May.

"All of this is part of a series of moves aimed at toughening policy toward protests, the Internet, NGOs and freedom of speech," he said. "The people who make these decisions intend to crack down on dissent and criticism in a way that is as harsh as possible. It is frightening even to think about what may happen tomorrow."

Among the new laws passed this summer is one that requires non-governmental organizations that receive foreign funding and engage in vaguely defined political activity to register as "foreign agents," which is intended to destroy their credibility among Russians.

But few sources of funding are available within Russia for organizations whose work, even if not directly political, can be seen as providing a check on the government. The Moscow office of Transparency International and two of Russia's oldest and most respected human rights organizations, Memorial and the Moscow Helsinki Group, are among those that have come to depend on foreign money. It is unclear how these groups will survive.

Arseny Roginsky, who heads Memorial, said his group will revert to its Soviet practice of relying on volunteers.

More than a third of USAID funding, however, has gone toward programs in health and the environment, which generally had been welcomed by the Russian government.

The Foreign Ministry has imposed an Oct. 1 deadline for the aid agency to end its activities in Russia, but U.S. officials say they will wind down programs in an orderly fashion. They also have made clear they are scrambling to find new ways of getting money to the Russian organizations that have received USAID funds, potentially setting up a further showdown with the Kremlin.

"With regard to our support for civil society, for democracy, for human rights, for rule of law, we will continue to work with those Russians in civil society who want to work with us," Nuland said. "We do that in many parts of the world where we don't have AID missions. And we are looking now at precisely how we'll work this through, but we are committed to stay on the side of those who want to see a more democratic, more just Russia."

___

Matthew Lee in Washington contributed reporting.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-accuses-usaid-trying-sway-elections-100120979.html

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American Airlines wants flying to be more personalized, giving 17,000 flight attendants a Galaxy Note

American Airlines and Samsung have joined forces in the past to bring in-flight entertainment to travelers by way of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and now they're expanding their deal and starting a new initiative. American Airlines will be handing out the Samsung Galaxy Note to flight attendants to help make traveling possibly a little bit more enjoyable. The Galaxy Note will be loaded with customer information so flight attendants will have access to a wide array of details:

• Access customer information such as name, seat number and loyalty program status in a seat map view and customer list view;
• Record meal and beverage preferences for premium class customers;
• Easily identify high-value customers seated in the premium cabins and in the main cabin, and customers requiring special assistance
• Provide customers with connecting gate, flight delays and weather information – pending FAA approval, all information will be automatically updated when Wi-Fi is available on the aircraft.

In total, approximately 17,000 flight attendants will have the devices in their hands starting later this year through mid-2013. As noted in the press release below, the Samsung Galaxy Note was chosen based on flight attendant feedback over a number of months and testing various devices. The large display, thin profile and durability won out as well as the include SAFE security features.

Source: American Airlines

read more

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

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Leica X2 gets ? la carte, Paul Smith editions to help you stand out from plebeian photographers

Let's say you've been considering a Leica X2 for the mix of a big APS-C sensor and retro styling, but a $1,995, fixed-range compact camera just isn't exclusive enough. Leica has you covered with two extra-rare editions that rise above the pack. Provided you don't mind someone else designing for you, the Edition Paul Smith spices things up with a mix of black, green and orange that reflects the UK fashion designer's love of stripes and wilder colors. Is the small 1,500-unit batch of Paul Smith cameras still too common? There's now an ? la carte X2 option to limit the production run to exactly one. After picking from black, silver or new titanium colors for the main body, you can choose from a set of leather trim colors and get custom engraving to hedge against the unlikely event that anyone confuses your X2 with someone else's. Prices aren't immediately available for the October launches of both cameras. Not that it matters much -- if you're willing to even consider a special edition Leica, you already know that it's within your price range.

Gallery: Leica X2 Edition Paul Smith and ? la carte

Continue reading Leica X2 gets ? la carte, Paul Smith editions to help you stand out from plebeian photographers

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/17/leica-x2-gets-a-la-carte-paul-smith-editions/

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