dropper esprit: June 2012

Monday, June 18, 2012

Socialists take French Parliament, sweep power

PARIS (AP) ? Francois Hollande is the man in charge after his Socialist Party swept France's parliamentary election. Voters welcomed the French president's vision of injecting government money into Europe's economies in hopes of helping the joint euro currency stave off disaster.

Socialists now have an unprecedented lock on politics in France, and plan to use it to raise taxes on big banks and oil companies, levy a 75-percent tax on incomes higher than ?1 million ($1.26 million) a year, and hire 60,000 teachers. Hollande's strong domestic mandate will let him push back in global economic talks against the budget cuts being demanded by Germany, which Greece and other indebted countries say are driving them deeper into the financial abyss by suffocating growth.

France's election Sunday also gave the far right National Front a toehold in parliament, a small but symbolic victory for a party that wants to stop immigration, dump the euro currency and decries the so-called "Islamization" of France. The conservative UMP party of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, which dominated the outgoing parliament, suffered the biggest losses.

The balloting to elect 577 lawmakers for France's lower ? and more powerful ? house of parliament came on the same day that conservatives won a parliamentary election in Greece.

With final results still coming in, pollsters estimated France's Socialists and their closest allies will hold between 313 and 315 seats, well over the 289 needed for a majority and exempting them from horse-trading with far-leftists who oppose some of Hollande's pro-European policies.

"This score exemplifies strong confidence in the president," said Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici, who won his own race for an Assembly seat. "This gives a spinal column to the government and strengthens it ... our commitments will be honored. We will not do any austerity."

Sarkozy's UMP party went from 304 seats in the old Assembly to an estimated 214 in the new one, after Sarkozy himself lost his re-election bid to Hollande just six weeks ago.

Hollande now has a free hand to push forward with his plans. He wants to crack down on tax shelters and encourage companies to reinvest their profits. Also on tap is requiring banks to split their traditional deposit-and-loan activities from their speculative bets in the financial markets.

Hollande's government has already made good on a controversial plan to lower the retirement age for some French workers to 60 from 62. He also slashed the salaries of government ministers by 30 percent ? a nod to a public wary of the much-criticized bling of Sarkozy's reign.

Hollande's pro-growth attitude is also attracting attention elsewhere in Europe. France is the eurozone's second-biggest economy and, along with powerhouse Germany, has a major role in EU policy and providing bailouts to weaker countries.

Hollande presented other European leaders last week with a new "growth pact" including ?120 billion ($151 billion) worth of measures around the continent to stimulate growth, the Journal du Dimanche newspaper reported. A French official confirmed the report but would not provide details.

The French-German tandem has come under strain in recent months, not least because Chancellor Angela Merkel has opposed Hollande's vocal push for government stimulus and is defending an austerity package that she worked out with Sarkozy, a fellow conservative.

Even against the recent throw-the-bums-out mindset in many parts of Europe, the turnaround for France's Socialists was remarkable. The party was riven for much of the past decade by personal infighting and ideological discord.

On Sunday, the Socialists gained more than 100 seats in the Assembly ? nearly all from the conservatives, discredited in the eyes of many voters after years of economic difficulties and high joblessness. Last fall, the Socialists seized control of the upper house of parliament, the Senate.

No matter who is in charge, there's plenty of challenges ahead.

France's debts are huge and its unemployment rate recently rose to 10 percent ? the highest rate in 13 years. The little-known ratings agency Egan-Jones Ratings downgraded French state debt to BBB+ from A- on Thursday, warning that French banks may soon come under strain.

"The work before us is immense. Nothing will be easy," Socialist Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said, acknowledging that France's financial situation is "difficult."

The anti-immigration National Front party won two seats in Sunday's election ? the most it has had since 1988, when the political system was more favorable to extremist candidates. Party leader Marine Le Pen lost her quest for a seat in the industrial north by just 118 votes, but her 22-year-old niece ? Marion Marechal-Le Pen ? won her race in the southeast and will become France's youngest lawmaker.

Marine Le Pen has revamped the party to try to shed its reputation as racist and anti-Semitic. She placed third in the presidential race. The party, known for its sharp-tongued critics, will get a high-profile platform from which to grill Hollande's ministers during weekly question time in the often-boisterous Assembly.

"This is a first step toward future elections," Marechal-Le Pen told BFM-TV.

In an election subplot, prominent Socialist Segolene Royal ? the mother of Hollande's four children and the runner-up to Sarkozy in the 2007 presidential vote ? lost her race in western France and her bid to become Parliament speaker. Her rival was a breakaway Socialist who had drawn the support of Hollande's current companion, journalist Valerie Trierweiler.

Sunday's result also exposed voter fatigue, coming so soon after Hollande's own victory on May 6. The turnout of 56 percent was the lowest recorded in modern France.

In a well-off area of central Paris, voter Eve Baume said she cast her ballot for the local socialist "because I've been waiting for change for a long time."

"I wanted to support Francois Hollande, the government and its projects," she said.

Pascal Albe, a voter from the working-class Paris suburb of Ivry-sur-Seine, said he generally votes for the right but he thought Hollande should have a Socialist-led parliament.

"Otherwise the country will be paralyzed, and especially now, we don't need that," he said.

___

Cecile Brisson, Sylvie Corbet, Thibault Leroux and Catherine Gaschka in Paris contributed to this report.

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Sunday, June 17, 2012

Romney breaks from small-town tour for speech on faith (reuters)

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Suu Kyi: Nobel Peace Prize shattered my isolation

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a press conference with Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg in Oslo, Friday, June 15, 2012. Suu Kyi formally accepts the Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday June 16, 2012, in the Norwegian capital. (AP Photo / Vegard Groett / NTB scanpix) NORWAY OUT

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi briefs the media after a meeting with Norway Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg at the Norway government guest house in Oslo, Friday, June 15, 2012. Suu Kyi formally accept the Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday June 16, 2012, in the Norwegian capital, that originally thrust her into the global limelight two decades ago. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, third from left, signs a book at the Nobel Institute after a meeting with the Norwegian Nobel Committee members in Oslo, Norway, Saturday, June 16, 2012. It's been 21 years, and Suu Kyi is about to give her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. (AP Photo/Cathal McNaughton, Pool)

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi signs a book at the Nobel Institute after a meeting with the Norwegian Nobel Committee members in Oslo, Norway, Saturday, June 16, 2012. It's been 21-years since Aung San Suu Kyi won the world's highest diplomatic honor in 1991, and Burmese opposition leader is about to give her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. (AP Photo/Cathal McNaughton, Pool)

OSLO, Norway (AP) ? Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi declared Saturday that the Nobel Peace Prize she won while under house arrest 21 years ago helped to shatter her sense of isolation and ensured that the world would demand democracy in her military-controlled homeland.

Suu Kyi received two standing ovations inside Oslo's city hall as she gave her long-delayed acceptance speech to the Norwegian Nobel Committee in front of Norway's King Harald, Queen Sonja and about 600 dignitaries. The 66-year-old champion of political freedom praised the power of her 1991 Nobel honor both for saving her from the depths of personal despair and shining an enduring spotlight on injustices in distant Myanmar.

"Often during my days of house arrest, it felt as though I were no longer a part of the real world," she said to a silent chamber, which was lined with rainbows of freshly cut chrysanthemums and towers of orchids for the occasion. "There was the house which was my world. There was the world of others who also were not free but who were together in prison as a community. And there was the world of the free. Each one was a different planet pursuing its own separate course in an indifferent universe.

"What the Nobel Peace Prize did was to draw me once again into the world of other human beings, outside the isolated area in which I lived, to restore a sense of reality to me. ... And what was more important, the Nobel Prize had drawn the attention of the world to the struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma. We were not going to be forgotten," she said during her 40-minute oration.

Suu Kyi, who since winning freedom in 2010 has led her National League for Democracy party into opposition in Myanmar's parliament, offered cautious support for the first tentative steps toward democratic reform in her country. But she said progress depended on continued foreign pressure on the army-backed government.

"If I advocate cautious optimism, it is not because I do not have faith in the future, but because I do not want to encourage blind faith. Without faith in the future, without the conviction that democratic values and fundamental human rights are not only necessary but possible for our society, our movement could not have been sustained throughout the destroying years," she said, referring to the past two decades since Myanmar's military leaders rejected her party's overwhelming triumph in 1990 elections, one year after Suu Kyi's own imprisonment.

Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, introduced Suu Kyi as a leader of "awe-inspiring tenacity, sacrifice and firmness of principle."

"In your isolation, you have become a moral leader for the whole world," he said from the podium, turning to the seated Suu Kyi.

"Your voice became increasingly clear the more the military regime tried to isolate you. Your cause mobilized your people and prevailed over a massive military junta. Whenever your name is mentioned or when you speak, your words bring new energy and hope to the entire world," Jagland said to applause.

Suu Kyi, in a traditional Burmese gown of purple, lilac and ivory, offered only a stoic Mona Lisa smile at the end of her speech, greeted with a 2-minute ovation. As on her previous public events this week in Switzerland and Norway, she spoke with a voice of unerring crisp diction but a physical presence bordering on exhaustion.

Yet Saturday's schedule offered no letup. She left the city hall for the neighboring Nobel Peace Center where artists had designed an interactive display called "Mother Democracy" chronicling the highlights of her life. Later she was scheduled to address a public rally outside city hall.

There, thousands of locals and tourists, many from foreign cruise liners docked in Oslo's fjord, mingled among outdoor stalls selling arts and crafts as a local rock band warmed up on an outdoor stage.

"Suu Kyi is such an incredible person. It's a blessing to be here, to get the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see her, to hear her," said Javier Rodriguez, 50, an airline steward from Los Angeles who happened to be on an Oslo layover and staked out the peace center before Suu Kyi's arrival.

"There's so few people in the world willing to sacrifice everything for justice and peace. She's in the same league as Nelson Mandela. Everyone should cherish and honor her," he said.

Suu Kyi's speech related her long experience of state-ordered isolation to key precepts of her Buddhist faith, particularly two forms of suffering: Being forced to live apart from loved ones, and being forced to live among those one dislikes. She referred only fleetingly to the Myanmar authorities' refusal to permit her husband, the Buddhist scholar Michael Aris, to see her from 1995 until his death from cancer in 1999.

Instead she emphasized the continued suffering of others. She won spontaneous applause from the crowd as she appealed for foreign governments to understand that many hundreds of political prisoners remain in Myanmar.

"It is to be feared that because the best known detainees have been released, the remainder, the unknown ones, will be forgotten. I am standing here because I was once a prisoner of conscience. As you look at me and listen to me, please remember the often repeated truth that one prisoner of conscience is one too many," she said.

She said it was unrealistic to expect the world ever to reach a state of "absolute peace," yet mankind must be compelled to pursue the goal "as a traveler in a desert fixes his eyes on the one guiding star that will lead him to salvation. Even if we do not achieve perfect peace on earth, because perfect peace is not of this earth, common endeavors to gain peace will unite individuals and nations in trust and friendship, and help us to make our human community safer and kinder."

And Suu Kyi praised the value of simple, every-day acts of human kindness as the most powerful force in promoting peace anywhere. " Every kindness I received, small or big," she said, referring to her 15 years of house arrest or imprisonment, "convinced me that there could never be enough of it in our world."

On Sunday she heads to the Norwegian city of Bergen to meet charities and members of Norway's Burmese refugee community, then on Monday speaks alongside U2 singer Bono before the pair fly to Dublin, Ireland, for a celebrity-studded concert in her honor. On Tuesday she starts engagements in England, including a visit to her Oxford University alma mater and a speech to the joint houses of Parliament.

___

Online:

Mother Democracy exhibition, http://bit.ly/LZAVhW

Associated Press

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4 presumed dead after avalanche on Mount McKinley

In this Friday, June 15, 2012 photo provided by the National Park Service, climbers hike through the area where an avalanche swept a Japanese climbing team off a hill during their descent from Alaska's Mount McKinley. U.S. National Park Service officials say five people were traveling as a one rope team early Thursday morning as part of a Miyagi Workers Alpine Federation expedition on the Alaska mountain. The NPS said Hitoshi Ogi, 69, survived after falling 60 feet (18 meters) into a crevasse. He was able to climb out. The other four tumbled into the avalanche debris and haven't been seen since. (AP Photo/National Park Service, Kevin Wright)

Hitoshi Ogi was tied last in a line of five Japanese climbers making their way down one of the world's most dangerous mountains when an avalanche struck.

The rope snapped and the four people in front of him were swept away, either buried under three feet of snow or pushed into one of the deep hidden crevasses that pock the western face of Alaska's Mount McKinley.

Ogi, 69, tumbled 60 feet into a shallow fault in the mountainside and climbed his way out. He later told park rangers he looked around but couldn't find any of his companions.

Fourteen hours after Thursday's accident, Ogi stumbled into base camp. He had only minor injuries.

U.S. National Park Service said Saturday that the four are presumed dead by either snow burial or injuries suffered in the fall.

Ogi's survival came during the busiest season on Mount McKinley on its most well-traveled route. Search teams spent parts of Friday and Saturday looking for the other four climbers, all older than 50 and all members of the Miyagi Workers Alpine Federation in Miyagi, Japan.

Recent snow on the trail made the going hazardous, but the weather on Thursday was calm, said U.S. National Park Service spokeswoman Maureen McLaughlin.

"Where the avalanche occurred, the vast majority (of the new snow) was not on the main route," McLaughlin said. "A small sliver of it was, and that's what took them."

The West Buttress route snakes down the mountain from a 20,320 summit to base camp two-and-a-half miles below. About two-thirds of the way down is Motorcycle Hill, a windy ridge that serves as a convenient stop for climbers on their way up to grin and take pictures.

That's where the avalanche struck, taking 64-year-old Yoshiaki Kato, 50-year-old Masako Suda, 56-year-old Michiko Suzuki, and 63-year-old Tamao Suzuki.

McLaughlin called it "an unlucky, random event."

"Avalanches do occur in this vicinity, but it's not common, she said.

Snowfall and wind have impeded a search for the missing climbers.

The climbers were attempting the busiest route, West Buttress, during the height of mountaineering season. Climbers took the route on 92 percent of attempts on Mount McKinley in 2011.

The Park Service said in a news release Saturday that nearly 400 people were currently on the Alaska mountain.

Mount McKinley, also known as Denali, is North America's tallest peak. While not a particularly tall peak by global standards, its latitude makes for far thinner air than is found in mountains closer to the equator. That, combined with the weather and temperatures, makes it a particularly dangerous climb.

Four people died on the mountain in 2009 and again in 2010. At least five people died in 2011 on Mount McKinley.

___

Follow reporter Nigel Duara on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nigelduara

Associated Press

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Saturday, June 16, 2012

Majority of dads say they do the grocery shopping

Brian Snyder / Reuters file

According to a survey, 52 percent of dads say they are the primary supermarket shoppers in the household.

By Eve Tahmincioglu

There?s a good chance dad might be shopping for his own Father?s Day breakfast in bed this Sunday. No, he?s not in the doghouse, but apparently dads are doing more of the grocery shopping these days.

According to a survey released this week by brand marketing firm Cone Communications, 52 percent of dads say they are the primary supermarket shoppers in the household, and 35 percent of moms admitted fathers have more influence when it comes to grocery purchases.?

?This research goes against all stereotypes of the ?Father Knows Best? dad who doesn?t concern himself with domestic responsibilities,? says Bill Fleishman, president of Cone Communications, about the online survey that polled 1,000 parents with children under 17.

The company?s research also found dad shoppers aren?t just winging their supermarket hunting. Dad?s polled said they:

Create a detailed shopping list ? 63% (vs. 65% of moms)
Collect coupons or read circulars ? 56% (vs. 62% of moms)
Plan meals for the week ahead of time ? 52% (vs. 46% of moms)
Perform background research on grocery products ? 24% (vs. 11% of moms)

And moms are more likely to spend more time in the grocery store than dads. While Cone?s study found fathers were doing more of the grocery shopping, Today Money Facebook fans we informally polled Friday largely said the opposite it true.

?If my husband went to the store we would be having frozen pizza and macaroni and cheese for dinner every night,? said Mariska Colbert of her husband Zac.

And Melissa Klement added, ?Wish my hubby would do it.?

But Roberta Harwood Speller, who works in a grocery store said: ?There are several men that shop each week there for their families. They do very well. Even have their kids with them.?

For those of us who just can?t accept father foragers in the supermarket, it may be time set aside your bias in the aisle.

?We?re finding that dads are not acting so differently from moms in their approach to grocery shopping,? maintained Cone?s Fleishman.

(Full disclosure: My husband does most of the supermarket shopping these days, but I have to write up the list.)

Who does the supermarket shopping at home?

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China's first woman astronaut takes spotlight

JIUQUAN, China?? China is sending its first woman into outer space this weekend, prompting a surge of national pride as the rising power takes another step toward putting a space station in orbit within the decade.

Liu Yang, a 33-year-old fighter pilot, will join two other astronauts aboard the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft when it lifts off from a remote Gobi Desert launch site on Saturday evening (6:37 p.m. Beijing time, 6:37 a.m. ET).

They will attempt a crew-controlled docking for the first time with the uncrewed Tiangong 1 module, which was launched last September as part of China's exploratory preparations for a space lab. The module is now orbiting 213 miles (343 kilometers) above Earth.

Rendezvous and docking exercises between the two vessels will be an important hurdle in China's efforts to acquire the technological and logistical skills needed to run a full space lab that can house astronauts for long stretches.

China's aspirations
Last October, China launched a robotic Shenzhou 8 module that successfully performed a remote-controlled docking with Tiangong 1 ("Heavenly Palace") in preparation for this month's crewed mission. Space program spokeswoman Wu Ping told reporters that Shenzhou 9 would make two dockings with Tiangong 1 ? the first by remote control, and the second under manual control.

"After we have realized both the auto and manual docking technology, we can completely master this technology," she said. After spending more than 10 days in space, the astronauts will travel back to Earth aboard the capsule, landing on Western Chinese grasslands with the help of parachutes, Wu said.

Beijing is still far from catching up with the established space superpowers: the United States and Russia. The Tiangong 1 is a trial module, not the building block of a space station. But the docking mission will be the latest show of China's growing prowess in space, alongside its growing military and diplomatic presence, and comes while budget restraints and shifting priorities have held back U.S. launches of astronauts.

The mission demonstrates China's commitment to "long-term human spaceflight" and marks a test of "the technological capabilities requisite for a future permanent space station," said Joan Johnson-Freese, an expert on the Chinese space program at the U.S. Naval War College in Rhode Island.

More space news from msnbc.com
1. Incoming! Solar storms are heading our way
  Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: A double shot of solar particles is due to hit Earth's magnetic field on Saturday, but not to worry ? the most noticeable effect is likely to be heightened auroral displays.
2. Newfound galaxy may be most distant ever seen
3. Huge asteroid zips harmlessly past Earth
4. Aliens won't eat us, we won't mate with them

Focus on the female
Workers at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center began fueling the mission's Long March 2F rocket on Friday, but on the eve of liftoff, the international spotlight was focused on the woman spaceflier rather than the rocket she would ride.

Speaking to the official Xinhua news agency, Liu said she "yearns to experience the wondrous, weightless environment of space, see the Earth and gaze upon the motherland."

"Thank you for the confidence put in my by the motherland and the people, for giving me this chance to represent China's millions of women by going into space," Liu later told reporters at the launch center.

Medical experts who helped select Shenzhou 9's crew have said that female astronauts must meet the same criteria as men, and then some, according to the China Daily. Female Chinese astronauts must be married and preferably be mothers, the newspaper said, citing concerns that radiation would "harm their fertility" and thus their prospects for future children.

Liu, from the poor and populous central province of Henan, has been praised in state media for her nerves of steel. Multiple media outlets told how Liu safely landed her fighter jet after a bird strike that left the cockpit glass covered with blood.

PhotoBlog: Another look at China's space crew

Pros and cons voiced online
China's latest space mission has attracted even more than the usual national attention, thanks to Liu's presence. Her selection to the mission team rapidly became the top subject on the country's Twitter-like microblogging service Sina Weibo, with 33 million posts.

"Liu Yang, on the eve of becoming our first woman is space, is the pride of Henan," wrote one user.

But some wondered if the money poured into space ambitions would be better used on Earth, where China is still a developing country and grappling with more mundane issues like food safety and a growing rich-poor divide. "What use does Shenzhou 9 have? Will it help the people to not starve?" another Weibo user wrote.

The two men on the mission, who are both senior colonels in China's air force, have gotten far less of the spotlight: The commander is Jing Haipeng, a veteran astronaut. The third crew member is space rookie Liu Wang.

"You could say this mission is a combination of the old and the new, and coordination between the male and female," said Wu Ping, the space program spokeswoman.

Wu said the launch of the first Chinese woman into space will be a "landmark event."

"Arranging for women astronauts to fly is not only a must for the development of human spaceflight, but also the expectation of the public," she said.

Additional reporting by Reuters' Michael Martina, Ben Blanchard and Sabrina Mao in Beijing. This report also includes information from msnbc.com and The Associated Press.

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Wallendas have rich history, not without tragedy

AAA??Jun. 15, 2012?3:07 AM ET
Wallendas have rich history, not without tragedy
By CAROLYN THOMPSON?

?By CAROLYN THOMPSON

FILE- In this July 18, 1970 file photo, daredevil Karl Wallenda nears the end of his tightrope walk across Tallulah Gorge, Ga. On Friday, June 15, 2012, Karl?s great grandson, Nick Wallenda, will attempt a high wire walk over Niagara Falls on live television, hoping to write his famous family's name into the 153-year-old legend of daredevils who've "conquered" the natural wonder. (AP Photo/Bob Schutz, File)

FILE- In this Jan. 30, 1962 file photo, the Great Wallendas walk the high wire during their three-tier seven-person pyramid performance at the State Fair Coliseum in Detroit, Michigan. During the performance the pyramid formation collapsed and the performers fell to the ground injuring performers Jana Schepp and Mario Wallenda, as well as killing performers Richard Faughnan and Dieter Schepp. From left to right, bottom row, are, Dieter Schepp; Mario Wallenda; Richard Faughnan and Gunther Wallenda. From left ro right in the second row are Karl Wallenda and Herman Wallenda. Sitting on chair is Jana Schepp. On Friday, June 15, 2012, Karl?s great grandson, Nick Wallenda, will attempt a high wire walk over Niagara Falls on live television, hoping to write his famous family's name into the 153-year-old legend of daredevils who've "conquered" the natural wonder. (AP Photo, File)

FILE- In this March 23, 1978 file photo ,Helen Wallenda, center, arrives home in Sarasota, Fla., with the body of her husband, Karl, and was met by about 25 relatives and circus friends. Helping her off the plane are Marjorie Geiger, left, and Herman Wallenda Right, Karl?s older brother. Aerial performer Karl Wallenda fell to his death at age 73 in a tightrope walk at a hotel in Puerto Rico. On Friday, June 15, 2012, Karl?s great grandson, Nick Wallenda, will attempt a high wire walk over Niagara Falls on live television, hoping to write his famous family's name into the 153-year-old legend of daredevils who've "conquered" the natural wonder. (AP Photo/Harold Tribune, Glenn Trout)

FILE- In this June 4, 2011 file photo, high-wire acrobats Delilah Wallenda, right, lowers her head as her son Nik Wallenda, left, crosses over her during their high-wire act where the two simultaneously walked across a 300-foot-long wire suspended 100 feet in the air between two towers of the Conrad Condado Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They were honoring Nik's great-grandfather, Karl Wallenda, who tried to perform the same feat in 1978 but fell to his death at age 73. On Friday, June 15, 2012, Karl?s great grandson, Nick Wallenda, will attempt a high wire walk over Niagara Falls on live television, hoping to write his famous family's name into the 153-year-old legend of daredevils who've "conquered" the natural wonder. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo, File)

FILE- In this March 19, 1944 photo, members of the Wallenda family practice on a 90 foot high wire at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's winter headquarters in Sarasota, Fla. On Friday, June 15, 2012, Nik Wallenda, a seventh generation ?Flying Wallenda,? will attempt a high-wire crossing of the Niagra Falls gorge between the United States and Canada. The event will be covered on live television. (AP Photo)

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) ? When Nik Wallenda sets out for his tightrope walk over Niagara Falls late Friday, he'll be adding another chapter to his family's storied daredevil history which dates back more than two centuries. Wallenda has said he is disappointed he is being made to wear a tether by the event's sponsor, ABC, since his family has performed over the years without such safety precautions.

Here's a look at the first family of funambulists, along with some of their notable feats and tragedies:

? The Wallendas trace their fearless roots to 1780 Austria-Hungary, when ancestors traveled as a band of acrobats, aerialists, jugglers, animal trainers and trapeze artists.

? John Ringling of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus recruited the Wallendas after seeing them perform in Cuba. In 1928, the family gave its inaugural performance at Madison Square Garden earned a 15-minute standing ovation from an astounded audience, who marveled at them performing without a safety net.

? The signature performance of the group that came to be known in the 1940s as "The Flying Wallendas" was the seven-person chair pyramid: Two pairs of performers walk the wire, each supporting another aerialist on a pole. Those two aerialists, in turn, carry a pole upon which the seventh member of the troupe balances in a chair.

? The chair pyramid went terribly wrong in 1962 when a misstep at the State Fair Coliseum in Detroit sent two men to their deaths and paralyzed a third performer.

? In 1944, the Wallendas were performing at a Hartford, Conn., circus when a fire broke out. All the Wallendas slid down ropes to safety but 168 people died.

? The following year, Rietta Wallenda, sister-in-law of family patriarch Karl Wallenda, fell to her death in Omaha.

? Family patriarch and Nik's great-grandfather Karl Wallenda became a featured performer, doing "sky walks" between buildings and across stadiums including Busch, Veterans, JFK, Three Rivers and the Astrodome.

? Karl Wallenda successfully crossed Tallulah Gorge on a tightrope on July 18, 1970.

? In 1978, Karl Wallenda fell to his death while attempting to walk a cable strung between two hotel towers in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

? Angel Wallenda, who married into the family at age 17, performed with an artificial limb on the high-wire in 1990 after being stricken with cancer and having her right leg amputated below the knee. She died at age 28 in 1996.

? Since first stepping on a wire when he was 2, Nik Wallenda has earned six Guinness records, the latest in October 2008. That's when, 20 stories over the streets of Newark, N.J., he traveled the longest distance and the greatest height by bicycle on a wire, riding 150 feet.

? In 2011, Nik and his mother Delilah honored his late great-grandfather by walking Karl's last route at the same time, a feat that included Nik stepping over his mother in the middle of the wire.

? Fourteen family members perform today in various troupes.

Associated Press

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Friday, June 15, 2012

The Guy Who Might Sell His Company To ... - Business Insider

"Let him eat cake."

That's how the invitation reads to Yammer CEO David Sacks's ridiculous, over-the-top party in the $125 million Fleur de Lys mansion in LA this weekend.

It's an obvious reference to Marie Antoinette's famous utterance, "Let them eat cake," in case you missed it, about unruly French peasants.

Sacks, the former COO of PayPal, has a lot of reasons to celebrate. It's his 40th birthday and 5th wedding anniversary rolled into one. If he clinches a big deal to sell his company to Microsoft, he'll have one more reason.

We've also confirmed that several members of the PayPal Mafia?the tight-knit circle of former PayPal executives and employees who went on to start or work at companies like Yelp, Slide, and, yes, Sacks's Yammer?are invited.

Also attending: PandoDaily editor Sarah Lacy, who mentioned the party as she?issued a public plea to Sacks not to sell his company.

"I have an 18th-century costume on a hanger at home to prove it," Lacy wrote.

We just called Costumes On Haight, a popular costume store in San Francisco, and asked if they had any 18th-century French outfits left. (Full disclosure: We recently rented a French prerevolutionary getup at the store for a similarly themed event, though it was a divey bar on Polk Street in San Francisco, not an LA mansion.)?

"We're wiped out," a woman told us. "People have been calling for weeks."

One thing is clear: Silicon Valley is awash with money, while the rest of?the world writhes in economic turmoil.

Will the Marie Antoinette theme strike people as tone-deaf?

Here's the thing: From what we know of Sacks?or any of his invited guests?we doubt they care.

UPDATE: Sacks tweeted to correct our sources' recollection of the invitation they'd seen: "It's 'let *him* eat cake' not them. It's a birthday party. Get it?" We get it, David. Apologies for the error.

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Microsoft Has Major Announcement June 18th, Looks Like Tablets

Microsoft has just sent us an invitation for a major event June 18th, just two days before the company is expected to provide a sneak peak of the next Windows Phone. How important and exclusive is this event? Microsoft isn?t even sending venue details until Monday morning?the day of the event?though we do know it will take place in Los Angeles. This sounds pretty big to us.

As for the topic, there?s already lots of speculation out there. All Things D is reporting that Microsoft?s event will focus on tablets:

The company has scheduled an event on Monday in Los Angeles where it is expected to show devices running the software as well as highlight some of the kinds of programs and services that will run on the products, according to sources outside the company.

Since Microsoft has already shared a lot of info on Windows 8, this event might center around Windows RT, which looks like Windows 8 but will be powered by ARM-based processors. These slates won?t be able to run desktop applications but will support applications downloaded from the Windows Store.

Then again, the event could be about something other than tablets entirely. ZDNet?s Mary Jo-Foley guesses that this could be the Xbox Music unveiling, which would replace Zune. The reasoning? This is LA, where a lot of the entertainment industry is headquartered. Perhaps this will be a larger announcement around Microsoft?s entertainment services in general, which would include movies and books as well.

There?s an outside possibility this event could mark Microsoft Office?s debut on the iPad, but the location doesn?t make sense to us. So what do you think Microsoft will announce? We?ll be there to bring you all the details.

via All Things D, ZDNet

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Discovering The Very best Interior design Business ? mollysbarn.com

Discovering The Very best Interior design Business

The moment it comes to utilizing an interior design service to assist you with your decorating requirements, it is extremely crucial that you do your study initial. Because there are so numerous various businesses and contractors out there that claim to do great high quality function, you will need to make certain that anybody you choose to Style your house or Company, has a list of verifiable references, examples and all of the needed credentials. The Style sector is there to assist you knowledge a far more inventive strategy to structures and aid to develop atmospheres that are useful towards your wellness and Organization.

Ahead of you make any telephone calls, make a price range and stick with it. You need to have to have a budget that you are not prepared to go above for the variety of solutions you require. The moment you have that spending budget in spot, make a list of all of the items you need accomplished. Be as comprehensive as attainable. Hold in thoughts, you do not have to be the inventive genius behind what you are attempting to accomplish, that is what the interior design Business is for. You tell them what you are hunting to accomplish and they make it come about. When you have your list and price range together, it is time to start off contacting some pros.

Shop about and contact many various interior design businesses and speak to them. Inform them of your objectives and intentions. Ask them how they can aid you make your dream a reality. Ask around their pricing and whether or not or not they provide any guarantees. Make certain to request their references and license or credential info. Evaluate all of the organizations that you contacted and figure out which would be Very best for your requirements. A good Organization is one that has all of the correct credentials, falls inside your spending budget and can offer you examples and references for their prior contracts.

Following you have discovered an interior design Organization that you would like to do Firm with, let them know. Numerous organizations will do a couple of consultations with you to make sure that you are each on the exact same page as far what is expected to be completed. Get every thing in writing and discover out if there are any unique precautions you might need to take in order for them to get the job accomplished.

The moment you have hired the interior design Firm to commence operating for you, kick back and loosen up a bit. Really feel cost-free to examine upon their progress from time to time. If there are any alterations you require created or any changes to the program, then talk up. Let them know so that anything can be taken care of in a timely and effective manner. Preserve in thoughts that despite the fact that the Firm may possibly be operating for you, they are also concerned around your satisfaction. When the job is complete, you really should be the happiest individual in the planet, courtesy of your interior decorating specialists.

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New discovery closes in on genetic link between Alzheimer's and diabetes

Friday, June 15, 2012

A new spin to our understanding of the relationship between Alzheimer's disease and diabetes, which could point to a therapeutic target for both diseases, is published in a research report in the June 2012 issue of the journal Genetics. In the report, scientists from City College of New York-City University of New York (CCNY-CUNY) show that a gene in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, which is similar to a human gene correlated with Alzheimer's disease, is involved in multiple metabolic pathways, including the insulin pathway.

"Mutations in three genes, including the amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene, have been correlated with the inherited form of Alzheimer's disease in humans," said Chris Li, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Department of Biology at CCNY-CUNY. "Because the equivalent gene we're studying in the model organism C. elegans is involved in many metabolic pathways, it suggests that the human version of the gene likely also plays a role -- not only in Alzheimer's disease, but in diabetes as well," Li added.

To make this discovery, these investigators studied worms with mutations in the Alzheimer's-related gene (APL-1) along with mutations in genes in the insulin pathway, and found that the Alzheimer's-related gene influenced metabolic pathways during the worms' development. They also found that, while mutations in the Alzheimer's-like gene caused severe disruptions in the worm's development, certain compensatory mutations in the insulin pathway reversed those defects. This discovery is important because it helps explain how these genes are functionally linked in a common pathway, and gives a possible explanation for the apparent link between Alzheimer's and diabetes in humans. Scientists hope that this new insight will help focus research in ways that might lead to new therapies in the treatment of both Alzheimer's disease and diabetes.

"This is an important discovery, especially as it comes on the heels of the U.S. government's new commitment to treat and prevent Alzheimer's disease by 2025," said Mark Johnston, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief of Genetics. "We know there's a link between Alzheimer's and diabetes, but until now, it was somewhat of a mystery. This finding could open new doors for treating and preventing both diseases."

###

CITATION: C. Y. Ewald, D. A. Raps, and C. Li. APL-1, the Alzheimer's Amyloid Precursor Protein in Caenorhabditis elegans, Modulates Multiple Metabolic Pathways Throughout Development
Genetics June 2012 Volume 191, Issue 2.

Genetics Society of America: http://www.genetics-gsa.org/

Thanks to Genetics Society of America for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Seger, Lightfoot among Songwriter Hall inductees

Lifetime Achievement Award inductee Bette Midler accepts her award at the 2012 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction and awards gala at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, Thursday June 14, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision)

Singer Stevie Nicks performs at the 2012 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction and awards gala at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, Thursday June 14, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision)

Singer Stevie Nicks, left, introduces Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Bette Midler at the 2012 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction and awards gala at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, Thursday June 14, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision)

Inductee Bob Seger performs at the 2012 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction and awards gala at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, Thursday June 14, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Stevie Nicks prefers writing a song over meeting a handsome prince. Ne-Yo claimed songwriting saved his life. And Bob Seger said writing a song is the hardest, yet most rewarding thing that he does.

Converging opinions thrived at the 43rd annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction ceremony in New York where Seger, along with Canadian folk rocker Gordon Lightfoot, "Gambler" songwriter Don Schlitz, "and Jim Steinman of "Bat Out of Hell" fame became the latest members of the prestigious club. The writers of the long-running musical, "The Fantastick's" were also inducted.

Seger opened the show with a spirited version of his 1973 classic, "Turn the Page." He was then inducted by Valerie Simpson who performed "We've Got Tonight" in his honor.

On the red carpet before the performance, Simpson said that steamy track has a very special power.

"It's one of the sexiest songs I know, it put more people in bed than I can imagine," Simpson said.

Ne-Yo was honored with this year's Hal David Starlight Award. It's given to young artists that are making a significant impact with their original music.

"To have a person who that has written a song that I look up to or that I grew up listening to tell me that I am good at it to. That means the world to me," Ne-Yo said of Hal David, a frequent songwriting partner to Burt Bacharach."

Then he explained how writing songs saved him.

"I was a pretty riled up little kid, and if not for my mom giving me the pad and the pen and telling me to take my emotions and put them there, then there was no telling then I might I have been sticking you up or something," Ne-Yo joked.

After being inducted by Swizz Beatz, Ne-Yo told the crowd of nearly 900 that he didn't prepare a speech because he still didn't believe he was standing there.

While Nicks was not inducted, she did honor Bette Midler with the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award, and even performed "The Rose,' the song made famous by Midler in the 1979 movie of the same name.

"People ask what is your favorite thing to do in a night? Be in a fantastic studio with a great poem and a piano and a little tape recorder. That is my idea of a great time," Nicks said.

Lightfoot known for such hits as "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," and "Sundown" performed his haunting 1970 ode to his failed marriage, "If You Could Read My Mind."

On the red carpet he explained his motivation: "My life had been a bit of a rollercoaster. I think at that time I was going through the lower dip and sort of climbing up again."

Over the years, artists from Barbara Streisand to Johnny Cash covered the song.

One of the evening's funniest moments came from Jim Steinman, who wrote songs for Meat Loaf on his first two "Bat Out of Hell" albums. After Loaf and Constantine Maroulis performed an abridged version of the nearly 10-minute title track, Steinman noted: "They shortened the song so much I felt like I was watching an episode of "Glee."

The Songwriters Hall of Fame was created in 1969 by a group of established songwriters, including the legendary Jonny Mercer. The organization's mission is to shine a spotlight on the accomplishments of songwriters.

Online: www.songhall.org

---

John Carucci covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://www.twitter.com/jcarucci-ap

Associated Press

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Sunday, June 10, 2012

Hurd's cousin arrested in alleged drug conspiracy

Associated Press Sports

updated 7:34 p.m. ET June 9, 2012

DALLAS (AP) - A cousin of Sam Hurd is charged in an alleged drug conspiracy connected to the former NFL wide receiver.

Jesse Tyrone Chavful is accused of trying to buy large amounts of cocaine and marijuana. The 46-year-old San Antonio man was arrested this past week in San Antonio.

According to a court document released Friday, a confidential informant told authorities that Chavful at times had said he was making purchases for Hurd.

Hurd's drug conspiracy trial has been delayed until August. The 26-year-old is a former Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys player. Hurd has pleaded not guilty.

A date for Chavful's probable cause and detention hearings has not been set. Online federal court documents did not yet list an attorney for Chavful on Saturday.

More news

Did Cutler undermine Forte?

PFT: When Bears QB said he'd be "shocked" if star RB didn't sign franchise tender, he not only hurt Forte's position, but may have hurt their relationship.

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Bradley stunner sets stage for Pacquiao rematch

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Bombs hit Iraq pipelines, exports unhurt

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Saturday, June 9, 2012

Texas inmate loses civil rights 'vampire' suit

Published: Friday, June 8, 2012 at 7:28 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, June 8, 2012 at 7:28 a.m.

HOUSTON (AP) ? A federal appeals court has rejected as frivolous a civil rights lawsuit from a Texas prisoner who argued he was being barred from practicing religious beliefs related to vampires.

Inmate Courtney Royal two years ago sued about a dozen Texas prison administrators and officials at the Hughes Unit where he's serving a life sentence for numerous offenses, including aggravated assault, robbery and escape.

Royal's nine-page single-space typewritten lawsuit, rejected Thursday by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, said he wanted to practice "West African spiritualism and 18th Century Catholicism" marked by prayer to Africans reincarnated by blood. He argued it was no different from "unproven" Christian beliefs.

In the filing, Royal described himself as "Vampsh Black Sheep League of Doom Gardamun Family Circle Master Vampire High Priest."

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Electrical Engineer,Electrician - The role of control systems

by Terrence White
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Electrical Engineer,Electrician More Details about Electrical Engineer,Electrician here.

Control systems are an important part in contemporary everyday life. They are everywhere and work behind the scenes. Interaction of the system with its users is limited to the occasional adjustment via the control panel. Control systems are generally maintained by electrical engineers.

A control system is a device or a collection of devices that manage, direct, regulate or command the behavior of a system or other devices. Control systems are available in two classes: logic or sequential controls and feedback or linear controls. These two can have many combinations and variations. Fuzzy logic can also be considered as a control system and it combines logic with the utility benefit of linear control.

The term "control system" generally generates a picture of manual control that permits an operator to open and close a hydraulic press. This may include logic and cannot be shifted if safety guards are not present. The automatic sequential control system could initiate a series of mechanical actuators in the correct sequence to perform a task. In linear feedback systems, a control loop, that include sensors, control algorithms and actuators are arranged in such a way that tries to regulate a variable at a reference or set point value. Example of such activity is the fuel supply increase to a furnace when the temperature drops. It can loosely mimic automation like functionalities.

Logic control systems designed for commercial and industrial machinery were usually installed at mains voltage. This use interconnected relays that were designed using ladder logic. Nowadays, similar systems are constructed with programmable logic controllers (PLCs) or microcontrollers. Notation of ladder logic is still in use as a programming idiom for PLCs.

Logic controllers answer to light sensors, switches and pressure switches among many others. It can cause the machinery to start and stop a number of operations. They are used to sequence mechanical operations in a large number of applications. Control systems of this kind are used in washing machines, elevators and other similar systems that undergo interrelated stop-go operations. The boon of logic systems is that they can be designed easily and is capable of handling very complex operations. Boolean logic may be used in designing logic systems.

On-off control in control system can be best explained by the workings of a thermostat. It is a simple negative-feedback control. As soon as the temperature falls below a set point, the heater gets switched on. Another example is a pressure switch on an air compressor. As the pressure drops below the threshold, the pump gets powered. Refrigerators contain similar mechanisms- but operate in reverse. A refrigerator still provides negative feedback to correct errors.

Fuzzy logic is beyond the scope of a standard electrical engineer. An electrician should never attempt to repair systems of this kind. It emulates the easy design of logic controllers and tries to control continuously varying systems. A measurement in a fuzzy logic system can be partly true. It means if yes is one and no is zero, a fuzzy measurement can be between zero and one.

Terrence White is the author of this article. He is an electrical engineer and repairs logic controllers. Terrence loves to spelunking and boring people to sleep with his non-existent exploits.

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Friday, June 8, 2012

Survey: 1 in 3 Facebook users getting bored

"Facebook fatigue" is leading diehard social networkers to grow tired

Are you just not as drawn to the?social network comings and goings of your friends and family as you once were? If so, you're not alone: According to a?new poll by Reuters and research firm Ipsos, roughly one-third of?Facebook users are feeling pretty "meh" about the social network?these days, and the sentiment seems to be growing.

The survey focused more on the potential monetization of Facebook than current user habits, but the data was telling in several ways. According to the poll of over 1,000 Americans, 80% of Facebook users have never purchased a product or service because of what they saw on the site, meaning that whatever advertising techniques companies are currently employing to grab your cash simply isn't working.

Unsurprisingly, the survey found that users between the ages of 18 and 34 were the most active, while just 29% of people over 55 considered themselves regular users. Unfortunately, people who spend a great deal of time on the network are often victims of what the researchers call "Facebook fatigue," leading them to spend less and less time checking in with friends and browsing the profiles of their peers. What do you think? Have your Facebook habits changed? Let us know in the comments.

[Image credit:?AHMAD FAIZAL YAHYA /?shutterstock]

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This article originally appeared on Tecca

Monday, June 18, 2012

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Saturday, June 16, 2012

Friday, June 15, 2012

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Did Cutler undermine Forte?

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Published: Friday, June 8, 2012 at 7:28 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, June 8, 2012 at 7:28 a.m.

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