Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Santorum cancels trip to Fla. while daughter ill

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum exits the airport, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, after speaking with members of the news media upon arriving at the Chester County Airport in Downingtown, Pa. (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum exits the airport, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, after speaking with members of the news media upon arriving at the Chester County Airport in Downingtown, Pa. (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks to members of the news media, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, after arriving at the Chester County Airport in Downingtown, Pa. (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)

(AP) ? Republican Rick Santorum is staying home in Philadelphia to be with this hospitalized daughter and is canceling campaign stops in Florida.

Santorum's campaign says the former senator will stay in Pennsylvania with 3-year-old Bella, who has a genetic condition known as Trisomy 18. The condition typically proves fatal and Santorum often says his daughter wasn't expected to live past 12 months.

Spokesman Hogan Gidley says Santorum hopes to return to a campaign schedule soon.

Santorum canceled his appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" and a stop at a Miami church.

Santorum is sending his 20-year-old daughter Elizabeth to Sarasota and Punta Gorda for campaign appearances on later Sunday.

Florida's presidential primary is on Tuesday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-29-Santorum-Daughter/id-184752ec505142b5a9ee4389eac5393e

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Yosemite plan means fewer hikers on Half Dome (AP)

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. ? There was a time not long ago when a climb to the top of Yosemite National Park's Half Dome was a solitary trek attempted by only the most daring adventurers.

Over the past decade, however, the route has been inundated with up to 1,200 nature lovers a day seeking to experience the iconic mountain that is stamped on the California quarter, stitched on a line of outdoor clothing and painted on the side of the park's vehicles.

Now officials want to permanently limit access to the granite monolith, frustrating both hikers who journey there for a transcendent experience and advocates who say the plan doesn't go far enough to protect a place in a federally designated wilderness area.

"At the end of the day, if the visitors and users of wilderness aren't willing to make sacrifices to preserve the wilderness character of these areas, then we just won't have wilderness. We'll have some Disney-fied version of it," said George Nickas, executive director of Wilderness Watch.

"If people want solitude in Yosemite, there's another 12,000 square miles to do that," counters hiker Pat Townsley, a Bay Area resident who has been to the top nine times.

This past week the park released its environmental assessment of options for the future of the Half Dome trail, which studies show is the busiest by far of any in the National Park's designated wilderness areas. The aim is to improve safety on the Dome and make the trail to get there less crowded.

Options range from doing nothing to removing the cables that hikers use to pull themselves up the 45-degree final climb, rendering it inaccessible to all but experienced climbers.

Nickas calls them "handrails in the wilderness," and says his agency might sue to have them removed if park officials don't choose that option.

"There is often an attempt by agencies to make wilderness all things to all people, and they can't do that and still be wilderness," he said.

The park's recommendation is something in between a complete ban and the free-flowing days of the past when hikers packed together on the cables like cars in rush hour traffic. It would allow 300 people a day past a check point two miles distant beginning in 2013.

"There's some subjectivity to this decision," said park spokesman Scott Gediman. "But we considered how wilderness is managed and personal interviews with people about their experience on the trail. Finding balance is something we have to do."

In 1874 the slick dome that rises 5,000 feet above the valley floor was described as "perfectly inaccessible." But in 1919 the Sierra Club installed the first cables along the 400-foot final ascent so that visitors without rock climbing experience could hoist themselves to the summit _the size of 17 football fields_ to drink in stunning views of Little Yosemite Valley, El Capitan, endless Sierra and the Valley floor.

"Once you get up there it's like `holy cow.' It's just one of those moments in your life when you go `wow' and you question your existence and space and time and everything else," said hiker Townsley, who thinks everyone should be allowed the experience.

There is no doubt that if the decision were made today, there would be no braided steel cables and stanchions drilled into Half Dome. Congress passed the Wilderness Act in 1964, and 20 years later designated 95 percent of Yosemite, including Half Dome and the well-worn eight-mile trail leading to it, as land that should not be altered by the hand of man.

Over the decades the number of visitors to the park has steadily climbed, topping 4 million last year_ in part because the park is an easy drive from Los Angeles and the Bay Area. And the idea of scaling Half Dome in a day as measure of personal fortitude also began to grow.

At least five people have died on the cables since 2006, nearly all with rain as a factor, officials say. Rangers want visitors to be able to descend the slick granite in 45 minutes if they have to escape the fast-forming storms that make footing precarious, and limiting numbers is the only way to do that, they say.

Last year park officials instituted a temporary 400-permit lottery for daily access, which is roughly from Memorial Day until the first snow in October.

"I think they're doing a fine job, but I think they've got a hairball that they're dealing with trying to come up with something that works," said Rick Deutsch, who wrote the book "One Best Hike: Yosemite's Half Dome." He says 400 permits is a more workable number that accounts for no-shows.

The increase in visitors is a challenge to park officials who must balance access with the system's mandate to protect resources for future generations. The park already has been struggling over whether to limit the number of cars allowed in the gates to protect the Merced River that cuts through the heart of Yosemite Valley and is federally protected as Wild and Scenic.

The chance for the public to weigh in on all of the options in the Half Dome Trail Stewardship Plan ends March 15.

"Climbing Half Dome is iconic and we understand that," spokesman Gediman said. "But at the same time we're having to preserve and protect the park for future generations and provide for a positive visitor experience, because the National Parks belong to the American people."

-------

Follow Tracie Cone on Twitter: (at)TConeAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_us/us_yosemite_half_dome_crowds

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Is an American Moon Base Really a Lunatic Idea? (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich came under fire -- mostly for economic reasons -- when he proposed at the CNN Republican Presidential Debate in Jacksonville that he would like to have a permanent moon base on Earth's lone satellite by the end of his second term as president. But even if his ideas have some logistical hurdles to cross, there is ample reason to believe that an American moon base could be operational in a decade or two. Besides, the space race never really went into hiatus; the major players merely took a slower track, giving others a chance to enter the race.

A Moon Base By 2020?

There are several reasons to develop a moon base: military and strategic, scientific, economic, or simply territorial. But Gingrich's moon base ideation may have been spurred by the growing interest of other nations in reaching the moon. With a sort of Kennedy-esque vision of national direction, Gingrich revived the dream of not only reaching the moon, but obtaining a bit of it for the American people. A 2020 date might be somewhat optimistic, but he said he'd like to set up shop before China, which has plans to put a man on the moon by 2024.

The Obama administration has decided to forego the moon, concentrating on research and development, cooperating in international space endeavors, planning a future mission to an asteroid, and getting to Mars by 2035. But no moon mission. In fact, President Obama told his audience, which included moonwalking astronaut Buzz Aldrin, when he laid out his Space Policy at the John F. Kennedy Space Flight Center in Florida in April 2010, "We've been there before. Buzz has been there."

A Renewed Space Race?

The United States is the only country to have ever placed moonwalkers on the lunar surface. Twelve, in fact. However, with the development of several space agencies around the planet, that could soon change to simply being the first.

As mentioned, China has designs on getting to the moon. A Hong Kong newspaper reported in 2006 (recounted by Reuters) that a top Chinese space program official stated that China planned its first moonwalk for 2024. A moon base, territory grab, and mineral extractions will then begin, according to Robert Bigelow, founder of the private space company Bigelow Aerospace, who told Discovery Newsthat the moon is the obvious next step in human exploration and development. And although there exists an international space treaty, the Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, that prohibits any one nation or organization from owning through claim, use, or other means any part or all of the moon, that will have little bearing on the situation at hand once a nation establishes an outpost of some kind on the lunar surface. History is littered with broken treaties.

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) also revealed in 2006 in an AFP report its long-range plans for putting a man on the moon by 2030. Spokesman Satoki Kurokawa stated that Japan hoped to get a man on the moon by 2020.

India, which has sent unmanned orbiters to the moon, has also expressed an interest in a moon base.

What About Russia?

Gingrich's moon base could also see realization in renewed efforts by the Russians to reach the moon. A Cold War competitor as part of the Soviet Union, the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos announced Jan. 19 (per BDK) that they had enjoined talks with European and American space partners about a possible base or manned orbiter.

So was Gingrich's idea a lunatic's dream? Hardly. And with all the attention his moon base comments have received, they could very well spark renewed interest in America's manned space program, which ended with the touchdown of the shuttle Atlantis in July.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120128/pl_ac/10897499_is_an_american_moon_base_really_a_lunatic_idea

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Should Undercover Video Be Banned at Livestock Farms? (Time.com)

Humane Society of the United States

For decades, animal activists have gone undercover to take jobs inside large-scale livestock farms in order to document conditions for farm animals that they say are routinely inhumane. Their hidden camera footage has resulted in criminal charges against owners and workers, plant shutdowns, and after one at a California slaughterhouse in 2008, the largest meat recall in U.S. history.

But these images could soon be made illegal. Legislation pending in five states ? Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and New York ? would criminalize the actions of activists who covertly film farms. Proponents of the various pieces legislation say that their proposed laws would lead to beneficial consequences, including the protection of such farms from potential terrorist infiltration (preserving the integrity of the food supply) and espionage; the prevention of images that mislead consumers; as well as regulating the job application process to circumvent potential employees from lying in order to be hired. See the legal assault on animal-abuse whistleblowers.

These so-called "ag-gag" bills have ignited a national debate about undercover videos and have raised concerns about free speech and journalists' and whistleblowers' ability to report on the farming industry.

TIME traveled to Iowa, the nation's leading producer of eggs and pork and the first state to propose a ban on undercover videos, with one former investigator for a rare glimpse at how these videos are made and why they are so controversial.

LIST: Top 10 Pictures of the Year of 2011

SPECIAL: TIME's 2011 Person of the Year: The Protester

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/time_rss/rss_time_us/httpwwwtimecomtimenationarticle08599210506300htmlxidrssnationyahoo/44301677/SIG=12ll7gmsg/*http%3A//www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2105063,00.html?xid=rss-nation-yahoo

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

SAG Awards menu is months in the making (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? When your dinner party guests include Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Kate Winslet and Glenn Close, and the whole affair is televised live, it can take months to plan the menu. That's why the team behind the Screen Actors Guild Awards began putting together the plate for Sunday's ceremony months ago.

It was still summer when show producer Kathy Connell and director Jeff Margolis first sat down with chef Suzanne Goins of Los Angeles eatery Lucques with a tall order: Create a meal that is delicious at room temperature, looks beautiful on TV, is easy to eat and appeals to Hollywood tastes. Oh, and no poppyseeds, soups, spicy dishes, or piles of onions or garlic.

"It can't drip, stick in their teeth or be too heavy," Connell said. "We have to appease all palates."

The chef put together a plate of possibilities: Slow-roasted salmon with yellow beets, lamb with cous cous and spiced cauliflower and roasted root vegetables with quinoa. There was also a chopped chicken salad and another chicken dish with black beans.

To ensure the dishes are both tasty and TV-ready, Connell and Margolis, along with the show's florist and art director, dined together at this summertime lunch on tables set to replicate those that will be in the Shrine Exposition Center during the ceremony. The pewter, crushed-silk tablecloths and white lilies you'll see on TV Sunday were also chosen months ago.

The diners discussed the look of the plate, the size of the portions and the vegetarian possibilities.

"We'd like the portions a little larger," Connell told the chef.

"And a little more sauce on the salmon," Margolis added.

Come Sunday, it's up to Goins to prepare 1,200 of the long-planned meals for the A-list audience.

___

Online:

www.sagawards.org

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_en_tv/us_sag_awards_menu

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Automotive and Diagnostic Tools Funding

Automotive tools are exceptionally specialized in nature. A number of a time a particular automotive resource serves only a single intent. Hence it?s critical to possess a set of automotive tools to prevent any interruptions while in the business. Then again the automotive resource set is extremely overpriced. From time to time, the price of this resource is more compared to the value of vehicle that requires repair. At times the price of resource set could very well be a lot more compared to the vehicle needs to be fixed. Therefore automotive resource financing is becoming critical presently.

There can be some reputable financing organisations have an know-how in financing automotive tools. You could search for their benefit by submitting an online software provided by them. They ensure very quickly approval of this quantity required to accumulate automotive resource set.

Automotive tools financing is normally offered beneath many methods. Automotive Air compressor is a single between them which assists in acquiring the tools which prices 1000s of dollars. There can be many different types of compressors like compact air compressor, piston compressor, single stage compressor, two stage compressor and so on. Caused by automotive resource financing it?s potential for almost all organisations to accumulate any of this aforementioned different types of air compressors.

Automotive hand resource financing is required to keep prepared a well-equipped set of hand tools like wrenches, screwdrivers, clamps, sockets, installer or remover equipments and many others. These tools are indispensable for operating an automotive repairing business. Getting any one of them is inexpensive to all. But keeping a set of this sort of tools is absolutely overpriced and for that reason the need for automotive hand resource financing is important.

Welder financing is still an additional class of automotive resource financing. A high quality welder is essential for your automotive business. There can be some precise welders like arc welder, stick welder, TIG welder, and MIG welder and so on. They are really critical to use heat in the presented location. The refined nature of this welders raises their price tags and that?s why automotive repair business customers go for automotive resource financing to accumulate them.

Automotive waste and recycling tools are required by a number of organisations for disposing the hazardous wastes in the safer way. In truth several stores unearth it lucrative to recycle the wastes. Hence this sort of equipments are getting to be critical in an automotive repair stores. They are really exceptionally overpriced and being a final result of which automotive resource financing is required to accumulate these equipments.

Brake lathe is still necessary tools in any automotive repair stores. They allow you to labor on all kinds of brakes. You may require a mixture of brake lathe, hefty duty brake lathe or automotive brake lathe based upon the type of your online business. Then again any kind of brake lathe is overpriced instead of potential in the attain of all. Therefore brake lathe financing is important.

The automotive marketplace has undergone a lot of modifications while in the previous hundred decades. Holding your self up-to-date of this modifications and applying the newest tools can help improve your revenues. While critical, this tools is very overpriced and so seeking the benefit of a financing corporation is required. Some real financing organisations provide you with aid to accumulate automotive tools with no any webtrotteurs disheartening processes.

Source: http://baseballclick.com/automotive-and-diagnostic-tools-funding/1438/

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Friday, January 27, 2012

E.U. Oil Embargo: Will Iran Discard Its Nuclear Ambitions? (Time.com)

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The European Union has raised the stakes in the standoff over Iran's nuclear program. E.U. Foreign Ministers on Monday adopted the most far-reaching package of sanctions yet on the Islamic Republic, including an embargo on the oil exports that are Iran's economic lifeline and measures against the country's central bank that will restrict its ability to engage in international trade. European governments have now adopted an immediate ban on all new oil contracts with Iran, and a gradual phaseout of existing contracts between now and July 1. The measures also ban trade in all petrochemical products, gold, precious metals, diamonds, banknotes and coins.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the oil embargo was part of "an unprecedented set of sanctions," and he urged Iran to "come to its senses" and resume negotiations on its nuclear program. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the concern underlying the new measures was "not a question of security in the region, it is a question of security in the world." And E.U. foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the sanctions aimed to "make sure that Iran takes seriously our request to come to the table." Although Iranian officials have signaled a readiness to hold new talks, Ashton says Tehran has not yet formally responded to the letter she sent in October calling for a new meeting between Iran and the group known as the P5+1, comprising the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.

Adopting the new measures carries a significant cost for Europe. The top European customers for Iranian oil are also those currently facing the most serious financial crises: Greece buys about one-third of its oil imports from Iran, while Italy and Spain each rely on Tehran for a little over 10% of their own supply. Although Saudi Arabia and other suppliers are expected to fill any shortfall in available output, the International Energy Agency has warned that replacing Iranian oil will not be an easy task for Europe. (Read "Amid New Sanctions, Obama Confronts the Challenges of Diplomacy with Iran.")

But the key question is the effect sanctions will have on Iran. Oil accounts for around 90% of all Iranian exports to the E.U., and European countries together make up Tehran's second largest market after China. More broadly, oil makes up over three-quarters of Iran's total economic output, and the country sells roughly 2.5 million barrels a day, with Europe accounting for about one-quarter of it last year. Indeed, Iran is already suffering from the existing European and American sanctions: the Iranian rial has fallen about 40% against the dollar since December, inflation is at 40%, and youth unemployment is at around 50%.

One way Iran may try to offset the impact of the European embargo is by selling more oil to China, India and other Asian countries, inducing them by offering major discounts -- a possibility made easier for Iran while the price remains above $100 per barrel. For that reason, Western powers hope to persuade Asian countries to reduce their own purchases from Iran.

Yet all this effort may still fail to dissuade Iran from pursuing its nuclear ambitions. Sanctions are often a blunt political instrument: even if they succeed in imposing significant costs on the regime and exacerbating public frustration over economic hardships, they could further entrench Tehran's regime and its intransigence. Says Paul Stevens, a senior research fellow at the London-based Chatham House think tank: "Given the crucial role of oil in Iran's deepest political DNA, the E.U. embargo would put the population solidly behind the current regime. It would greatly strengthen the Ahmadinejad regime at a time when it is under considerable pressure, especially with parliamentary elections looming in March." (See photos of Iranian protesters storming the British embassy.)

The new sanctions come just as a U.S. naval flotilla accompanied by British and French warships is patrolling the Strait of Hormuz, inevitably ratcheting up tensions. Two Iranian lawmakers on Monday responded to the E.U. decision by threatening to close the strait, through which some 40% of the world's oil shipments pass en route to market. Despite the new sanctions, however, some analysts maintain Tehran is more likely to heed the threat of military action. European Council on Foreign Relations policy fellow Richard Gowan warns, "It's hard to believe that these sanctions will cause Iran to discard its nuclear ambitions. Iran will remain much more focused on decisionmaking in Israel and the U.S. over the possibility of a military strike this year."

E.U. officials accept that sanctions are no silver bullet. But coupled with robust diplomacy and a credible military presence in the region, they believe economic pressures can create diplomatic leverage. The problem for the West is what happens if Iran fails to buckle as sanctions reach their peak.

J?rg Himmelreich, a senior fellow with the German Marshall Fund in Berlin, says the measures can only buy time. "At best, sanctions might force a change of regime, but not the nuclear program, which reflects a widely shared sense national pride and self-consciousness," he says. "It may be pessimistic, but I see the next step as accepting Iran as a nuclear power." If that is the way the Iran conundrum is heading, Europe's sanctions may simply be the last throw of the dice.

See photos of smuggling activities between Iran and Iraq.

View this article on Time.com

Most Popular on Time.com:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/time/20120126/wl_time/08599210515300

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Ice-T weighs in on presidential race from Sundance


Essential News from The Associated Press

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Rubio: Immigration not only issue for Hispanics (AP)

WASHINGTON ? A Hispanic-American U.S. senator from Florida who's considered a rising star in the Republican Party says too much is being made of the significance of immigration to his community.

Sen. Marco Rubio says that while immigration is of critical importance, economic security weighs more heavily on Hispanics' minds "on the vast majority of the days of the year."

Rubio appeared on "CBS This Morning" Thursday after harshly criticizing Newt Gingrich's campaign ad labeling Mitt Romney the most anti-immigration candidate. Rubio said "I wouldn't characterize it as a scolding," and said he was a Gingrich "admirer." The ad has been pulled off the air.

Rubio declined speculation about the GOP's vice presidential nomination, saying he didn't think it would be him. He's remained neutral in the closely fought Florida Republican primary.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_el_ge/us_republicans_rubio

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Jailbreaking exemption to DMCA is about to expire, EFF would rather it didn't

Back in 2010, the US Copyright Office added a set of anti-circumvention exemptions to the DMCA, effectively making it legal for smartphone users to jailbreak and/or root their devices. These exemptions, however, were never made permanent and now, they're about to expire. The EFF doesn't want this to happen, which is why it's decided to launch a campaign dedicated to the jailbreaking cause. With this initiative, the EFF is hoping to convince the Copyright Office to renew its exemptions and expand them to a wider range of devices, including tablets and video game consoles. To achieve this, the organization is calling upon programmers and other jailbreaking enthusiasts to contact the Copyright Office directly, explaining why the ability to freely modify software is so vital to their lives or livelihoods. As the EFF argues, "Concrete examples will help show the Copyright Office why they should renew and expand the exemptions for jailbreaking." If you're interested in getting involved, you can contact the Copyright Office at the coverage link below, though all comments are due by February 5th. Hit up the source link for more details on the EFF's involvement.

Jailbreaking exemption to DMCA is about to expire, EFF would rather it didn't originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/jailbreaking-exemption-to-dmca-is-about-to-expire-eff-would-rat/

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