Israeli justice officials say former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman has been formally indicted on charges of fraud and breach of trust.
The Justice Ministry filed the indictment against Lieberman in a Jerusalem court Sunday.
Justice officials say Lieberman was indicted on charges relating to the promotion of an Israeli diplomat who had illegally given Lieberman information about a police investigation against him.
Lieberman resigned his Foreign Ministry post earlier this month when he was informed of the pending charges, which Lieberman denies.
He remains the head of the Yisrael Beitenu party, which has formed a coalition with with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party ahead of the January 22 parliamentary elections.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
As we communicate, the Israel lobby is teaming up with the neocon right to prevent President Obama from choosing his Secretary of Defence.
Hagel once said he was a US senator and not a senator in the Israeli government. And for this he has been vilified. Is there any other country in the world where a legislator can be denounced for not being sufficiently loyal to a foreign government? This is worse than the McCarthy era; at least back then you had to swear loyalty to the US government.
The fact that the neo-cons are allowing so much foreign influence on American politics is tantamount to treason.
Moderate conservative brothers and sisters, I have nothing but respect and reverence for you.
Having said that, I don't know what in the FUCK those idiot ultra right wingers are thinking, other than war in ME = "Jesus II, The Second Cumming"
__________________
Posted by Freejay - "In 1997 an eight-year research project was started to investigate the age of the earth. The group was called the RATE group
The results indicate that the entire geologic column is less than 100,000 years old?and could be much younger. This confirms the Bible and challenges the evolutionary idea of long geologic ages."
"There is scientific proof that a major flood did happen in that period of time."
In a continuation of our series on the state of the oil industry we look at some of the other ramifications of what we are labeling the Oil Renaissance in the US, and around the world for that matter.? This phrase was first proposed regarding the potential Nuclear turnaround here in the US, where companies like NRG Energy, Toshiba and many more players all along the supply chain were positioning themselves for the Nuclear Renaissance of cheap, and abundant Nuclear energy for the next 50 years.
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Well, the natural disaster in Japan changed that movement in the span of a week of just untenable radioactivity readings coming out of Japan.? An already uphill battle for changing public sentiment towards the dangers of nuclear energy became an impractical fight from an investment standpoint that relied upon large DOE loan guarantees to attract private investment.
It is ironic, but all these companies spent a lot of time and effort from lobbying to developing strategic partnerships with each other, and in the end, most of that 7 year effort had to be written off by firms. It really shows how firms have to get the industry right; Oil was so much the smarter play. Higher margins, better technology, much easier safety hurdles, and even the environmental fight is much more manageable.
Not to mention the number of jobs created is far more with an Oil Renaissance as opposed to a Nuclear Renaissance, even with a complete buildup of the entire nuclear supply chain. Nuclear projects are just not scalable like oil projects are from a numbers standpoint due to the regulation, lead times for components, inspection, build times, and many more constraints.
No DOE Loan Guarantees: The Free Market at Work
We are going to have a Renaissance in this country, it just happened under everyone`s nose. The free market of high oil prices for the last 10 years made it happen all on its own without government subsidies, and part of the reason that things are going to get real tough for the alternative energy folks over the next 5 years as those government subsidies wind down. They will not make sense from an economic standpoint once oil prices come down considerably, and from a budgetary perspective we can no longer afford this propping up industries that cannot sustain themselves on their own merit in the free market. A 16 trillion dollar debt and climbing means the environmentalists will now be facing an uphill fight on Capitol Hill to have their cause funded by the American taxpayer.?
Technology Changes: Heart Surgery meets the Oil Patch
The technology changes alone in the oil industry are amazing; just watch a horizontal drilling or fracking video and it is like all the advances made by the medical community for endoscopic procedures and advanced heart surgical techniques have been applied to the oil industry. And the cost is far more manageable than the medical field with all the added insurance costs, out of control bureaucracy, and government intervention all but eliminating any sense of free market principles.
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Sure these constraints exist in the oil industry, but the healthcare industry is on a planet of its own and worse from a cost efficiency standpoint by a factor of at least a 100. There is not an ounce of free market in the healthcare industry!
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Fracking Diagram
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We haven`t seen anything yet as this new technology being refined and implemented here in the US will then be fully scalable around the globe, and the amount of new projects that will come online globally with this new technology over the next ten years has yet to be priced into any market intelligence models.
Natural Gas Industry as the Model
The natural gas industry is much smaller than the oil industry, and because of the new technology firms were actually continuing production with $2 natural gas because of much lower overall project costs relative to the size of the gas exploitable and other derivative products made along the way enabling ?these projects to be profitable.
The oil industry is much more scalable from a cost standpoint, and once these upfront costs have been committed, the size of the industry and scalability means that projects can continue and be highly profitable even with much lower oil prices.
I previously have thought that this technology would suffer as prices drop, but I am rethinking this assumption with natural gas as my guide in a much less scalable industry. So I now believe that this technology and these projects will continue and be cost effective even with oil dropping to $45 a barrel for both Brent and WTI.
It won`t happen overnight, but under one scenario prices will just steadily trend down like natural gas prices, and before we realize it we have the equivalent of $2 natural gas prices for the oil industry.
The China Factor: Use less Commodities for Next Decade
My assumption about the trajectory of oil prices also relies on the China factor that many analysts have been toying with for the last couple of years, but the IMF and others have done some nice research on and applied some hard numbers to the conceptual idea that China has overinvested for the last decade by a large degree, and most of the previous forecasts for China`s growth trajectory from an infrastructure standpoint for the next 10 years are far too optimistic.
My conclusion is that China will use far less commodities than they did the past decade going forward for the next decade. They are coming into the constraints of large numbers where you have built for the sake of building, and you can no longer build another large new city every year because the demand just isn`t there. Basically, the easy, low hanging fruit has been eaten. Most of the new project benefits will not justify the cost based upon infrastructure constraints, logistical incongruities, and actual demand & societal need for said projects.
The societal costs outweigh the societal benefits and the projects evaluated in total become a net drag on growth and GDP in the overall calculus. China can go ahead with these projects but the law of diminishing returns, means the country will pay a heavy price to do so. China will continue to grow, but they will grow in a more sophisticated way from a social perspective from within, i.e. in a metaphorical Maslow`s ? Hierarchy of Needs manner, and less of a brute, infrastructure driven manner.
Ergo, the lower utilization for commodities by China is another factor that will put downward pressure on Oil and other commodities over the next 5 to 10 years.
More Storage Capacity Needed Globally
Make no mistake these oil and commodity projects are going to go full stream regardless of price due to sunk costs, more efficient operations, job creation, and overall profitability.
One of the takeaways out of this analysis is that storage facilities will have to be upgraded and new ones coming online for all commodities. For example in Oil, my analysis concludes that Cushing will need to upgrade capacity to over 100 million in the next couple of years, and over 150 million by 5 years? time.
My new analysis determines the need for even more pipelines being built out of Cushing as well. There will need to be at least 5 million barrels per day outflow from Cushing to refineries by five years? time; can anyone say job creation opportunities here?
The next substantial upgrade besides the paltry 300,000 per/day upgrade this year will not come online until mid-2014 and only improve capacity to 850,000 barrels per/day outflow from Cushing which is not going to be enough to counter an exponential measure of domestic production coming into the Cushing energy hub by 2014.
But I am forecasting that not only will Cushing be above 100 million in storage in three years? time, but the US will need capacity to store over 600 million barrels by four years? time, and China who is building storage currently, will need to meet their own need for storage due to a massive oversupply in their country.
China was building storage initially for strategic purposes, but my analysis concludes that because of an oversupply issue similar to copper today in China, they are going to need this additional storage for excess supply issues.
?Therefore, if you?re in the storage facility business, times will be good for the next five years, plenty of business for these firms. As I think storage facilities will have to be built all around the world from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Africa, and the Scandinavian countries.
A New Price Model for Oil
So how low can prices go? Let`s just say that the Renaissance in oil is going to be good for the global economy, just back in 2003 gasoline prices were $1.60 a gallon in the US and oil was trading around $30 a barrel.
It is not unreasonable to think if the Oil Renaissance takes the path that it is capable of that Oil globally trades all the way down to the $45 area.
What Price do the Saudi`s Really Need? Need & Want Confused
And those that think that OPEC would need $75 to keep up production, remember that OPEC still kept pumping oil only four years ago with $33 oil in 2008. Furthermore, OPEC countries still need the overall revenue not the price per say.
Accordingly, you could very easily have a scenario where prices go lower and they pump more, violate reduction quotas because they all want the revenue net of volume and price, not just less volume but slightly higher prices.
I think the world will be surprised how the talking your book rhetoric of ?we need $75 oil to justify production? is replaced with the actual, ?we need the money and our real cost is so much lower than you could ever imagine? reality on the ground.
This is their one asset in these countries, some revenue stream is better than no revenue stream, and with global production picking up OPEC `s relevance, power, and influence on prices is diminishing by the day.
Great OPEC you can reduce production, your global competitors will love that, less competition for them. The only problem is that these countries need the money, every country needs the money these days, and that`s the market place you take what you can get on the market! The market goes in cycles, just as the housing market re-priced itself, so will the oil market!
The ironic point here is that often the lower prices go, the more oil that is produced trying to make up in volume for the lower price to get as much revenue as possible.?
$45 Oil & $2 Gasoline: Consumers Love this New Era
In conclusion, we are entering a new Renaissance in the oil market, not just in the US, but globally as well.
New technology, slower growth in the emerging markets over the next decade, and an era where a decade of high prices will finally bear some fruit with market dynamics working as their supposed to leading to more supply, and an eventual reduction in prices.
Expect this new era to manifest itself in giving the entire world a tax break, and small businesses and consumers worldwide will have more disposable income, and sectors such as retail, entertainment, transportation, and global travel will benefit as a result of this sea change in the oil industry.
I could even envision the manufacturing industry in the US getting a large piggyback effect as the US will have some of the cheapest energy costs of anywhere in the world for starting a business with an abundance of natural gas, oil and petroleum products for the next decade at a low and stable price.
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How does $45 a barrel oil and $2 a gallon gas sound? Something the peak oil folks thought was an outright impossibility just 5 years ago.
But a lot of things can change real fast, once technology gets involved, impossible things become possible. Just look at smartphones versus 4 years ago, and the fact that I can deposit a check into my checking account via my smartphone, actually surf the net, get usable navigation directions, and watch Netflix movies on my smartphone.
The world history of scientific innovation being applied to markets is remarkable to say the least looking back, it?s now time for the oil market to have its second renaissance. Expect $45 oil in the future of this renaissance.
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Further Reading?-?Oil & Gasoline Markets End 2012 with Swollen Inventory Levels
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Become a fan of thePolitical Gabfest on Facebook. We post to the Facebook page throughout the week, so keep the conversation going by joining us there.Or follow us @SlateGabFest!
To listen to the discussion, use the player below:
Live Gabfest!?Jan. 23, Washington, D.C., at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, 7 p.m. (Doors open at 6.)?Tickets and more information here.
On this week?s Slate Political Gabfest, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon wrap up 2012 by puzzling over political, moral, ethical, psychological, and familial questions that stump them in everyday life.
Here?s a list of the conundrums discussed, along with the names of the listeners who made the suggestions (some edited for length):
?Near the beginning, David references a conundrum that was posed to President Obama during a Reddit AMA: ?Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or 1 horse-sized duck???Several Gabfest listeners suggested this dilemma, including Joshua Leach, Darren Barefoot and Varun Saluja.
Which would be worse morally?murdering a man in cold blood, or casting the decisive vote against a health care reform law that nonpartisan analysis convincingly shows would save 25,000 lives a year?? Please describe the philosophical assumptions behind your answer.?Paul Thacker
Address the question of a socially acceptable alternative to "What do you do?" when you're meeting someone for the first time.?Josh Littenberg-Tobias.
Would you rather be overdressed or underdressed? (as in, dressed too formally or too informally)?Andrea Carson Tanner
Which of your political/moral stances will you be embarrassed to admit to your grandchildren??@Willhoughteling, who noted a similar question on Quora.
As a person who has moved around a lot (and a person who currently lives in D.C., where lots of people aren't ?from here?), how long do you have to live in a place to claim you're ?from there???Nate Puckett
My conundrum: Do I dumb down the course so I keep up enrollment and have a job, or do I stick to my guns and teach the course I love ... and hope I still get minimum enrollment, but possibly not and then lose my job. ?Leeann Simmons
If there is one thing (and one thing only) that you can irreversibly change in the way your government is set up, what would it be??Jeroen ten Berg
Is it better to have serve others unhappily or to focus on your own happiness (real happiness, not the superficial kind) with the faith that doing so will make you a better person in the world? ?Dylan Smith
If you were born in a different country, what is one American thing that you wish you could have with you??Xiaojing Sun
How do you make sure you challenge your fundamental assumptions from time to time?? Puneet Verma
For this week's cocktail chatter, David, Emily, and John shared their favorite political moments from 2012:
Topic ideas for next week? You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. The email address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
Podcast production by Michael Vuolo. Links compiled by Jeff Friedrich.
Synchronoss Technologies (NASDAQ:SNCR) purchases NewBay, a wholly owned subsidiary of Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM), for $55.5 million in cash with no assumption of cash or debt.?The transaction closed at the end of the fourth quarter. The buyer is a?mobile innovation firm which supplies activation and mobile content management solutions for connected devices.?NewBay is a leader in cloud services, permitting mobile operators and service providers to deliver content experiences across connected devices like smartphones, tablets, PCs and TVs.
On Friday, Tower International (NYSE:TOWR) said that it divested its?wholly-owned Korean subsidiary to the?privately-owned auto parts supplier?SECO. Included with the subsidiary were?5 manufacturing plants, a tooling plant, and a headquarters/tech center. Tower is a?leading integrated worldwide manufacturer of engineered structural metal components and assemblies and the move was?in order to strengthen its overall business and realize shareholder value.
Are these stocks a buy or sell? Let us help you decide. Check out our Stock Picker Newsletter now.
The Allied Pilots Association membership of American Airlines?says that their carrier?s planned merger with US Airways Group (NYSE:LCC) might not come about during the bankruptcy of the former unless pilot groups of the carriers can agree on interim contract terms. President Keith Wilson of the union said that if an agreement is not made in the very near future, in all likelihood, there will be no merger before American Airlines exits restructuring.
News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) has acquired SportsTime Ohio, a regional sports network based in Cleveland that broadcasts Cleveland Indians baseball games. Although financials were not reported, an inside source estimated that the transaction was worth around $230 million, a figure that Reuters first reported on December 3rd.
Don?t Miss: The Dogs of the Dow Fall Behind.
To contact the reporter on this story: staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com To contact the editor responsible for this story: editors@wallstcheatsheet.com
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
*House Agriculture Committee.
*pending waiver to sit on three committees rather than the typical two
The new year could be one where important things get done in Washington, DC ? if Republicans in the House of Representatives let it happen, according to Rep. John Garamendi.
When the new Congress convenes this week, Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove, will represent Yuba-Sutter for the first time since redistricting moved the region into his district in 2011.
After November's elections, he said, House Republicans elected in the tea party revolt of 2010 have to decide whether they want to follow the will of the voters.
"The public clearly wants us to work together," he said. "There's a big, big middle we can move to, to get things done."
On Garamendi's list is finishing a farm bill and addressing sequestration, a federal plan for cutting spending, including defense.
Though there are places military spending could be cut, he said, it's critical not to make cuts to drastically affect the mission at Beale and Travis Air Force bases, both in his district.
A new farm bill is important for Yuba-Sutter agriculture because it will have components for rice, specialty crops, ongoing research and environmental protection, Garamendi said.
"Unfortunately, we'll have to start at the beginning," he said, because a new Congress is being seated. "We'll have to have committees and hearings again."
What kind of federal budget is adopted will also be important because it will show whether the mood is toward spending money and making infrastructure investments ? such as levee improvements ? or holding back federal dollars, Garamendi said.
If there's room for Republicans to work with him, he said, it could be on issues like the farm bill and perhaps making progress on the long-discussed Sites Reservoir near Colusa.
Garamendi said he is also hoping to get more support for his Make It In America bill, which would give priority to domestic manufacturers for domestic infrastructure projects like bridges and levees.
"Republicans have picked up pieces of it, but not all of it," he said. "There's potential there."
Whether there's potential for Democrats and Republicans to work together is uncertain, but Garamendi said he plans on being cooperative.
"You always have to talk to them," he said. "They're the majority party."
CONTACT Ben van der Meer at bvandermeer@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4786. Find him on Facebook at /ADbvandermeer or on Twitter at @ADbvandermeer.
By JACK McCAFFERY jmccaffery@delcotimes.com, @JackMcCaffery
Chester head boys basketball coach Larry Yarbray's success has come at a time of unprecedented financial hardship for the Chester-Upland School District.
CHESTER ? Larry Yarbray had one dream and one obligation, never in that order. So before he would ever begin his career as a college basketball coach, he first would try to help kids. Two of them. That?s all. Just two.
?I had two brothers, one was 10 years younger than me, the other 10 years younger than him,? Yarbray, the basketball coach at Chester High was saying the other day, during a break in practice. ?My mother, Margo Yarbray, was a single mom. So you try to be around so you can be that male figure, somebody that the kids can talk to and just make sure that everybody is OK.?
His plan was to do that for a while, then become a volunteer assistant coach at the college level, most likely at his alma mater, Coppin State, and then to maneuver deeper into the industry. Too soon, though, he learned that plans can change ? quickly.
?My youngest brother, Jeremy, was murdered,? he said. ?It was in Dover, Delaware. He was 18 and he?d gotten caught up in doing the wrong things. He took the path where he didn?t want to go to school. He wanted to get into being a rapper or doing some other things, like listening to his peers. It was sad. He was struggling for ends to meet and struggling to have money in his pocket. He turned the wrong corner and he ended up getting caught up selling drugs. Some guy tried to rob him and shot him and killed him.?
It was just about then that Yarbray figured his calling was not necessarily to recruit basketball players to colleges, but to make certain they survived high school. So he returned to his hometown, Chester, and began working with the Clippers? basketball program, eventually succeeding Fred Pickett as the head coach. There, he has won. He has won games. He has won two state championships. He has won the satisfaction of helping many, many more than two young men toward life?s successes.
And since Yarbray, 42, did all of that in 2012, while not only coaching Chester to its only undefeated season but doing so as the very future of the school was being threatened, he has won Delaware County?s Sports Figure of the Year honor, as presented by the Daily Times sports department.
Based on the end-of-the-year Sports Illustrated model, the honor goes to that individual, entity or concept that best brought positive attention to Delaware County in the previous 365 days. Yarbray is the second Chester basketball coach to be so recognized since 2008, when Pickett earned the honor. Last year, the award went to the Philadelphia Union, for making a different, though vital, sports impact in Chester.
?Larry has taught our kids about the game and about hard work,? said Randy Leggette, the Chester athletic director. ?It?s something I?m proud to see.?
In Yarbray?s fourth season as their head coach, the Clippers went 32-0, ran a two-year winning streak to 58 games and won their second consecutive PIAA Class AAAA state championship with a 59-33 victory over Lower Merion. As impressive as the numbers, though, was the challenge. For amid that perfection, a program legend, former coach Alonzo Lewis, was accidentally struck by an automobile and killed while crossing a street. And as Chester was gaining national status, there was a threat to the school ? a threat that remains, as the Chester-Upland School District has come under state receivership.
To the players, that trap of finance and politics may mean little. But to their head coach, who had come to understand how suddenly anything can vanish, it would become a season-long point of emphasis. Continued...
?It helped us to be focused and not take things for granted,? Yarbray said. ?I truly believe that you can?t take anything for granted in life. It was a special season that we had last year. If we had lost focus and started focusing on what was going on with the school, then the kids might not really understand that there is the potential that the school may close and they might be on the last team to play at Chester High. I said, ?What do you want to be remembered as?? You?ve got to take that. And sometimes, you take it as a positive and you move forward with it. But the reality is, one day the school might close. I still put it at 50-50.
?It?s sad to say you are right back in that same situation this year. They gave the school to the state in receivership and hopefully they can come up with a plan that will work. And hopefully the people around here can support that plan to make it work. But you?ve got to come out and support your children. And I believe everything starts at home. You teach your kids at home. You follow them. You monitor them. You mentor them and you do what you are supposed to do, making sure they are doing their homework and following up on it. Then, they have a chance to be successful. If you don?t, then people are going to fall through the cracks. That?s when people make excuses. They put all the blame on the school. But it takes a whole community to raise a child.?
In Chester, it long has taken a city to raise one of the most enduring high school basketball programs in the nation, eight times the state champion with the talent and the expectations to make it nine in 2013. But Yarbray has taken that mission and has lived it, spending many of his weekends watching the youth programs in the city.
?I get to go see my future,? he said. ?I get to see the young kids who potentially are going to play for me one day. And you almost start building relationships then. All the kids in the Chester Biddy program are welcome to come to our games. We let them come through the doors. They go in the locker room with us before the game, during the game, after the game, so they can get a feel.
?You want to start that process. You want these kids that they look up to to reach back and say, ?Listen, you can make it. If you do the right thing and come through Chester High, you still have the opportunity.? I went to Chester High. I graduated. I went to college and was fortunate to come back as coach.?
He came back as the head coach, knowing the rules: Win a state championship, or be heckled from the stands ? the Chester stands. So after going 24-5 in his first season, he needed to rebuild and worked with a young nucleus through a 16-11 season that did not fast-break past the skeptics. For while he was once a classic Chester guard, he was trying to replace the legendary Pickett, who had replaced the legendary Lewis, Yarbray?s own high school coach.
?They were big shoes to fill,? Yarbray said. ?But I know how it is. Even this year, we lost two games in Florida and you can hear the naysayers and the people talking. They forget about the wins rather quick. We won 61 straight. You would think that would give you a trump card in your back pocket or something. But there are no days off in this program. And me, myself, I expect the same thing.?
The experience of the 16-11 team helped to yield the consecutive state championships that followed, and then such a growth in the program that this season, it twice will appear on an ESPN network.
But even if the Clippers win another championship, Yarbray will be back to work, trying to keep the program where its supporters have come to understand it belongs.
As the executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Chester, Yarbray has deepened his community commitment. He still has visions of a college coaching career, and seems a little surprised that the call has yet to come. So he remains at Chester, where, he claims, he has not received a paycheck this season. Continued...
?Why not?? he said. ?I don?t know. But to me, it?s about the kids.?
Which is exactly how it started.
?My other brother, Lamar, is doing real well,? Yarbray said. ?He went to Williamson Trade School and is very successful in power-plant management. So I guess I went 50 percent. But that?s what brought me back here.?
The father of Larry Jr., 13, and daughter Micah, 11, does what he can, winning games, then ducking skeptics and other challenges.
?You try to tell the kids to enjoy the moment,? he said. ?You can?t take anything for granted in life because you never know what may happen in life. But when you?re on the basketball court, you have to play as hard as you can, try to win and do what you have to do to keep it moving.
For a recent episode of "Oprah's Next Chapter," Oprah visited Steven Spielberg in the same Dreamworks office where she'd auditioned for "The Color Purple" almost 30 years before. There, she and the acclaimed filmmaker sat down to chat about his newest project, "Lincoln." During the course of their conversation, other topics came up -- such as how Spielberg's children have impacted his work over the years...
OPRAH: I've seen the film ["Lincoln"] now twice. Saw it again last night. The first time I saw it, I woke up the next morning and I was still filled with it. And every time I speak of it, it makes my eyes water. I can't imagine what it took to bring that to life. And I want to know: How long did you dream this dream of "Lincoln"?
STEVEN: Well, I've been dreaming the dream of Lincoln like a lot of kids do when they're in school. When I was younger, my Uncle Bernard took me to the Lincoln Memorial and I saw Lincoln sitting in his chair for the first time. And it absolutely terrified me. Because it was just so massive.
OPRAH: Right.
STEVEN: Colossal. And I was so small. When my uncle saw that I was frightened, we left. I turned around and looked at the face of Lincoln and I suddenly wasn't frightened anymore. It was one of those things. The wisdom and comfort and father figure for me at that moment.
OPRAH: As an African-American, you can't imagine how emotional the film is. As an African-American, what is so moving to me is the line where he says, "Not just for the 4 million, but for the generations to come."
STEVEN: Yes. Exactly.
OPRAH: As I sit in that theater, I recognize I am a part of "the generations to come." I wonder: Has there been a moment when you yourself literally cried about it?
STEVEN: Daniel [Day-Lewis, who plays Lincoln in the film] always made me cry. He got those tears rolling a number of times on the film.
OPRAH: Any particular scene?
STEVEN: I think the first time was when he gave his very long and important explanation of why he needed to get the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery passed as Constitutional law. That was the first time I kind of needed to go into the other room.
OPRAH: Really?
STEVEN: So nobody could see how I was feeling. Because that's not a good thing.
OPRAH: When the director becomes emotional.
STEVEN: Not a good thing, no. My emotion about Lincoln came the closer I got to him as a man. I began to feel really choked up when I first realized how he really suffered. [It] almost seems to me that he saw way out there, a little bit like Martin Luther King saw, to the horizon.
OPRAH: Okay, would you have done this without Daniel Day-Lewis?
STEVEN: For a time I was going do it with Liam Neeson. But then, you know, we just decided to move in two different directions. I was sitting around at home one day realizing I'm never going to make "Lincoln." It's just never going to happen. And Leo DiCaprio came over for dinner that night; it was just my wife and Leo and myself. We were sitting around and Leo said, "What's happening with Lincoln? You've been, what, five years on this thing?" And I said, "Longer." I told Leo the whole story, and I told him I had tried to approach Daniel on another screenplay and I wasn't able to re-approach Daniel. And the next day, my assistant said "Leo's on the phone." He said, "You got a pencil? Write this down. This is Daniel Day-Lewis's cell phone. He's expecting your call." Leo had gone to bat for me and had called Daniel on the telephone and got Daniel and I together. Everything at that point started really moving quickly.
Steven Spielberg's movies have grossed over 8.5 billion dollars -- more than any other filmmaker. He's written, produced or directed over 100 films. Yet he's revealed little of himself in his 40-year career...
OPRAH: Everything that's been said and written about you... we still really don't know who you are. Would you say that the best of yourself is in your films?
STEVEN: I think the best of myself is at the dinner table with my kids and my wife. And my parents and my sisters. I think that's the best -- and my close friends. I think that's the best of me.
OPRAH: Wow. What has seven kids taught you about yourself?
STEVEN: One thing they've certainly taught me is that I have a lot more patience than I ever gave myself credit for.
OPRAH: Mm hmm.
STEVEN: You develop that quickly when you start having kids one after the other. The other thing they really taught me about myself was that I tend to think of them when I'm working: "What about this project is going to attract them? What will appeal to them? What will leave them with something? Is there any value in the story I'm telling beyond superficial entertainment value?" And I never asked myself that question until I began having kids.
Tune in to "Oprah's Next Chapter" each Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on OWN.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? An animal rights group will pay Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus $9.3 million to settle a lawsuit the circus filed after courts found that activists paid a former circus worker for his help in claiming the circus abused elephants.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said Friday it was not admitting any wrongdoing in settling the lawsuit. The New York-based animal rights group was one of several involved in a lawsuit filed in 2000 against the circus' owner, Feld Entertainment Inc., claiming elephants were abused. Courts later found that the animal rights activists had paid a former Ringling barn helper involved in the lawsuit at least $190,000, making him "essentially a paid plaintiff" who lacked credibility.
Two courts agreed the former barn helper, Tom Rider, wasn't credible and didn't have a right to sue. As a result, they didn't address claims the circus violated the federal Endangered Species Act by allegedly chaining the elephants for long periods and allowing trainers to use sharp tools called bullhooks.
The Vienna, Va.-based Feld Entertainment Inc. sued the animal rights groups and Rider in 2007, accusing them of conspiring to harm the company's business and other illegal acts. The lawsuit claims the groups were working together with the goal of permanently banning Asian elephants from circuses.
Friday's settlement covers only the ASPCA. Twelve other defendants including The Humane Society of the United States, the Animal Welfare Institute and The Fund for Animals are still involved in the lawsuit.
The ASPCA said in a statement that "this litigation has stopped being about the elephants a long time ago" and that officials decided it was in the group's best interest to resolve the lawsuit after more than a decade.
The chairman of Feld Entertainment, Kenneth Feld, said in a statement that the settlement was a vindication for the company and its employees.
___
Follow Jessica Gresko at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko
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ROME (AP) ? Italian Premier Mario Monti announced Friday he is heading a new campaign coalition made of up centrists, business leaders and pro-Vatican forces who back his "ethical" vision of politics, aiming for a second mandate in office if his fledging reform movement wins big in parliamentary elections.
After a four-hour huddle with his supporters, Monti ended weeks of speculation at home and abroad about whether the internationally respected economist, who was appointed to head a non-elected government a year ago, would seek a new term, this time given to him by the voters.
He told a hastily convened news conference that the Feb. 24-25 ballot list would carry the banner "Monti Agenda for Italy" or a similar slogan, even if the ballot wouldn't list him per se as a candidate. "A new political formation is born," declared Monti, who, as a senator-for-life doesn't have to run for a parliamentary seat.
"Italy must have an evolution in its politics," he said, Instead of the "traditional axis that consists of right and left" Monti contended that the real axis Italy needs is one "directed at Europe and at reforms to transform our country."
Monti was appointed premier 13 months ago after his scandal-plagued predecessor Silvio Berlusconi failed to stop Italy from sliding deeper into the eurozone debt crisis. He quit earlier this month after Berlusconi pulled his party's support from Monti's government, but is now continuing in a caretaker role until the next elections.
For weeks now there has been speculation about whether Monti would run for the job in February, but he has been unwilling to officially campaign as a candidate. But he could take on the premiership if asked to by whatever party or coalition wins ? including the grouping he announced Friday.
"I will watch over the creation of (parliamentary) candidate lists, and for now, I agree to carry out the role of coalition head, and I am working for the success of this operation," the 69-year-old said.
Monti along with his government of technocrats have taken credit for shoring up Italy's shaky finances by pushing through a tough austerity agenda of pension reform, new taxes and spending cuts. And Monti said he wants to "prolong and intensify the pace and extend the objectives of" his government.
Critics, however, say his reforms have stymied job creation and left Italy mired in recession.
His range of supporters is impressive. They include the president of Ferrari's Formula One racing team as well as figures in the highest Vatican echelons. Pope Benedict XVI on Christmas Day issued a call for noble values in politics that was read as a virtual endorsement for another Monti term.
But it remains to be seen if Monti's high-minded reformist alliance will garner enough backing to allow him to call the shots after the elections. Recent polls have shown that such a grouping, with Monti at the helm, would garner at most about 15 percent of the vote.
Opinion surveys show that the leading party, with about 30 percent, is the Democratic Left led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was Monti's biggest backer in Parliament, including supporting him on pension reforms that sorely tested the left's traditional support from labor.
Berlusconi, meanwhile, hasn't said if he is running or not for a fourth term as premier. He faces legal and sexual scandals, yet still commands significant support.
After Monti's news conference, Bersani challenged the premier to clarify the new coalition's relationship with his party, the "first party. Do they see us as alternatives, competitors or are they open to an alliance?" Bersani said in a TV interview.
Reporters asked Monti if he thought he could return to the premier's office if the election results show his coalition ends up second. "Let's wait and see," was his reply.
Monti said that, thanks to his stewardship, "the financial emergency is over" in Italy but acknowledged that youth unemployment and lack of economic growth still plague the country. He said voters would have the chance in February to "legitimize" his economic and moral reform platform.
___
Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Confused about the federal budget struggle? So are doctors, hospital administrators and other medical professionals who serve the 100 million Americans covered by Medicare and Medicaid.
Rarely has the government sent so many conflicting signals in so short a time about the bottom line for the health care industry.
Cuts are coming, says Washington, and some could be really big. Yet more government spending is also being promised as President Barack Obama's health care overhaul advances and millions of uninsured people move closer to getting government-subsidized coverage.
"Imagine a person being told they are going to get a raise, but their taxes are also going to go up and they are going to be paying more for gas," said Thornton Kirby, president of the South Carolina Hospital Association. "They don't know if they are going to be taking home more or less. That's the uncertainty when there are so many variables in play."
Real money is at stake for big hospitals and small medical practices alike. Government at all levels pays nearly half the nation's health care tab, with federal funds accounting for most of that.
It's widely assumed that a budget deal will mean cuts for Medicare service providers. But which ones? How much? And will Medicaid and subsidies to help people get coverage under the health care law also be cut?
As House Speaker John Boehner famously said: "God only knows." The Ohio Republican was referring to the overall chances of getting a budget deal, but the same can be said of how health care ? one-sixth of the economy ? will fare.
"There is no political consensus to do anything significant," said Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere Health, a market analysis firm. "There is a collective walking away from things that matter. All the stuff on the lists of options becomes impossible, because there is no give-and-take."
As if things weren't complicated enough, doctors keep facing their own recurring fiscal cliff, separate from the bigger budget battle but embroiled in it nonetheless.
Come Jan. 1, doctors and certain other medical professionals face a 26.5 percent cut in their Medicare payments, the consequence of a 1990s deficit-reduction law gone awry. Lawmakers failed to repeal or replace that law even after it became obvious that it wasn't working. Instead, Congress usually passes a "doc fix" each year to waive the cuts.
This year, the fix got hung up in larger budget politics. Although a reprieve is expected sooner or later, doctors don't like being told to sit in the congressional waiting room.
"It seems like there is a presumption that physicians and patients can basically tolerate this kind of uncertainty while the Congress goes through whatever political machinations they are going through," said Dr. Jeremy Lazarus, president of the American Medical Association. "Our concern is that physician uncertainty and anxiety about being able to pay the bills will have an impact on taking care of patients."
A recent government survey indicates that Medicare beneficiaries are having more problems when trying to find a new primary care doctor, and Lazarus said that will only get worse.
Adding to their unease, doctors also face an additional reduction if automatic spending cuts go through. Those would be triggered if Obama and congressional leaders are unable to bridge partisan differences and strike a deal. They are part of the combination of tax increases and spending cuts dubbed the "fiscal cliff."
Medicare service providers would get hit with a 2 percent across-the-board cut, but Medicaid and subsidies for the uninsured under Obama's health care overhaul would be spared. The Medicare cut adds up to about $120 billion over ten years, with 40 percent falling on hospitals, according to Avalare's analysis. Nursing homes, Medicare Advantage plans and home health agencies also get hit.
The American Hospital Association says that would lead to the loss of hundreds of thousands of hospital jobs in a labor intensive industry that also generates employment for other businesses in local communities.
"It's very difficult to believe hospitals can absorb the kinds of numbers they are talking about without reducing service or workforce," said Kirby, the hospital association head. "You may decide that a service a hospital provides is not affordable ? for example, obstetrics in a rural community ? if you're making a little bit of money or losing a little bit of money by continuing to deliver babies in a rural community."
Independent analysts like Mendelson doubt that a 2 percent Medicare cut to hospitals would be catastrophic, but say it will cost jobs somewhere.
Even if there is a budget deal, the squeeze will be on.
The administration has proposed $400 billion in health care cuts so far in the budget talks, coming mainly from Medicare spending. That's only a starting point as far as Republicans are concerned. They also want to pare back Medicaid and Obama's health care law, and have also sought an increase in the eligibility age for Medicare.
Dec. 28, 2012 ? Researchers from the HealthyFit group at the University of Vigo have studied university students' lifestyles; their analysis, which includes alcohol and illegal drug consumption habits, sport and food, concludes that most students indulge in unhealthy behaviour. One of the main results of the study points to the high consumption of alcohol.
"The amount drunk per unit of time is higher among women. In other words, even though male students drink more often, females do so more intensively in shorter periods of time, which is known as binge drinking," explained Jos? M? Cancela Carral, co-author of the study published by the Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
Researchers randomly selected 985 students from different degree courses and in different years at the University of Vigo.
Of the females interviewed, 51.2% lead a sedentary lifestyle, while the percentage in males is 41.7%. When analysing students who maintain an appropriate level of physical activity, 38.6% of males do physical exercise, as opposed to only 20.9% of women.
"We were also surprised by the high consumption of illegal drugs among university students -- 44.9% of men and 30.9% of women -- which we understand could lead to significant future health problems, mainly related to the nervous system," underlined the researcher.
Anomalous attitudes to food were more evident among women (16.6%), although also present among men (8.8%). "However, the statistical analysis showed that this parameter depended on the degree the student was studying for," added Cancela. Such attitudes were much more common among those studying degrees related to education (19.2%) than among those studying courses related to health (6.3%).
Health network
Spanish universities set up a Healthy University Network in 2008, a project for healthy living for universities from all over Spain, the Spanish University Rectors' Association, the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport and some regional public health entities.
In the researcher's opinion, at many universities this network was nothing more than "a simple first step to get on the list and nothing else"; hence transversal content should be implemented in study plans related to food, physical exercise and healthy habits.
"In the light of the results, training and information courses are required in these areas, together with healthy leisure -- not just sports facilities -- to set up university guidance services for a healthy student lifestyle," concludes Cancela.
Genetic predisposition
A recent study published in the PNAS journal argues that the gene called RASGRF2 could be related to a predisposition to getting drunk.
According to scientists, this gene regulates the predisposition to drink excessive amounts of alcohol as it influences mesolimbic dopamine neuron activity, which is one of the ways dopamine is taken from one region of the brain to another.
Gunter Schumann, one of the main authors of the study, explained that even though we should not consider said gene to be the main cause -- as there are many environmental factors and other genes involved -- the study thereof helps to explain why some people are more vulnerable to alcohol than others.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Plataforma SINC, via AlphaGalileo.
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Journal References:
Ver?nica Varela-Mato, Jos? M. Cancela, Carlos Ayan, Vicente Mart?n, Antonio Molina. Lifestyle and Health among Spanish University Students: Differences by Gender and Academic Discipline. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2012; 9 (8): 2728 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph9082728
D. Stacey, A. Bilbao, M. Maroteaux, T. Jia, A. C. Easton, S. Longueville, C. Nymberg, T. Banaschewski, G. J. Barker, C. Buchel, F. Carvalho, P. J. Conrod, S. Desrivieres, M. Fauth-Buhler, A. Fernandez-Medarde, H. Flor, J. Gallinat, H. Garavan, A. L. W. Bokde, A. Heinz, B. Ittermann, M. Lathrop, C. Lawrence, E. Loth, A. Lourdusamy, K. F. Mann, J.-L. Martinot, F. Nees, M. Palkovits, T. Paus, Z. Pausova, M. Rietschel, B. Ruggeri, E. Santos, M. N. Smolka, O. Staehlin, M.-R. Jarvelin, P. Elliott, W. H. Sommer, M. Mameli, C. P. Muller, R. Spanagel, J.-A. Girault, G. Schumann. RASGRF2 regulates alcohol-induced reinforcement by influencing mesolimbic dopamine neuron activity and dopamine release. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012; 109 (51): 21128 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1211844110
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.
When I say the words "song and dance," I do not mean performance, I mean what all honest philosophers, pundits, and people have been saying throughout history. It is a big song and dance in comparison with the reality of what people have been doing throughout said history of the world. What I mean is, reality does not line up with the song and dance routines that have been done throughout history for honesty, reality and reason. What I mean is Jesus, the Buddha, Mohammed, Lao Tzu, Confucious, Socrates, Aristotle, Augustine, Rand, Aquinas, Plato, Spinoza, Hegel, myself included and all the rest of them. We are all just song and dance men who say one thing about honesty and living better lives, but humanity practices another thing altogether in the form of wars, disagreements, dishonesty, and things just get worse and worse. Indeed, we all are just song and dance men until humanity can practice a better way. "Honesty" throughout history has been the right hand operator friend of "it does not work and is not realistic but it sounds good in theory, but due to certain shortcomings, it will not work in practice."
So, Bob Dylan in an interview, once said, "I am a song and dance man along with all the rest of them." With the paragraph above, I am delineating exactly what he meant by that statement. I mean the same thing. Why do I put this under "Arts and Entertainment: Philosophy," because this article is the ultimate song and dance, like Richard Gere playing the dancing lawyer in the movie version of "Chicago". We can all dance and be silly until we dance our way out of it, "it" meaning, the real meaning of reality, but we pay a great price for that. We pay by skipping over things we need to deal with.
So, I repeat, in my mind we are all just good sounding song and dance men until humanity can be evolved enough to put it all into practice. Sweat, sing and dance are the words that come to mind, like James Brown doing his dancing until everybody is in the heat of sweat and excitement entertained out of their troubles for a few minutes. Sure, I can dance around reality with the best of them, and sing a good song with the best of them. But ultimately it does all come down to how sane you are enough to sing and dance with us instead of sit in the audience and go, "Wow, he has got some song and dance routine. Is that for real?" I have to say that my song and dance is real, otherwise I would not be doing it and doing it consistently. So, am I just a song and dance man? No. But, until there is something better humanity can do than the great song and dance, that is what I am with every other conscious master. I am a big time song and dance man along with all the rest of them.
My name is Joshua Clayton, I am a freelance writer based in Inglewood, California. I also write under a few pen-names and aliases, but Joshua Clayton is my real name, and I write by that for the most part now. I am a philosophical writer and objective thinker and honest action taker. I also work at a senior center in Gardena, California as my day job, among other things, but primarily I am a writer.
Here's a great use for that scrap lumber sitting around your shop: Use it to build a rolling chest with a rustic feel.
By Matt Pierce
Rolling Chest Plans (PDF, 1MB, requires Adobe Reader)
what to do with. Looking for a way to put them to use, other than as kindling, I came up with this rolling chest covered with cast-off blocks. The box is built from ?-inch plywood and rides on industrial-duty casters (invisible, below?but they\'re there!) from a local hardware store. Pieces of fir, walnut, and oak are discreetly nailed to the surface to give the piece a rustic aesthetic.", credit: "Shawn Records", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/M2/rolling-chest-01-1212-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/FB/rolling-chest-01-1212-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide2", url: "how-to-build-your-own-rolling-chest-2", slidetype: "image", title: "Construct the Box", description: "You can build this relatively simple project with just a circular saw and drill driver, but it\'s even easier if you have a small table saw, a dado blade, and a pneumatic finish nailer. I also used two Kreg accessories to build the box: a circular saw guide and a pocket-screw jig.\n\n
\n\nBegin by ripping and crosscutting the sheet of plywood into the sizes shown in the downloadable plans. Label the pieces for the four sides of the box, making sure to mark which edge has the smooth factory finish; this edge forms the top perimeter of the box. Cut the four triangular blocks that will serve as the corner gussets; the wheels will be fastened to the gussets, which also help to strengthen the box. Also, bore the pocket-screw pilot holes into the panels.", credit: "Shawn Records", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/lG/rolling-chest-02-1212-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/5k/rolling-chest-02-1212-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 450, srcheight: 600 }, { id: "slide3", url: "how-to-build-your-own-rolling-chest-3", slidetype: "image", title: "Cut the Groove", description: "Using a router with a straight bit or a table saw with a dado blade (set the cutting depth to 3/8 inch), cut into all four panels the groove that will receive the bottom panel.", credit: "Shawn Records", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/2y/rolling-chest-03-1212-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/0O/rolling-chest-03-1212-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide4", url: "how-to-build-your-own-rolling-chest-4", slidetype: "image", title: "Assemble the Parts", description: "Assemble the parts, sliding the bottom into its groove.", credit: "Shawn Records", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/Cv/rolling-chest-04-1212-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/ET/rolling-chest-04-1212-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide5", url: "how-to-build-your-own-rolling-chest-5", slidetype: "image", title: "Complete the Assembly", description: "Complete the box assembly by driving the pocket screws into their pilot holes. Flip the box so that it\'s bottom side up, spread some carpenter\'s glue in the corners, and press the gussets into place. Let the glue cure.", credit: "Shawn Records", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/gW/rolling-chest-05-1212-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/z5/rolling-chest-05-1212-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 450, srcheight: 600 }, { id: "slide6", url: "how-to-build-your-own-rolling-chest-6", slidetype: "image", title: "Cladding the Box", description: "Gather your best pieces of scrap wood and arrange them on your work bench in dimensions approximating each side of the box. Use scraps that vary in color, shape, and texture?the greater the variation, the more visually striking the cladding will be. Don\'t belabor the initial arrangements; you\'re going to have to make adjustments where the parts overlap at the corners; the sides may overlap the end pieces or vice versa. \n\n
\n\nTo refine the fit of the scraps, clean them up one at a time on the miter and table saws. Starting at the top edge and working down, nail the blocks in place with a pneumatic finish nailer. Work your way around the box, attaching the pieces with an appropriate size nail. I used ?-inch and 1?-inch; choose your nail lengths carefully so that none penetrates the inside of the box. If a nail does jut through the surface of the interior, clip off the tip with diagonal pliers and tap the stub into the plywood.\n\n
\n\nAfter the box is clad, remove sharp edges and splinters with a rubber block and 120-grit sandpaper.", credit: "Shawn Records", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/ER/rolling-chest-06-1212-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/aI/rolling-chest-06-1212-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide7", url: "how-to-build-your-own-rolling-chest-7", slidetype: "image", title: "Finishing Touches", description: "Drill a hole for a caster stud through each corner gusset at the bottom of the box. Hold a Teenut on the inside of the box, then tap it down, turn the caster stud into it, and tighten, pulling the sharp end of the Teenut into the box bottom. If you use a caster that requires a wrench to sock down, be careful not to overtighten. Firm resistance indicates that the Teenut is properly seated and the caster is fully tightened.", credit: "Shawn Records", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/Q6/rolling-chest-07-1212-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/wp/rolling-chest-07-1212-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide8", url: "how-to-build-your-own-rolling-chest-8", slidetype: "image", title: "Coat the Box", description: "I completed the project with a coat of boiled linseed oil, a natural finish that works as well today as it did a century ago. Wipe on one coat, let it dry, and then apply a second coat. As the box ages, the finish will mellow to a warm amber-brown color.\n\n
\n\nRemember to treat any rag soaked with finish as a fire hazard. Hang it over a line to let it dry or soak it in a bucket of water; don\'t just throw it into the trash can, where fumes may collect and lead to spontaneous combustion.\n\n
\n\nAfter the somewhat nutty odor of the linseed oil has dissipated, take the box inside and you\'re ready to roll.", credit: "Shawn Records", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/DV/rolling-chest-08-1212-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/UM/rolling-chest-08-1212-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 } ] };
Like most woodworkers, I've got more scraps in my shop than I know what to do with. Looking for a way to put them to use, other than as kindling, I came up with this rolling chest covered with cast-off blocks. The box is built from ?-inch plywood and rides on industrial-duty casters (invisible, below?but they're there!) from a local hardware store. Pieces of fir, walnut, and oak are discreetly nailed to the surface to give the piece a rustic aesthetic. Return to Slideshow
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Progress toward avoiding the "fiscal cliff" seemed stalled Thursday, as the Senate's top Democrat accused Republican House Speaker John Boehner of acting in dictatorial ways that prevent a solution to looming tax hikes and spending cuts.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, speaking in the Senate chamber, said the nation appears headed over the cliff because of a lack of progress in negotiations as the Dec. 31 deadline nears. He blamed House Republicans, who last week opposed Boehner's efforts to pass a narrowly crafted bill that would raise tax rates only on the very wealthiest Americans, prompting Boehner to cancel a vote on the bill.
Reid said the House is "being operated with a dictatorship of the speaker."
"John Boehner seems to care more about keeping his speakership than about keeping the nation on sound financial footing," Reid said.
Reid said the GOP-controlled House easily could have passed a White House-approved plan with a majority of Democratic votes and a few dozen Republican votes. But House leaders generally avoid such tactics, because they might alienate the Republican caucus and jeopardize the speaker's job.
Also Thursday, the White House said Obama, before leaving Hawaii, called Boehner, Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. The White House statement said the president got an update on the "fiscal negotiations," but offered no detail on who, exactly, was negotiating and whether those talks were getting anywhere.
Obama was returning from vacation to the deadline showdown in the nation's capital, with even a stopgap solution now in doubt.
The House has passed a Republican plan to avert the fiscal cliff, and the Senate has passed a Democratic version. Their deficit-reduction projections differ by hundreds of billions of dollars over 10 years. Many Washington insiders say the gap could be bridged if partisan positions were not so firmly entrenched.
Leaders of the two parties are essentially daring each other to let the year end without resolving the pending confluence of higher taxes and deep spending cuts that could rattle a recovering but still-fragile economy.
Adding to the mix of developments pushing toward a "fiscal cliff," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday informed Congress that the government was on track to hit its borrowing limit on Monday and said he would take "extraordinary measures as authorized by law" to postpone a government default.
Still, he added, uncertainty about the outcome of negotiations over taxes and spending made it difficult to determine how much time those measures would buy.
In recent days, Obama's aides have been consulting with Reid's office. But Republicans have not been part of discussions, suggesting much still needs to be done if a deal, even a small one, is to be struck and passed through Congress by Monday.
At stake are current tax rates that expire on Dec. 31 and revert to higher rates in place during the administration of President Bill Clinton. All in all, that means $536 billion in tax increases that would touch nearly all Americans. Moreover, the military and other federal departments would have to cut $110 billion in spending.
But while economists have warned about the economic impact of tax hikes and spending cuts of that magnitude, both sides appear to be proceeding as if they have more than just four days left. Indeed, Congress could still act in January in time to retroactively counter the effects on most taxpayers and government agencies, but chances are that a large deficit reduction package would be put off.
House Republican leaders on Wednesday said they remain ready to negotiate but urged the Senate to consider or amend a House-passed bill that extends all existing tax rates. In a statement, the leaders said the House would consider whatever the Senate passed. "But the Senate first must act," they said.
Aides said any decision to bring House members back to Washington would be driven by what the Senate does.
Reid's office responded shortly thereafter, insisting the House act on Senate legislation passed in July that would raise tax rates only on incomes above $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples. Obama has been pushing for a variant of that Senate bill that would include an extension of jobless aid and some surgical spending reductions to prevent the steeper and broader spending cuts from kicking in.
For the Senate to act would require a commitment from McConnell not to demand a 60-vote margin to consider the legislation on the Senate floor. McConnell's office says it's too early to make such an assessment because Obama's plan is unclear on whether extended benefits for the unemployed would be paid for with cuts in other programs or on how it would deal with an expiring estate tax, among other issues.
What's more, Boehner would have to let the bill get to the House floor for a vote. Given the calendar, chances of accomplishing that by Monday were becoming a long shot.
___
Follow Jim Kuhnhenn on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jkuhnhenn
So you thought those photos and videos you sent using Snapchat or Poke -- you know, the embarrassing ones -- were supposed to self-destruct after being viewed by the intended recipient? Not so fast. It turns out that there's a way to save them that doesn't require a lot of skill or expense.
Posted on December 28, 2012 by dufttuey508 in Technology
Among the many most usual laptop repairs is virus removals or adware and adware removals. The most people literally do not really should be troubled with these issues for the reason that all those facts is handled by using antivirus malware software program. As such, guarding your private home or office personal computer is undoubtedly an essential part of your property security program, and should be handled as thoughtfully and carefully as the home alarm. It should, then, run instantly and scan your product for mistakes. Amongst other troubles, the design 4.zero can also be said to incorporate ESET SysInspector, Mozilla thunderbird and ESET SysRescue. If there aren?t any conditions, they might be away from internet marketing business. You will discover more and more on the net organisations providing the superfine computer virus protection along with the assistance of effective companies within the most helpful antivirus software application. Different from viruses, the trojan horse is just not there to wreck your laptop, even though the software systems is way from friendly. By way of memory utilization, scan pace, consumer user interface launch velocity and HTTP obtain pace, there serious enhancements. On procuring one more device, they harm the machine by disrupting the traditional course of action. Step one, should be to ensure that your browser is current (in addition to the relaxation of your respective systems) for the most recently released edition. If the Win32 system was executed, the initial script viruses also appeared. If just one desires to properly secure the inner network, management employee?s use of the online world and handle bandwidth fees then a firewall is vital. For anybody who is new to your online you certainly will rapidly uncover the horror of adware! These actions will take care of an effective percentage of the safety problems one may well practical experience internet. When it?s always updated, it is advisable to exit all software applications and browser windows which can be presently effective. You ought to eliminate sketchy webpages as a lot web pages instantly obtain malicious application onto your structure. To make sure that your family?s documents and digital data is protected and secure, get antivirus software system from trustworthy sources and responsible brands only. Take a look for those linked considering the virus or Spy ware and delete them. In an effort to give your personal machine the most beneficial safety, always make sure that you?re by means of the best quality antivirus defense about. Well before we mount the latest program or subscribe to the modern-day web account, you are constantly presented by using an extended purchaser agreement whole of undecipherable ?legalese? phrases. Lately, web-based transactions are significantly additional widespread, as web banking, buying, and bill-paying come to be the norm, along with your credit score card and lender account details are entered into cyberspace. Web security is definitely an very important aspect to operate any personal pc if you desire to continue to keep you computer safe. It blocks phishing websites, and authenticates only internet websites which might be dependable. Day-to-day new and much more vicious malwares are increasingly being introduced as well as your software systems needs to be up to date to ensure that it may well understand the newest threats and continue to keep them at bay. Does the Cisco IOS Firewall function set work as a stateful or stateless packet filter? You might suppose it?s prudent and clever to squeeze a small number of a great deal more successful days out of departing staff ? especially if the business has to pay out them with the period of time and severance shell out in the process. But maintaining your laptop or computer free of adware is simply one new amount of executing corporation. There are a few adware removers you?ll you could try, like Windows Destructive Computer software Removal Tool, SUPERAntiSpyware, ComboFix, and also the Spybot Search & Destroy which you might try out. The trauma is this kind of that even if everyday people were told wrongly or jokingly that their system is infected with computer viruses, adware and malware, they grow to be frustrated. Finding world wide web security software programs could be easy since you will find a lot to choose from. Learn to setup firewall systems and continuously block pop-up blockers to minimize desktop computer infection and make certain the security of all your laptop or computer files. With the introduction on the Norton Online world Security 2007 that comes using a new user interface and a lower price the private person may very well expect they get a comprehensive using the net security and personal important information safety whilst banking or procuring over the internet. On the other hand, spyware and adware gradually slows down the personal computer pace, which eventually leads to technique failure. Microsoft also offers an exclusive antivirus tool namely the Microsoft Windows Malicious Application Elimination Resource.
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In a continuation of our series on the state of the oil industry we look at some of the other ramifications of what we are labeling the Oil Renaissance in the US, and around the world for that matter.? This phrase was first proposed regarding the potential Nuclear turnaround here in the US, where companies like NRG Energy, Toshiba and many more players all along the supply chain were positioning themselves for the Nuclear Renaissance of cheap, and abundant Nuclear energy for the next 50 years.
