ltte latest news: June 2012

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Russia calls Geneva talks on Syria 'positive step'

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-calls-geneva-talks-syria-positive-step-155052083.html

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celticsblog: RT @RedsArmy_John: Fab (@Fabpmelo) and Jared (@Jared_Sully0) have been added to the list of Celtics players on Twitter: http://t.co/JCk8sEIe

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://twitter.com/celticsblog/statuses/218536951672877056

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World's smallest 4K USB 3.0 camera delivers 21 frames per second, fits in pockets

After proving that a 1080p webcam on USB 3.0 was possible, to the surprise of none, Point Grey's latest addition is a little more impressive, This "ice-cube sized" camera can pipe 4,096 x 2,160 images through that capacious USB 3.0 port, using Sony's new IMX1221 Exmor R sensor. Thanks to its size, the camera is geared toward business-centric applications, including broadcasting and high-resolution optical inspection -- which goes some way to explaining the $945 retail price. The full technical spec sheet waits in the press release, right after the break.

Continue reading World's smallest 4K USB 3.0 camera delivers 21 frames per second, fits in pockets

World's smallest 4K USB 3.0 camera delivers 21 frames per second, fits in pockets originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/29/worlds-smallest-4k-usb-3-0-camera/

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Desperate RIM considering Windows switch, says report

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/desperate-rim-considering-windows-switch-says-report-130039378.html

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Colorado Wildfires 2012: Tech Companies Provide Continuously Updated Maps To Track Fires

By Francie Diep, InnovationNewsDaily Staff Writer:

The devastating wildfires in Colorado have provided a showcase for the latest technology in mapping and tracking emergencies. Esri and Google Maps are presenting maps of the fires that the two companies continuously update, demonstrating an increasingly popular method for disseminating emergency information.

"The primary use is for residents wanting very current information on where the fire is and whether they're going to need to evacuate or not," said Michael Goodchild, a geographer at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who has studied how residents of his own state use updating online maps during wildfires. People may use them to find the nearest shelter and to plan a driving route to their evacuation points, Goodchild said.

Some of the worst fires in local history have forced thousands of people out of their homes in Colorado and neighboring states this week. More than 32,000 people in the Colorado Springs area had to evacuate this morning (June 27).

In California, people often rely on maps like Esri's and Google's even more than they rely upon official government websites. Local government servers often cannot handle the sudden surge in traffic during emergencies, making their sites slow or even nonfunctional, Goodchild told InnovationNewsDaily. Commercial servers are more robust.

Unofficial maps also may update more frequently than official ones because their fact-checking standards aren't as stringent, Goodchild said. Unofficial maps can post information as soon as it is received, whereas government maps may need to wait for a verifying source. The Esri and Google maps of the Colorado fires combine governmental and nongovernmental sources, suggesting they are balancing verified facts and fresh information.

Google's map shows the locations of fires, how well contained different fires are, the locations of shelters for evacuees, and photos taken within the last hour. Google draws its data from governmental groups including the state of Colorado, the U.S. Geological Service, NASA satellite imagery and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. For photos Google also uses Webcams.travel, a privately made programming interface.

Esri's map shows locations of fires, burned areas, wind direction, precipitation and areas in danger, as well as tweets and YouTube videos that people have made about different locations. Besides Twitter and YouTube, the map draws its data from the same governmental sources Google uses.

While it's easy to imagine how useful it is to have many governmental data sources in one place, are social media services such as Twitter really that helpful?

"It is helpful and it isn't," Goodchild said. "Videos tend to be helpful because you can actually see the fire, and the location where the video was taken tends to be fairly reliable."

On the other hand, Twitter is usually less reliable because people tend to tweet about fires that are far from them, Goodchild said. Thus the location tag in a tweet doesn't tell viewers much about where fires are actually burning ? but those are the tags that mapping programs use to decide where to place tweets on a map. "And then tweets are a little bit easier to falsify if you're being malicious," Goodchild added. "Someone can tweet a false piece of information."

Videos can be made up, but not as easily.

Maps like Esri's and Google's have emerged in recent years as more information is posted on the Web and search engines have gotten better at finding it, Goodchild said.

So-called crisis maps show it's possible to automatically scrape the Web for relevant information, then summarize the results in a way that's easy to use and understand. Many institutions, including the FBI, are interested in harvesting and summarizing online data.

This story was provided by InnovationNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. You can follow InnovationNewsDaily staff writer Francie Diep on Twitter @franciediep. Follow InnovationNewsDaily on Twitter @News_Innovation, or on Facebook.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/28/colorado-wildfires-2012_n_1635094.html

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Control4 delivers home automation Starter Kit for under $1,000 including installation, we go hands-on

Replacing a house full of switches and dials with a single remote seems a desirable proposition, but less-than-intuitive setup processes and fees that run far into the thousands make a disconnected home the only option for some. Like other home automation system manufacturers, Control4 has a bounty of offerings that can run up pricing into that out-of-reach range, but if you're looking to adjust audio and video in a single room, the new Starter Kit should get you going for just shy of a grand, including installation. That price includes a HC-250 Controller, which delivers IR control for up to eight components (via splitters connected to the four IR ports on the rear), serial control for up to two receivers or other systems and IP control for an unlimited number of devices. There's also an SR-250 ZigBee remote in the box, which offers full control through a television interface (HDMI and component outputs can be found on the HC-250's rear). You can also have full access through a variety of add-ons, including a $999 7-inch in-wall touchscreen with camera, a portable version for the same price, or any Android, iOS or Mac device -- access licenses for smartphones, tablets and computers run $199 each, or $499 to cover the entire home.

The Starter Kit can enable control of a single room, which may be fine for some users -- to add additional home theater setups you can bring on more HC-250s at $599 a pop. There's also an option to add ZigBee lighting controls ($129 per switch), ZigBee door locks ($150 to $350) or a door intercom unit with camera ($799). All-in, outfitting a large home can be quite pricey, and the Starter Kit is designed to get folks in the door, rather than to deliver a complete solution. We tested the controller with a TV, audio system, a pair of lights on two zones, the door intercom and a deadbolt, and all performed seamlessly without an hiccups. We also took a look at the intuitive drag-and-drop PC-based interface, which owners can use to change macros and add media. Introducing new components to the rig will require a dealer service call (or remote access, if you're just trying to loop in something like a NAS to serve up content). The Control4 Starter Kit is available through third-party dealers beginning today, including Magnolia Home Theater in select Best Buy stores (in that case, Geek Squad will handle the install). That sub-$1,000 figure factors in two hours of labor, and may climb a bit higher depending on dealer rates. Still, if you're just looking to get your feet wet, this seems to be a solid solution. Thumb through the gallery below for a closer look at the components and interface.

Gallery: Control4 Starter Kit hands-on

Continue reading Control4 delivers home automation Starter Kit for under $1,000 including installation, we go hands-on

Control4 delivers home automation Starter Kit for under $1,000 including installation, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 11:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/C1B8X-WwLzk/

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Friday, June 29, 2012

Condominium Formation and Conversion ? Rhode Island | Internet ...

Q. What is a condominium and how is it formed?

In Rhode Island, a condominium is any real estate project which includes individually owned units (i.e. a residential unit) and common elements (i.e. general common elements and limited common elements) that are owned by the unit owners as tenants in common.

A condominium is created in Rhode Island by recording a declaration of condominium with the appropriate office in the city or town where the project is located. The declaration must be drafted in accordance with the Rhode Island Condominium Act (the ?Act?) for all condominiums created after July 1, 1982.

Q. What are the bylaws?

The bylaws are the rules of the condominium. The bylaws are enforced by the association?s elected officials. The bylaws can be changed with a certain percent vote of the unit owners of the association. A buyer should always review the bylaws carefully prior to entering into a purchase and sales agreement. Buyers are sometimes surprised to find out that representatives of the association are allowed to enter the buyer?s unit; pets are not allowed; or a buyer is not allowed to alter the exterior of their unit without the permission of the association.

Q. What is a condominium unit? What is a general common element? What is a limited common element?

A condominium unit (i.e. residential living space) is the area that a unit owner has exclusive ownership interests in.

A general common element is owned by all of the unit owners as tenants in common with each other and all unit owners have the right to use and enjoy a general common element (i.e. a road).

A limited common element of a condominium is owned by all unit owners as tenants in common with each other. However, only one unit owner or a limited, specified group of unit owners have the right to use and enjoy a limited common element (i.e. a patio, driveway, or porch).

Q. What is a condominium purchase and sales agreement?

A condominium purchase and sales agreement is a contract to buy and sell a unit. Many residential sellers will use a standard purchase and sales agreement form. However, there are a many different purchase and sales contracts available. It is always advisable to have an attorney who is experienced with condominium law to review or draft a purchase and sales agreement prior to signing any such agreement.

Q. What is a public offering statement?

A public offering statement is a summary of the declaration and includes important information relating to the condominium. A public offering statement must be drafted in accordance with the Rhode Island Condominium Act for all condominiums created after July 1, 1982. A buyer has the right to cancel the purchase and sales agreement within 10 days after the receipt of the public offering statement. A seller who is required to deliver a public offering statement to the buyer will face penalties prescribed by the Act if the seller fails to provide a public offering statement.

Q. Is a public offering statement required prior to the closing of all condominiums?

A public offering statement is required by any declarant or person who is in the business of selling real estate when that declarant or person offers a unit for sale on his own account to a purchaser of a condominium unit.

A public offering statement is not required in the following instances: i. if the condominium contains 12 units or less, is not subject to further development rights, and the declarant has owned the units for more than 2 years from date of first sale; and ii. nonresidential projects where all of the units are nonresidential or in residential projects where waived by agreement; and in the following instances: disposition or transfer by gift; court order; by a government agency; foreclosure or in lieu of foreclosure; disposition or transfer to a person in the business of real estate who intends to resell the unit; and when the purchase and sales agreement may be cancelled without penalty by the buyer.

Q. What is a condominium resale certificate? When is a resale certificate required prior to the closing?

A resale certificate is prepared by the association upon the request of a unit owner who is selling his or her unit. The resale certificate contains important information and must be drafted in accordance with the Rhode Island Condominium Act.

A resale certificate is required for all sales when a public offering statement is not required. However a resale certificate is not required if a public offering statement is exempt as explained in the previous question.

Condominium Formation and Conversion - Rhode Island

The author of this article, Richard E. Palumbo, Jr. is a member of the Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Federal Bar. Richard is a frequent seminar lecturer and speaker regarding various issues relating to Condominium Law. The Law Offices of Richard Palumbo is highly focused firm concentrating on the following related areas of law: real estate law (including condominium law); business law; and estate planning (wills, trusts and probate).

For more information about our firm and the legal services that our firm provides, kindly visit our website at http://www.richardpalumbo.com or call us at 401.490.0994.

Content About : Condominium Formation and Conversion ? Rhode Island Article

-- Download Condominium Formation and Conversion - Rhode Island as PDF --

Source: http://www.econtentz.com/contents/real-estate/condominiums/condominium-formation-and-conversion-rhode-island/

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Jobs: 2 game design/development/technology faculty positions at University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT)

Dear colleagues,

Please distribute this call widely to anyone interested in a game development faculty position.

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology is looking to grow its game development program with excellent new researchers. UOIT is a young, vibrant university in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada and currently seeking to grow the game development faculty with excellent new members.

Please don?t be puzzled by the standard job ad text; we are explicitly looking for people with research expertise in the following areas:

Game design/game studies. Someone that has a track record of publishing at DiGRA, FDG, Future Play, ICEC, Fun and Games, ICA, etc., knows the GDC crowd and can teach game design with a strong design perspective.
Game technology/game interaction. Someone that has a track record of publishing at CHI, CSCW, UIST, DIS, AAAI, IEEE CIG, IGIC, FDG, etc., and can teach game technology and computer science related subjects.

The official ad text is here:
http://www.uoit.ca/faculty_staff/campus_services/human_resources/employment_opportunities/academic/core_teaching_faculty_external/faculty-of-business-and-information-technology?game-development-and-entrepreneurship?uoit-11-136.php

or short link:
http://goo.gl/DU0TN

Feel free to contact me directly with any questions you might have about this job posting and find out who exactly we are looking for.

Kind regards,

Lennart Nacke, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor for HCI and Game Science
Faculty of Business and Information Technology
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
http://hcigames.businessandit.uoit.ca/

Faculty of Business and Information Technology ? Game Development and Entrepreneurship ? UOIT 11-136
Faculty of Business and Information Technology
Assistant/Associate/Full Professor (tenured or tenured-track) ? Game Development and Entrepreneurship

Competition Number: UOIT 11-136
Appointment Type:? Continuing
Application Review: October 31, 2012

UOIT is a young, vibrant university with globally trained faculty and a growing reputation as a leading-edge learning environment whilst delivering innovative, internationally recognized research. UOIT has a 21st-century vision of teaching and learning excellence. Our educational philosophy is to challenge, encourage innovation, and connect our faculty, students and the community, while respecting the best practice traditions of Canada?s established universities.

The Faculty of Business & Information Technology invites applications for a tenure-track or tenured position in Game Development and Entrepreneurship effective July 1, 2013. Applicants should possess a PhD in a Computer Science/Engineering or relevant field for game research, a strong academic background, a record of excellence in research and strong knowledge in some or all of the following areas with an emphasis on game development: computer graphics, artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, computer-supported collaborative play, sound/audio, game studies, game design, modeling/animation, multi-player online environments, educational, serious, health or exertion games would be an asset.? In addition, relevant gaming-related industrial experience; university level teaching experience; and experience in game research are also an asset. Appointment is expected at the Assistant level, however applicants for a more senior appointment will be considered. This position is subject to budgetary approval.

The successful candidate will be expected to conduct active and innovative research programs and to teach at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. UOIT provides a technology-enhanced learning environment utilizing laptop computers and wireless connectivity, UOIT seeks faculty who strive to explore and develop new pedagogies. Integration in the curriculum of the relevant technology and software for the discipline is required.

The Faculty offers honour undergraduate degrees in Commerce (with major/minor in accounting, finance, human resource management and marketing) and Information Technology (with specializations in game development and entrepreneurship, networking and IT security). We offer the MBA, and the Master of IT Security (MITS) degree, and a unique combination of the MBA/MITS. MSc and PhD programs in Computer Science are offered jointly by the Faculties of Business and IT, Engineering and Science. Information about the Faculty of Business and IT Game Development Program can be found at: http://www.uoit.ca/gamedev

Applications will be accepted until a suitable candidate is found. Applicants should submit in electronic format, a covering letter; a curriculum vitae including a list of publications; a statement of teaching interests; an outline of present and future research agendas; and 3 letters of recommendation.

Applications for the rank of full professor require 4 letters of recommendation.? All application materials and letters of recommendation must be submitted to careers@uoit.ca with competition number UOIT 11-136 and the applicant?s name in the subject line.

UOIT is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from qualified women and men, including members of visible minorities, Aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities.

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Legal illegal immigration | Right Wing News

President Obama recently issued an edict exempting an estimated 800,000 to 1 million illegal aliens from the consequences of federal immigration law. Ostensibly that blanket amnesty applies to those who arrived before the age of 16 and are younger than 30; who are in, or graduated from, high school or have served in the military; and who have not been convicted of a felony or multiple misdemeanors. And while most Americans sympathize with helping those who were brought into the United States as toddlers, raised as de facto Americans and followed the rules, the policy of exempting hundreds of thousands en masse in the long run may create far more problems than it solves.

First was the cynical timing. In 2009 and 2010, Democrats had a supermajority in the Senate and a majority in the House and could easily have enacted such a law over all opposition. So why was the edict handed down in a tough campaign year?

Then there is a problem of constitutionality, an especially serious issue for former constitutional law lecturer Barack Obama, who ran on the premise that he would restore respect for the separation of powers. But as seen in the reversal of the order of the Chrysler creditors, the attempt to shut down a non-union Boeing plant in South Carolina, the decision not to enforce the Defense of Marriage Act, and the recent use of executive privilege not to hand over Fast and Furious documents, this administration sometimes just bypasses a now-difficult Congress to rule by fiat.

The move contradicts Obama?s earlier claim that a de facto amnesty ?would not conform with my appropriate role as president.? He later reiterated that ?some people want me to bypass Congress and change the laws on my own,? but ?that?s not how our system works.?

In theory, the federal government currently treats illegal aliens on a case-by-case basis, as it allots limited resources to determine who most urgently should be deported and who need not be. The president has added some vague qualifiers to his blanket proclamation concerning schooling and criminal activity. But given that in a state like California, Hispanic males are dropping out of high school at a rate of nearly 40 percent, will the new policy result in summary deportations? That is, once we have chosen those who will not be deported, do we then go after thousands who dropped out, went on state assistance or have been convicted of crimes? And how do we authenticate age and length of residency?

Not long ago, the president, in explaining his personal desire for some sort of amnesty, lamented to Hispanic leaders that they needed to ?punish our enemies? at the polls. But is illegal immigration always the single most important issue for Hispanics? Some polls show the Latino community divided almost evenly over open borders. That is understandable, given that the presence of 11 million to 15 million illegal aliens masks the national profile of Latino success. In terms of the rates of assimilation, integration, intermarriage and economic ascendency, Latino Americans who legally immigrated to the United States are mirroring past experiences of successful southern European immigrants.

In Southwestern states, American citizens of Hispanic ancestry share in the increased costs associated with spiraling incarceration rates, plummeting test scores and overtaxed social services, which at least in part reflect the difficult efforts to accommodate those who arrived illegally from the poorest regions of Latin America. A cynic might argue that employers and identity-politics elites jointly welcomed in illegal aliens, the former wanting cheaper labor, the latter wanting more constituents. But driving down wages in hard times and increasing government costs is not always beneficial for small businesses and entry-level American workers ? increasing numbers of them Hispanics.

Finally, is it wise to tie our immigration policy so intimately to race and ethnicity, rather than individual merit and circumstances? Presently we equate massive influxes with Latin America and particularly Mexico. But we forget that Asians now comprise the largest group of new immigrants. Almost all come legally, and many arrive with capital, college educations and specialized skills. Following the president?s election-year example, are we to expect the Asian community, in the fashion of Latino lobbyists, to demand even more visas for kindred groups? Should we now waive the immigration rules for economic refugees from the collapsing European Union?

The president?s decision is politically tainted, constitutionally suspect, cynically timed and poorly thought out. But it did result in one unintended consequence: We are reminded once again that there are millions of foreign nationals dying to reach the United States ? and to stay at any cost after they get here.

(Victor Davis Hanson is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the author of the just-released ?The End of Sparta.? You can reach him by e-mailing author@victorhanson.com.)

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Nixie Tube Chess Set Is as Tough to Read as Kasparov [Video]

Click here to read Nixie Tube Chess Set Is as Tough to Read as Kasparov

If you fancy yourself skilled at the art of hacking—and have an appreciation for retro technology—the creator of this impressive Nixie Tube chess set soon plans to sell a DIY kit that's apparently not for the faint of heart. More »

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Thursday, June 28, 2012

As White House race heats up, so do GOP probes

FILE - In this June 12, 2012, file photo, Attorney General Eric Holder appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Maybe there's a smoking gun in the Republican-led investigations of the Obama administration, and President Barack Obama's pushback. But a large part of it could be what always goes on during a presidential campaign: political gamesmanship. It ranges from GOP contempt of Congress threats against Holder over documents linked to a failed gun-trafficking operation to Obama's waving a to-do list in the face of lawmakers. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Contempt of Congress? Subpoenas? Stonewalling?

Maybe there's a smoking gun in the Republican-led investigations of the Obama administration ? and President Barack Obama's pushback. But a large part of them could be what always goes on during a presidential campaign: political gamesmanship.

It ranges from House GOP contempt threats against Attorney General Eric Holder to Obama's waving a to-do list in the face of lawmakers.

Within two weeks, Obama fired a new pair of volleys across the bow of the congressional GOP leadership.

The first was his decree ? bypassing Congress ? that the U.S. will not, in most cases, deport illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. The other was his assertion of executive privilege to shield certain internal Justice Department documents from a House subpoena.

Both actions drew expressions of GOP outrage in Washington and on the campaign trail.

The documents involved a botched U.S. gun-trafficking operation that was designed to track firearms headed into Mexico but which led to the disappearance of thousands of weapons, two of which were found at the scene of the 2010 shooting death of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry. The government has not ruled out the possibility that they were used in Terry's shooting.

House Speaker John Boehner said Terry's family deserved answers about the guns that killed him and went so far as to suggest a White House cover-up. Others specifically likened the actions of Obama and Holder to the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon in 1974.

That may seem like a bit of a stretch, but in an election year outsized charges and countercharges tend to swirl.

Executive privilege has been claimed by presidents going back to George Washington to hide the inner workings of their administrations from congressional eyes.

As a senator, Obama sharply criticized President George W. Bush's invocation of executive privilege ? a blast from the past Republicans were quick to exploit.

Republican challenger Mitt Romney's team leaped into the fray. "President Obama's pledge to run the most open and transparent administration in history has turned out to be just another broken promise," Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said.

Holder insisted he and his aides have spent countless hours cooperating with Congress and already have provided nearly 8,000 documents on the ill-fated operation.

Escalating tensions on Capitol Hill are likely to intensify as the Supreme Court rules later this week on Obama's health care law and lawmakers face June 30 deadlines on a crucial transportation reauthorization bill and a scheduled rise in student loan interest rates.

The pattern of investigations by Republican-led House panels recalls the many congressional probes during President Bill Clinton's administration.

They ranged from the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal, which led to an impeachment vote by the House, to probes of the suicide of White House aide Vince Foster, the Clinton's Whitewater property dealings in Arkansas, Hillary Rodham Clinton's investment gains, the workings of her health care task force and the mass firing of the White House travel office.

"There were 80 different investigations roughly between 1995 and 2001, and that doesn't include the later investigations of Clinton's 11th-hour pardons and gifts," said Paul Light, professor of public service at New York University. He noted that some of the same committees that relentlessly investigated Clinton are now pursuing Obama.

Light called the gun-trafficking probe and the contempt of Congress threat against Holder "a highly partisan effort to create a big issue for the 2012 election to undermine Obama's credibility through this particularly flawed operation." But he also suggested that Obama's use of executive privilege "makes him look like he might be hiding something."

In any event, Light said such politically charged probes can "tarnish both the president and Congress."

It isn't only Republicans who investigate. When Bush sat in the Oval Office, congressional Democrats launched high-profile probes of the secret deliberations of Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force and the Justice Department's 2006 midterm firing of nine U.S. attorneys.

The myriad investigations of the Clintons, however, transpired against a far different backdrop than now.

"In Clinton's time, the economy was relatively good and getting better. In Obama's time, it's relatively bad and getting worse," said Doug Schoen, who served as Clinton's pollster and who has criticized Obama's economic performance.

"The picture of intransigence coming out of Washington is not helpful to the president," Schoen said. And, borrowing a Watergate-era term, he added: "Stonewalling can't help Obama. I'm not sure it will hurt him, but it certainly can't help him."

The strictly party-line contempt recommendation came last week from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, even though its chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., later acknowledged that Congress has no evidence of a White House cover-up such as alleged by Boehner and several other GOP lawmakers.

Boehner said Wednesday the House will move forward with the contempt of Congress vote against Holder on Thursday, after last-minute talks with the White House failed to resolve the impasse.

White House press secretary Jay Carney, quoting Issa, on Monday told reporters, "The chairman said over the weekend that there was no evidence ? let me repeat ? no evidence of White House involvement in any cover-up or attempt to cover up this issue."

Holding an attorney general in contempt of Congress would be unprecedented. It also would probably be unenforceable since it is the Justice Department itself ? headed by the attorney general ? that must act on such recommendations.

"It's clear that this is nothing more than a political witch hunt to distract from the fact that Republicans in Congress have no interest in focusing on what we need to focus on, which is jobs and the economy," said Democratic Party chief Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida.

The gun-trafficking probe joins ongoing ones into the California solar-panel company Solyndra, which received a $528 million federal loan from the Obama administration before filing for bankruptcy protection and laying off 1,100 workers.

___

Follow Tom Raum on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tomraum

Associated Press

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Gunmen storm Pro-Assad Syrian TV channel

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Gunmen broke through the gates of a pro-government Syrian TV channel headquarters on Wednesday, bombing buildings and shooting dead three employees, state media said, in one of the boldest attacks yet on a symbol of the authoritarian state.

President Bashar al-Assad declared late on Tuesday that his country was at war and the attack on Ikhbariya's offices - located 20 km (15 miles) south of the capital - as well as overnight fighting on the outskirts of Damascus show that 16 months of violence is now rapidly encroaching on the capital.

Footage aired on Ikhbariya, which resumed broadcasting shortly after the attack, showed bullet holes pockmarked a two-storey concrete building and pools of blood on the floor. One building made of corrugated iron had been almost completely destroyed and flames licked at the metal frame.

"I heard a small explosion then a huge explosion and gunmen ran in. They ransacked the offices and entirely destroyed the newsroom," an employee who works at the offices in the town of Drousha told state media at the scene.

The Syrian press is tightly regulated by the Ministry of Information. Although Ikhbariya is privately owned, opponents of Assad say it is a government mouthpiece.

During the pro-democracy revolt against the Assad family's four-decade rule, Ikhbariya has been pushing to counter what it says is a campaign of misinformation by Western and Arab satellite channels on the uprising, which it describes as a foreign-backed terrorist conspiracy.

SYRIA AT WAR

"We live in a real state of war from all angles," Assad told a cabinet he appointed on Tuesday in a speech broadcast on state television. "When we are in a war, all policies and all sides and all sectors need to be directed at winning this war."

The declaration that marks a change of rhetoric from Assad, who had long dismissed the uprising against him as the work of scattered militants funded from abroad.

The rambling speech - Assad also commented on subjects as far afield as the benefits of renewable energy - left little room for compromise. He denounced the West, which "takes and never gives, and this has been proven at every stage".

The United Nations accuses Syrian forces of killing more than 10,000 people during the conflict, which began with a popular uprising and has built up into an armed insurgency against four decades of rule by Assad and his father.

Video published by activists on Tuesday recorded heavy gunfire and explosions in suburbs of Damascus. A trail of fresh blood on a sidewalk in the suburb of Qudsiya led into a building where one casualty was taken. A naked man writhed in pain, his body pierced by shrapnel.

Syria's state news agency SANA said "armed terrorist groups" had blocked the old road from Damascus to Beirut on Tuesday.

The U.N. peacekeeping chief said it was too dangerous for a U.N. observer team, which suspended operations this month, to resume monitoring a ceasefire. The truce, part of a peace plan backed by international envoy Kofi Annan, has long since been abandoned in all but name.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group which compiles reports from rebels, said 135 people were killed across Syria on Tuesday, making it one of the bloodiest days of the conflict. Its toll included 87 civilians it said had been killed, including 28 in Qudsiya.

It described heavy fighting near the headquarters of the Republican Guard in Qudsiya, and in other Damascus suburbs of al-Hama and Mashrou' Dumar, just 9 km from the capital.

SANA said dozens of rebels were killed or wounded and others arrested in fighting on the old Beirut road. Government forces seized rocket launchers, sniper rifles, machineguns and a huge amount of ammunition, it said.

Accounts from the rebels and the government cannot be verified because access for journalists is restricted.

TURKISH FURY

In neighboring Turkey, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan ordered his armed forces to react to any threat from Syria near the border after Syrian forces shot down a Turkish warplane on Friday off the Mediterranean coast.

"Our rational response should not be perceived as weakness, our mild manners do not mean we are a tame lamb," he told a meeting of his parliamentary party. "Everybody should know that Turkey's wrath is just as strong and devastating as its friendship is valuable."

NATO member states, summoned by Turkey to an urgent meeting in Brussels, condemned Syria over the incident in which two airmen were killed. The Western alliance called the incident "unacceptable" but stopped short of threatening retaliation.

NATO's cautious wording demonstrated the fear of Western powers as well as Turkey that armed intervention in Syria could stir sectarian war across the region. So far there has been no sign of an appetite for intervention like that carried out last year by NATO against Libya's Muammar Gaddafi.

A Turkish official said Ankara's ambassador had not asked the NATO envoys for action "at this stage". Erdogan's speech was seen in Turkey as less belligerent than it might have been.

"Those who want war may be disappointed by the prime minister's speech," Turkish journalist Mehmet Ali Birand wrote. "But a big part of society breathed a sigh of relief."

Nevertheless, Turkish officials say they are ready for scenarios that include a possible need to protect civilians near the border. A Turkish official who asked not to be identified said: "For Turkey there are two bad scenarios: one, a mass influx of refugees and two, large-scale massacres in Syria."

"Ankara has not taken a decision for military intervention or a humanitarian corridor at the moment. But if these are needed, everybody would prefer that they will be done with international legitimacy. However, if things go really badly we have to be ready for any kind of eventuality," he added.

REAR BASE

Erdogan said the armed forces' rules of engagement had been changed as a result of the attack, which Turkey says took place without warning in international air space.

"Every military element approaching Turkey from the Syrian border and representing a security risk and danger will be assessed as a military threat and will be treated as a military target," he said.

Russia, which has acted as Assad's main defender in the U.N. Security Council, called for restraint and said shooting down the aircraft should not be "viewed as a provocation or a premeditated action."

Syria says it had no choice but to destroy the plane as it entered Syrian air space flying low and at high speed. It found out it was Turkish only after the engagement. Turkey insists its aircraft entered Syrian air space only briefly by mistake.

Turkey is the base for the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) and shelters more than 30,000 refugees - a number Erdogan worries could rise sharply as fighting spreads. Rebel soldiers move regularly across the border and defectors muster inside Turkey.

Moscow has close relations with Damascus and has a naval base at Syria's port city of Tartus close to the spot where the jet was downed. Some defense experts said the Turkish plane could have been testing Russian-supplied Syrian air defenses.

Moscow-based defense think-tank CAST said Russia was expected to deliver nearly half a billion dollars worth of air defense systems, repaired helicopters and fighter jets to Syria this year despite international pressure to halt the arms sales.

Russia said it was crucial Iran should also attend a meeting on Syria of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and regional players organized by Annan in Geneva this weekend.

Western countries oppose Iran, Syria's closest regional ally, taking part in the meeting and some diplomats have said it was not entirely clear whether the meeting would take place.

(Additional reporting by Jon Hemming, Jonathon Burch and Tulay Karadeniz in Ankara, Ayla Jean Yackley and Daren Butler in Istanbul, Mirna Sleiman in Beirut, Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman, Justyna Pawlak in Brussels, David Brunnstrom in Washington and Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Screenwriter Nora Ephron Is 'Gravely Ill'

'When Harry Met Sally ... ' and 'Sleepless In Seattle' writer is not expected to survive the night, TMZ reports.
By Josh Wigler

Nora Ephron
Photo:

Nora Ephron, the writer of iconic romantic comedies "When Harry Met Sally ... " and "Sleepless in Seattle" among other hit films, is reportedly "gravely ill" and "not expected to make it through the night."

TMZ reports that family members are currently telling close friends of the writer/director "there is little hope that [Ephron] will recover from her current condition." The nature of her illness is not currently known, though it's been reported that Ephron is suffering from leukemia.

Word of Ephron's condition first hit the Internet on Tuesday (June 26) by way of an article published by journalist Liz Smith, a close friend of the legendary Hollywood screenwriter. In the column, Smith writes about Ephron as though she has already passed away, praising her friend's "grave" and "unexpected" humor.

"She never gave the answer I expected to anything. She was grave in her humor, which made it deadly, unexpected, truly funny and dauntingly intelligent," wrote Smith. "She seemed never to want or expect anything, while always demanding the best from the rest of us. She was — always — right and somehow left the smartest, most ambitious and silliest of us in the dust at her feet."

Shortly after publication of Smith's column, Ephron's former close friend Margo Howard wrote on Twitter: "A very accomplished writer died. Nora Ephron, from cancer."

Ephron's publisher Knopf later told The New York Times that Ephron is "still alive," according to a tweet from Times writer Julie Bosman. Knopf rep Elizabeth Lindsay said as much in a statement to the Atlantic Wire: "It's pretty critical. She's not doing well, but she's certainly alive ... The report she has passed away is not correct."

Stay tuned to MTV News for further updates on Ephron's condition.

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Nora Ephron: Dead At 71

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Famed Crystal Cathedral to become Catholic church

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (AP) ? Retired schoolteacher Dolores Rommel has followed the Rev. Robert H. Schuller almost her entire adult life: She was baptized in his church as a young woman, sent her children to his Sunday school and laid her husband to rest near the soaring, glass-paned Crystal Cathedral that was to be the televangelist's ultimate legacy.

But when the Roman Catholic church bought the famous sanctuary and its cemetery in bankruptcy court last year, Rommel began looking for another spiritual home. She has resigned herself to being entombed in a Catholic cemetery so she can be near her husband, but not without plenty of soul-searching.

"I have no choice. I am going to be buried there because that was his choice and we paid a lot for that vault," said Rommel, who bought a two-casket tomb with her husband in 1997. "At the time, who would know that this was going to happen?"

The Crystal Cathedral congregation recently announced that it will vacate its modernist steel-and-glass church by June 2013. The Diocese of Orange renamed the church Christ Cathedral earlier this month and plans to turn the Protestant landmark where the "Hour of Power" TV ministry is based into its spiritual and administrative headquarters. The fast-growing, 1.2 million-person diocese bought the church campus for nearly $58 million last year.

The upcoming transition has been an emotional one for many longtime congregants like Rommel, who watched Schuller's blockbuster dynasty struggle to survive in recent years amid declining donations, a disastrous leadership transition and an endless family squabble that split the congregation.

Schuller built the church ? an architectural marvel with 10,000 windows and room for nearly 3,000 worshippers and 1,000 musicians ? in 1980, a decade after he began broadcasting his sermons on the "power of possibility thinking" into the homes of millions of evangelical Christians each Sunday.

Reaction to the church's sale was at first bitter: The children of one prominent philanthropist publicly threatened to disinter their father from its cemetery and another congregant sued for $30 billion, saying the transfer to Catholic hands had "permanently desecrated, defamed, polluted and cursed" the church.

Tempers have since cooled, but the recently announced timeline for the transfer to Catholic hands has revived questions about the fate of Schuller's ministry once it leaves behind the iconic building that gave it its name. The diocese will grant the congregation six months rent-free at a nearby Catholic church and it plans to continue filming the "Hour of Power."

"We could film in a studio," said John Charles, the new CEO of Crystal Cathedral Ministries. "We're still going to have the same great preaching, the same great music and pulpit guests. The ministry is not about the building ? it's more about our congregation and who we are."

Some, however, wonder whether the ministry will fizzle out ? or shrink dramatically ? without the building that gave it its name. Broadcasts of the "Hour of Power" were recently cut back to 30 minutes on Lifetime and Discovery channels and Schuller, now 85, no longer appears on the program and hasn't attended church since last fall.

His son and daughter, who each failed to assume their father's mantle, are no longer involved in the ministry. Sheila Schuller Coleman formed a new church after a falling out last year.

The congregation, which now numbers up to 1,700 people each Sunday, will also change its name once it moves.

"It really needs to go back to square one and say, 'Who are we going to be? We can't be what we were 10 to 15 years ago,'" said Kurt Fredrickson, an associate dean and assistant professor of pastoral ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. "There could be resurrection there or it could be that we say goodbye to a congregation and bless them and be grateful and thank God for years and years and years of really wonderful ministry."

Schuller tapped into California's blossoming car culture and the optimism of a post-World War II generation when he began preaching in 1955 from the roof of a snack bar at a drive-in movie theater in suburban Orange County. He exhorted worshippers to "come as you are in the family car" and his upbeat message resonated.

By 1970, Schuller was airing the "Hour of Power" and in 1980, he dedicated the Crystal Cathedral, an architectural marvel that served as the backdrop for the show. At its peak, the broadcast attracted 20 million viewers around the world.

The Rev. Christopher Smith, the Catholic episcopal vicar and rector of the newly minted Christ Cathedral, recalls as a child watching from his grandparents' backyard as the young, energetic evangelist preached from the roof of the drive-in theater's concession stand. Now, Smith is in charge of a delicate transition as the diocese prepares to move into a religious and architectural touchstone cherished by evangelicals around the world.

The diocese hopes to honor Schuller and the history of his ministry with a museum that begins with the drive-in movie theater and ends with the Catholic acquisition. The diocese may also move its archives, which are currently not publicly available, to the cathedral grounds, said Smith.

"I just hope that we attend well to all the different people who are affected by this and also that this place be seen as a place where everyone is welcome to find hope and consolation and inspiration, whether they're Catholic or not," Smith said.

"That's the bishop's desire ? that we are a real credible witness to Christ in the world through our work here."

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PFT: Brees 'very confident' deal will get done

As Commissioner Roger Goodell continues to deliberate the final rulings in the bounty suspension appeals, the league over which he presides continues to declare the players? guilt.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Tuesday, via the Associated Press, that the evidence is ?overwhelming.?

?The investigation was thorough and includes statements from multiple sources with firsthand knowledge about the details of the program, corroborating documentation and other evidence,? Aiello said.? ?The enforcement of the bounty rule is important to protect players that are put at risk by this kind of scheme.?

Aiello?s comments come on the same day that Saints quarterback Drew Brees is questioning via an all-day media blitz the quality of the league?s case, and four days after NFL general counsel Jeff Pash touted the ?mosaic? of evidence that was presented during the June 18 appeal hearings.

?Certainly, Drew Brees would not want to be the target in a bounty scheme and that is why we must eliminate bounties from football,? Aiello said.

Given the league?s views, the appeals should have been denied by now.? As Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma said Monday, ?What?s this guy waiting on?? Make your ruling so we can get on with phase 2 already.?

Also, the dueling soundbites from the league and Brees further illustrate that, ultimately, the bounty case has become an exercise in semantics.? No players were paid to injure other players.? Instead, the Saints created a system for financially rewarding players who in the normal course of delivering big, clean, legal hits rendered an opponent unable to play in all or part of the remainder of the game.? Though that?s one of the realities of a game in which success is premised partially on attrition, the league believes that creating that kind of incentive could lead to deliberate attempts to injure, whether through legal hits or through illegal hits.

The players believe the NFL has tried to suggest that the Saints were doing something far more sinister than the jobs they?re already paid to do (i.e., hit the other guy as hard as you can, cleanly and legally).? The NFL believes that, regardless of the language used to describe it, the concept of offering players money for rendering opponents unable to continue to play is inherently sinister, and thus unacceptable.

Regardless of how it all plays out, Aiello?s comments make clear that there?s no reason to further delay the rulings on the appeals.? Phase One clearly is over; it?s time to get on with Phase Two.

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Octomom Bikini Photos: Hot or Not?!

As the Nadya Suleman whirlwind media tour continues today with a bunch of photos of her in a pink bikini on a Miami beach, two things are apparent:

Frankie Grageda is one lucky (or unlucky, depending on your taste) man
The pics may be even more desperate than the Octomom porn trailer

Yeah. It's hard to look sexy when you're only doing this to support the 14 kids you had without even having sex and can't provide for, but she tries.

Yeah. Kate Upton bikini photos, these are not. To say the least.

Try as she might to show off her toned physique and make us forget what a destitute, attention-seeking, clueless, taxpayer-gouging human she is, it's not cutting it.

Or is it? You tell us! Click to enlarge more hot (or not) Octomom bikini pictures below and share your commentary on them in the comment section:

Octomom: Would you hit it?

[Photos: Pacific Coast News]

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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

'Wild Things' author spoke of desire to kill Bush

By Kurt Schlosser

In one of his final interviews, celebrated children's book author Maurice Sendak said he fantasized about killing former President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

The "Where the Wild Things Are" author and illustrator, who died on May 8 at age 83, spoke with Gary Groth for an interview in The Comics Journal. A preview of the interview was published last month.

The famously cranky Sendak?spoke at length about his comics career,?his life and times, and blowing up the president.

"Bush was president, I thought, 'Be brave. Tie a bomb to your shirt. Insist on going to the White House,'" Sendak told Groth. "And I wanna have a big hug with the vice president, definitely. And his wife, and the president, and his wife, and anybody else that can fit into the love hug.

"And then we?ll blow ourselves up, and I?d be a hero," Sendak said. "To hell with the kiddie books. He killed Bush. He killed the vice president. Oh my God. ... It would have been a very brave and wonderful thing. But I didn?t do it; I didn?t do it."

Eric Reynolds, associate publisher at Fantagraphics Books, where Groth is founder and president, said Tuesday that they've seen quite a bit of outrage on Twitter and a few?conservative blogs. "I saw a tweet just a few minutes ago that said, 'I wish I'd read and collected Sendak's books as a kid so I could burn them now.'"

Sendak certainly never shied from expressing his outrage at numerous things. In an interview with The Guardian last fall, he railed against everything from e-books to the American political right to Gwyneth Paltrow.

"Anyone who has watched Sendak's infamous interview on the 'Colbert Report' (or read his books, for that matter), should recognize that not only was he cranky, he had a razor-sharp wit and a very dark sense of humor," Reynolds said. "He was 83 years old when he gave this interview [to Groth]. He was at the point in his life where he clearly didn't give a damn about propriety; he could speak his mind and clearly enjoyed provocation. I see these comments as part and parcel of his personality, not as a legitimate, actionable, treasonous threat."

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Mars rover Curiosity on track for early August landing

ScienceDaily (June 26, 2012) ? A maneuver on Tuesday (June 26, 2012) adjusted the flight path of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft for delivering the rover Curiosity to a landing target beside a Martian mountain.

The car-size, one-ton rover is bound for arrival the evening of Aug. 5, 2012, PDT (early Aug. 6, EDT and Universal Time). The landing will mark the beginning of a two-year prime mission to investigate whether one of the most intriguing places on Mars ever offered an environment favorable for microbial life.

The latest trajectory correction maneuver, the third and smallest since the Nov. 26, 2011, launch, used four thruster firings totaling just 40 seconds. Spacecraft data and Doppler-effect changes in radio signal from the craft indicate the maneuver succeeded. As designed by engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., the maneuver adjusts the location where the spacecraft will enter Mars' atmosphere by about 125 miles (200 kilometers) and advances the time of entry by about 70 seconds.

"This puts us closer to our entry target, so if any further maneuvers are needed, I expect them to be small," said JPL's Tomas Martin-Mur, the mission's navigation team chief. Opportunities for up to three additional trajectory correction maneuvers are scheduled during the final eight days of the flight.

The maneuver served both to correct errors in the flight path that remained after earlier correction maneuvers and to carry out a decision this month to shift the landing target about 4 miles (7 kilometers) closer to the mountain.

It altered the spacecraft's velocity by about one-tenth of a mile per hour (50 millimeters per second). The flight's first and second trajectory correction maneuvers produced velocity changes about 150 times larger on Jan. 11 and about 20 times larger on March 26.

Shifting the landing target closer to the mountain, informally named Mount Sharp, may shave months off the time needed for driving from the touchdown location to selected destinations at exposures of water-related minerals on the slope of the mountain.

The flight to Mars has entered its "approach phase" leading to landing day. Mission Manager Arthur Amador of JPL said, "In the next 40 days, the flight team will be laser-focused on the preparations for the challenging events of landing day -- continuously tracking the spacecraft's trajectory and monitoring the health and performance of its onboard systems, while using NASA's Deep Space Network to stay in continuous communications. We're in the home stretch now. The spacecraft continues to perform very well. And the flight team is up for the challenge."

Descent from the top of Mars' atmosphere to the surface will employ bold techniques enabling use of a smaller target area and heavier landed payload than were possible for any previous Mars mission. These innovations, if successful, will place a well-equipped mobile laboratory into a locale especially well suited for its mission of discovery. The same innovations advance NASA toward capabilities needed for human missions to Mars.

A video about the challenges of the landing is online at: http://go.nasa.gov/Q4b35n or http://go.usa.gov/vMn.

As of June 27, the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft carrying the rover Curiosity will have traveled about 307 million miles (494 million kilometers) of its 352-million-mile (567-million-kilometer) flight to Mars.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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

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