Saturday, June 29, 2013

Portuguese unions hold major anti-austerity strike

LISBON, Portugal (AP) ? A national strike against austerity measures by Portuguese labor unions on Thursday shut down many public services, but the government showed no signs of backing down from the pay cuts, tax hikes and layoffs it insists will help restore the bailed-out country's financial health.

Most services operated by the national train company CP, the Lisbon subway and city bus companies ? all of them state-run ? were cancelled during the 24-hour walkout, forcing commuters to use their own vehicles and congesting traffic in the capital Lisbon and Porto, the second-largest city. Airport management company ANA reported that 37 flights were cancelled by early afternoon, 32 of them at Lisbon airport, and many delays.

The protest went to the heart of the current debate in Europe over whether to ditch debt-reducing austerity policies and adopt more growth measures to pull the group of 17 European Union countries that use the euro, including Portugal, out of recession.

Portuguese business leaders and opposition political parties have joined labor unions in appealing for a change in course, but the government said it won't budge from an austerity strategy it insists will pay off in the long term.

It is preparing a new raft of reforms to cut public spending that are expected to further reduce living standards and stoke a record level of unemployment, even as Portugal weathers a forecast third straight year of recession.

"The country hasn't ground to a halt" Cabinet spokesman Luis Marques Guedes said of the strike after a meeting of government ministers. "The government believes that work is what the country needs to do."

The General Confederation of Portuguese Workers and the General Workers' Union, which together represent about 1 million workers in this country of 10.6 million people, want the center-right coalition government to ease off its spending cuts and take more steps to create jobs. Thursday's walkout was only their fourth joint protest in 25 years.

Some health centers around the country stayed shut, Portuguese media reported, while hospitals rescheduled operations and medical appointments. Many government offices had fewer staff but few private companies reported walkouts.

Portugal's European partners are keen for it to stick with its cost-cutting drive, which is viewed as vital if heavily-indebted eurozone countries are to put their three-year-old financial crisis behind them. Portugal's government debt stands at almost 124 percent of gross domestic product, the third-highest in the EU after Greece and Italy.

Also, the austerity program is a demand of foreign creditors ? Portugal's EU partners and the International Monetary Fund ? who lent it 78 billion euros ($102 billion) in a financial rescue two years ago. If Portugal doesn't stick with the planned cuts the creditors can stop disbursements of the bailout funds, leaving the country at risk of bankruptcy.

Nevertheless, the outlook for Portugal is grim. The jobless rate, currently at a record 17.8 percent, is forecast to hit 18.5 percent next year. The bailout creditors predicting a contraction of 2.3 percent this year after the Portuguese economy shrank 3.2 percent in 2012. The budget deficit stood at 6.4 percent of annual GDP in 2012 ? higher than the 5 percent target for that year though much lower than the 10.1 percent recorded in 2010.

Already, the government has raised sales tax to 23 percent from 13 percent, while income tax hikes have costing many middle-class workers more than a month's pay. A European Commission report published Wednesday forecast further declines in household income this year and next.

Unions are also angered by the government's latest plans, which include increasing the working time of state employees to 40 hours a week from 35; increasing their monthly pension deductions while lowering their pension entitlements; and laying off some 50,000 government workers out of the total of about 583,000.

The crunch won't stop there, however.

The government, which has to find another 3.4 billion euros of savings in 2014, is due to present next month details of a deep and broad reform of how the state is run. The proposal is expected to order a further streamlining of state services and will likely fuel more protests.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/portuguese-unions-hold-major-anti-austerity-strike-105439422.html

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Friday, June 28, 2013

South Africa's Aspen in $1 billion deal with Merck

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Aspen Pharmacare said on Thursday that it would acquire drugs and a plant from U.S. firm Merck in a $1 billion deal that bolsters its presence in Europe, Latin America and Asia.

Africa's biggest maker of generic drugs said it would buy an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) business located in the Netherlands and a portfolio of 11 drug brands from Merck.

Aspen said the deal was subject to the approval of various competition authorities and the South African Reserve Bank.

Last week, Aspen said it would acquire the Arixtra and Fraxiparine/Fraxodi brands of thrombosis drugs from GlaxoSMithKline, except in China, Pakistan and India, a deal that could also be worth $1 billion.

Shares in Aspen, rose more than 1 percent on the news, outperforming a 0.7 percent decline in Johannesburg's benchmark Top-40 index.

(Reporting by Tosin Sulaiman and Tiisetso Motsoeneng; editing by David Dolan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-africas-aspen-1-billion-deal-merck-105508263.html

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Oh, Canada: Cavaliers take Bennett with No. 1 pick

NBA Commissioner David Stern, left, shakes hands with UNLV's Anthony Bennett, who was selected first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA basketball draft, Thursday, June 27, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

NBA Commissioner David Stern, left, shakes hands with UNLV's Anthony Bennett, who was selected first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA basketball draft, Thursday, June 27, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

NBA Commissioner David Stern, left, shakes hands with UNLV's Anthony Bennett, who was selected first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA basketball draft, Thursday, June 27, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

Indiana's Victor Oladipo, left, and Cody Zeller chat before the NBA basketball draft got underway, Thursday, June 27, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Indiana's Victor Oladipo waits for the NBA basketball draft to begin, Thursday, June 27, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Alex Len, of Ukraine, gestures after being selected by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Thursday, June 27, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

(AP) ? Anthony Bennett learned he would be making NBA draft history the same time as everyone else.

"When they said my name," Bennett said. "That's when I knew it happened. I had no idea before."

Who did?

The Cleveland Cavaliers surprisingly made Bennett the first Canadian No. 1 overall pick, and Nerlens Noel tumbled out of the top five and right into a trade Thursday night in an unsettled first round of the draft.

"It was chaotic from the first pick," Minnesota president Flip Saunders said. "When Bennett was taken off the board, that set the tone for the whole draft."

There were moves all night, all of them taking a back seat to one in the works for the team that calls Barclays Center home.

The Brooklyn Nets will acquire Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett from Boston in a blockbuster deal that was still developing as the draft neared its conclusion, according to a person with knowledge of the details.

"There was a lot of activity," said Nets general manager Billy King, who wouldn't comment on the trade. "As you guys will find out, there will be a lot of trades that are announced."

His can't be until July 10, after next season's salary cap is set.

As for the draft, it was as unpredictable as expected, capped by Hakeem Olajuwon coming on stage at the end of the first round to greet David Stern, dressed in the same tuxedo style he wore when Stern called his name to start the soon-to-be retired commissioner's first draft in 1984.

One of the favorites to be taken first Thursday night, Noel fell to No. 6, where the New Orleans Pelicans took him and then dealt his rights to the Philadelphia 76ers for a package headlined by All-Star guard Jrue Holiday, according to a person familiar with the details. That trade can't become official until July 10 because of salary cap concerns, according to another official with knowledge of the deal.

The Cavaliers started things by passing on centers Noel and Alex Len, who went to Phoenix at No. 5, in favor of Bennett, the UNLV freshman forward who starred for Canada's junior national teams and was the Mountain West Conference freshman of the year. Bennett led a record 12 international players who were taken in the first round.

"I'm just as surprised as anyone else," Bennett said.

There was suspense right until the end of the Cavs' 5-minute window to make their selection, either because they were unsure who they wanted or were trying to trade the pick. Most predictions had them taking one of the big men, with Noel largely considered the favorite for the No. 1 choice even after a torn ACL that ended his lone season at Kentucky in February.

"I thought everything was in the air, so I wasn't thinking I was the No. 1 pick," Noel said.

Stern, booed heavily for most of his final draft, added to the surprise of the moment by pausing slightly before announcing the Cavs' pick, their first at No. 1 since taking All-Star Kyrie Irving in 2011.

Orlando passed on both of the big men, too, going with Indiana swingman Victor Oladipo with the No. 2 pick. Washington took Otto Porter Jr. with the third pick, keeping the Georgetown star in town.

Ten years after the Cavaliers selected LeBron James to start a draft that included future NBA championship teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in the top five, this one lacked star power and perhaps even the promise of stardom.

Bennett, Noel and Len are all coming off injuries and couldn't even work out for teams, but the Cavs decided Bennett's shoulder surgery wasn't enough cause for concern.

Len walked up to meet Stern and collect his orange Suns hat, then sat down near the stage to put on the walking boot he needs for the stress fracture of his left ankle that was discovered after Maryland's season.

Noel finally went to New Orleans with the next pick. He didn't seem upset at his fall down the draft board, hugging his mother and shaking hands with Kentucky coach John Calipari.

It was a good start to the night for the Hoosiers, with Cody Zeller going to the Charlotte Bobcats two places after Oladipo.

Kansas guard Ben McLemore, another player who was considered a potential top-three pick, also dropped, going seventh to Sacramento.

Headed by a lackluster class, the draft promised confusion and second-guessing, with no consensus No. 1 pick and little agreement among the order of the top five.

And with lesser-known names in the draft, veterans soaked up the spotlight in the hours leading up to it.

Yahoo Sports first reported that the Nets and Celtics were working on the trade that would complete the breakup of the Celtics' veteran core.

ESPN reported earlier Thursday that Dwight Howard was unlikely to return to the Los Angeles Lakers when he becomes a free agent next month.

The guys coming into the league were glad for the attention they did finally get once their names were called.

"It's like a weight vest you took off after running five miles," Oladipo said. "It's relaxing, man. But at the same time, you know it's just getting started."

National player of the year Trey Burke of Michigan also was traded, the Timberwolves sending his rights to Utah for the rights to Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng, the 14th and 21st picks.

Lehigh's C.J. McCollum rounded out the top 10 by going to Portland.

Stern, retiring in February, seemed to play up the boos, which turned to cheers after every pick, fans perhaps as puzzled as some of the players at the names they were hearing.

"I was just kidding my agent because he didn't bail me out," Zeller said. "He didn't tell me. I didn't know until David Stern announced it. It's a crazy process not knowing, but I'm definitely excited that I ended up with the Bobcats."

Other players couldn't get too excited about their new addresses, because they changed quickly.

Stern was announcing deals by the middle of the first round and they kept coming after he called it a night and turned things over to Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver for the final 30 picks.

The flurry of trades wasn't surprising with so much uncertainty surrounding this class and so much hope in other areas. Teams such as Houston, Dallas and Atlanta already have an eye on Howard's future, needing to have necessary salary cap space to offer a maximum contract that could lure him away from Los Angeles.

The 2014 class ? which could be topped by a second straight Canadian in incoming Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins ? will be higher regarded than this one, with James perhaps heading the available free agents to follow.

Local fans seemed pleased with their picks, cheering loudly when the Nets took Duke forward Mason Plumlee at No. 22 and the New York Knicks grabbed Michigan's Tim Hardaway Jr. two picks later.

Stern made his final pick to close the first round to cheers of "David! David!" before handing things off to Silver. Seven deals were official by the time Silver wrapped it up, with some, including the Noel trade, still being worked on even after the draft was finished.

___

AP Basketball Writer Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-06-28-NBA%20Draft/id-cf98aafe0e0b498cb2c6c851582b3ab5

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

The Grouch & Eligh - All These Lights

You can create some incredible footage using time-lapse photography but it's not one a director has much control over. That's why California hip-hop duo, G&E, melded it with stop motion photography to make this wild music video.

Read more...

    


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/KGomJ15lWjY/the-grouch-eligh-all-these-lights-578805644

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Vine For Android Gets Updated With Front-Facing Camera Support

biggsWhen Vine started shipping for Android, there was one, big, near-universal complaint amongst its users: It didn't support front-facing cameras. While the existing iOS port had been supporting front cameras for months, Android users looking to take Vine-selfies (Velfies?) were stuck contorting their wrists like some sort of chump. In an update pushed to the Google Play store just a few minutes ago, Vine for Android finally picked up compatibility that front lens.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/gI8F6qiL-gQ/

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Goodbye M&M's, hello granola bars as school snacks

FILE - In this May 3, 2006 file photo, a student purchases a brown sugar Pop-Tart from a vending machine in the hallway outside the school cafeteria, in Wichita, Kan. High-calorie sports drinks and candy bars will be removed from school vending machines and cafeteria lines as soon as next year, replaced with diet drinks, granola bars and other healthier items the Agriculture Department said Thursday June 27, 2013.(AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Mike Hutmacher, File)

FILE - In this May 3, 2006 file photo, a student purchases a brown sugar Pop-Tart from a vending machine in the hallway outside the school cafeteria, in Wichita, Kan. High-calorie sports drinks and candy bars will be removed from school vending machines and cafeteria lines as soon as next year, replaced with diet drinks, granola bars and other healthier items the Agriculture Department said Thursday June 27, 2013.(AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Mike Hutmacher, File)

(AP) ? Kids, your days of blowing off those healthier school lunches and filling up on cookies from the vending machine are numbered. The government is onto you.

For the first time, the Agriculture Department is telling schools what sorts of snacks they can sell. The new restrictions announced Thursday fill a gap in nutrition rules that allowed many students to load up on fat, sugar and salt despite the existing guidelines for healthy meals.

"Parents will no longer have to worry that their kids are using their lunch money to buy junk food and junk drinks at school," said Margo Wootan, a nutrition lobbyist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest who pushed for the new rules.

That doesn't mean schools will be limited to doling out broccoli and brussels sprouts.

Snacks that still make the grade include granola bars, low-fat tortilla chips, fruit cups and 100 percent fruit juice. And high school students can buy diet versions of soda, sports drinks and iced tea.

But say goodbye to some beloved school standbys, such as doughy pretzels, chocolate chip cookies and those little ice cream cups with their own spoons. Some may survive in low-fat or whole wheat versions. The idea is to weed out junk food and replace it with something with nutritional merit.

The bottom line, says Wootan: "There has to be some food in the food."

Still, 17-year-old Vanessa Herrera is partial to the Cheez-It crackers and sugar-laden Vitaminwater in her high school's vending machine. Granola bars and bags of peanuts? Not so much.

"I don't think anyone would eat it," said Herrera of Rockaway, N.J.

There are no vending machines at Lauren Jones' middle school in Hoover, Ala., but she said there's an "a la carte" stand that sells chips, ice cream and other snacks.

"Having something sweet to go with your meal is good sometimes," the 13-year-old said, although she also thinks that encouraging kids to eat healthier is worthwhile.

The federal snack rules don't take effect until the 2014-15 school year, but there's nothing to stop schools from making changes earlier.

Some students won't notice much difference. Many schools already are working to improve their offerings. Thirty-nine states have some sort of snack food policy in place.

Rachel Snyder, 17, said earlier this year her school in Washington, Ill., stripped its vending machines of sweets. She misses the pretzel-filled M&M's.

"If I want a sugary snack every now and then," Snyder said, "I should be able to buy it."

The federal rules put calorie, fat, sugar and sodium limits on almost everything sold during the day at 100,000 schools ? expanding on the previous rules for meals. The Agriculture Department sets nutritional standards for schools that receive federal funds to help pay for lunches, and that covers nearly every public school and about half of private ones.

One oasis of sweetness and fat will remain: anything students bring from home, from bagged lunches to birthday cupcakes.

The Agriculture Department was required to draw up the rules under a law passed by Congress in 2010, championed by first lady Michelle Obama, as part of the government's effort to combat childhood obesity.

Nutritional guidelines for subsidized lunches were revised last year and put in place last fall.

Last year's rules making main lunch fare more nutritious faced criticism from some conservatives, including some Republicans in Congress, who said the government shouldn't be telling kids what to eat. Mindful of that backlash, the Agriculture Department left one of the more controversial parts of the rule, the regulation of in-school fundraisers like bake sales, up to the states.

The rules have the potential to transform what many children eat at school.

In addition to meals already subject to nutrition standards, most lunchrooms also have "a la carte" lines that sell other foods ? often greasy foods like mozzarella sticks and nachos. That gives students a way to circumvent the healthy lunches. Under the rules, those lines could offer healthier pizzas, low-fat hamburgers, fruit cups or yogurt and similar fare.

One of the biggest changes will be a near-ban on high-calorie sports drinks. Many beverage companies added sports drinks to school vending machines after sodas were pulled in response to criticism from the public health community.

The rule would only allow sales in high schools of sodas and sports drinks that contain 60 calories or less in a 12-ounce serving, banning the highest-calorie versions of those beverages.

Low-calorie sports drinks ? Gatorade's G2, for example ? and diet drinks will be allowed in high school.

Elementary and middle schools will be allowed to sell only water, carbonated water, 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice, and low fat and fat-free milk, including nonfat flavored milks.

At a congressional hearing Thursday, a school nutritionist said schools have had difficulty adjusting to the 2012 changes, and the new "a la carte" standards could also be a hardship.

And the healthier foods are expensive, said Sandra Ford, president of the School Nutrition Association and director of food and nutrition services for a school district in Bradenton, Fla. She also predicted that her school district could lose $975,000 a year under the new "a la carte" guidelines because they would have to eliminate many of the popular foods they sell.

The food industry has been onboard with many of the changes, and several companies worked with Congress on the child nutrition law three years ago.

Angela Chieco, a mother from Clifton Park, N.Y., sees the guidelines as a good start but says it will take a bigger campaign to wean kids off junk food.

"I try to do less sugar myself," Chieco said. "It's hard to do."

___

Associated Press writer Stacy A. Anderson contributed to this report.

___

Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick

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Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-06-27-Healthier%20School%20Foods/id-027c8a22b0a740f29504d31babeca246

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Wendy Davis Receives Praise In Thank You Letter Signed By 31 Democratic Senators

Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) drew nationwide attention on Tuesday for her 12-hour filibuster against a restrictive, GOP-backed anti-abortion bill. Even senators in Washington, D.C. tuned in, they said Wednesday in a letter to Davis from Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) on behalf of 26 of their Democratic colleagues.

"Thank you for your courage and determination in defeating S.B. 5, a bill that would have severely limited women?s reproductive choices in Texas," the letter read. "Your steadfastness sets an example that one person?s voice and commitment can make a difference. As Senators, we were awestruck as we watched you stand on the Senate floor of the Texas Legislature for hours in the face of ideologically based attempts to pass legislation that would threaten women?s health. Thanks to your dedication, Texas and the rest of the country will rethink efforts to enact similar laws. We are proud to call you an ally and a friend."

Here's the list of other senators whose names were attached to the letter:

U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Mark Udall (D-Col.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Michael Bennet (D-Col.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Al Franken (D-Minn.).

While Davis' stand temporarily succeeded in killing SB 5, which threatened to close all but five of the abortion clinics in Texas and prohibit abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) called a second special session on Wednesday, to finish up work on that bill and others.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/26/wendy-davis-letter_n_3506190.html

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Israeli, Palestinian leaders serious on talks: Kerry

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian leaders are both committed to reviving peace talks, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday, but he acknowledged that progress on the long-stalled negotiations would be difficult.

Israeli-Palestinian talks broke down in late 2010 in a dispute over construction of Jewish settlements on occupied West Bank land that Palestinians want as part of their future state.

Kerry, who held separate talks with both sides in May, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wanted the peace process to move forward. This would be Kerry's fifth attempt to restart talks.

"I believe they believe the peace process is bigger than any one day or one moment, or certainly more important to their countries than some of their current political challenges," he told a news conference in Kuwait with Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah.

"That is why both of them have indicated a seriousness of purpose. I would not be here now if I didn't have the belief this is possible," he said.

Kerry said he did not want to set any deadlines for the peace process but added that there needed to be progress before the U.N. General Assembly in September.

(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton and Sylvia Westall; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israeli-palestinian-leaders-serious-talks-kerry-122607681.html

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Children's Aid Society removes son of Whitby ... - Metro News

The Durham Children?s Aid Society has taken away Lisa Roberts? 15-month-old son after receiving an anonymous call about her living in a Whitby park with her child.

Roberts, who is nearly eight months pregnant, was located by Durham Region police officers on behalf of DCAS on Tuesday afternoon at a bus station in Ajax. She was with her son on her way to pick up a cheque from her social worker, she says.

?I?m a good mother. I?ve been taking care of him. He?s healthy, happy and loved,? a frantic Roberts told Torstar News Service on Tuesday. ?If I lose my son I will die.?

A court hearing has been set up for later this week. She says she has been told that she will not be able to see her son until then.

Children?s Aid cannot comment on any cases it deals with, said spokesperson Andrea Maenza.

A child will only be taken away from a homeless parent if there?s ?an immediate risk of safety,? Caroline Newton, spokesperson for the Ontario Association of Children?s Aid Societies, told Torstar News Service.

Newton says efforts are always made to get in touch with other family members who may be able to help temporarily take care of the child, or to place the parent and child in a proper shelter.

Roberts says she was not given any options that would allow her to remain with her son, such as staying at a shelter.

Roberts, 38, became homeless in May after she had to move out of her apartment, which her landlord needed back. After running out of money to pay for a motel and briefly staying with a friend, she began sleeping in parks with her son.

Roberts is currently on welfare and is working with her social worker to find an affordable, permanent place to live. She has chosen not to stay in shelters.

After her story in the Torstar News Service appeared, Roberts received an outpouring of offers of help.

She has declined offers of temporary places to stay because she says she does not want to be a burden on other families. Some of the places are too far away from the father of her two children. Roberts is no longer with him, but he has been providing some financial support.

However, for the next few nights, Roberts says a generous woman is covering the cost of a motel for her. ?She is an angel,? she says.

Roberts says she is grateful for the offers of help she has received but adds that she is ?not looking for handouts. I?m looking for a hand up.?

She is hoping that a book of prose, poetry and artwork she has created based on her life experiences will be published and provide her enough income to take care of her children.

But for now all she can think about is reuniting with her son.

?I?ve looked after that boy since he was born. He saved my life.?

News Worth Sharing:

Source: http://metronews.ca/news/toronto/719173/childrens-aid-society-removes-son-of-whitby-homeless-woman/

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Obama climate plan: bold, but will China go along?

President Obama's climate plan aims to address climate change with an eye toward global?partnerships. Without cooperation from China and the developing world, international climate treaties have fallen short ? a shortcoming Obama hopes to remedy with his climate plan.

By David J. Unger,?Correspondent / June 25, 2013

President Obama offers a preview of Tuesday's climate change speech in this video from The White House.

As President Obama unveils sweeping policies to address global climate change in a speech at Georgetown University Tuesday, his focus is on curbing power plant emissions at home and boosting US investment in efficiency and clean energy.?

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But climate change is a global problem, and the atmosphere, as they say, doesn't care where the carbon comes from. And whatever the United States does, the fate of global warming lies in the hands of China, India, and much of the developing world. China's growing emissions in the past decade has swamped the decline in emissions in the US.

This phenomena helps explain why a third of Mr. Obama's climate plan is devoted to addressing emissions abroad. By fostering bilateral initiatives with major emitting countries and promoting free trade of clean-energy technology, the plan aims to build?globally?on domestic climate goals.?

International climate change cooperation has fallen far short of environmentalists expectations, and some are skeptical that rapidly developing countries will have the resources to adopt more sustainable energy policies. But Obama has had a glimmer of success in the global arena when it comes to climate change, in contrast to a divided Congress that routinely balked on climate goals. ?

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Essential or irrelevant? Zimmerman prosecutor fights to reveal previous calls to cops

In opening statements the prosecution began by playing an expletive-laced audio tape of George Zimmerman from a taped call he made to police, while the defense began with a knock-knock joke, then later apologized. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. NBC's Ron Mott reports.

By James Novogrod, Tom Winter and Tracy Connor, NBC News

A Florida judge will decide Tuesday whether calls George Zimmerman made to a police dispatcher in the months before he killed Trayvon Martin can be admitted as evidence.

A jury on Monday afternoon heard one of the calls to a non-emergency police number, in which Zimmerman previously reported a suspicious person in his neighborhood ? before the defense objected and said it was irrelevant.


Prosecutors said the prior calls would give the jury insight into Zimmerman?s state of mind when he encountered Martin in a gated community of Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26, 2012.

Judge Debra Nelson called a recess in the trial to give both sides to prepare arguments about whether the jury can hear and consider the calls in deciding Zimmerman?s fate.

While the defense contends that the prior calls have nothing to do with the issue at hand, prosecutor Richard Mantei said the calls support a case about Zimmerman's state of mind -- important for proof of second degree murder, which in Florida requires proving a so-called "depraved mind."

Courtesy of Sybrina Fulton

Trayvon Martin on February 18, 2012 in a photo taken at his mother's birthday party. Martin was killed on February 26, 2012.

Zimmerman, 29, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting death of Martin, 17. His trial began in earnest Monday with opening statements and a few witnesses.

Prosecutors say Zimmerman profiled Martin, followed him even after the dispatcher told him not to, and then shot him at such close range that it left burn marks on his sweatshirt.

The defense says Martin was the aggressor in the confrontation, straddled Zimmerman and slammed his head against the pavement ? putting him in fear of his life before he fired his 9mm.

The call that Zimmerman made to a non-emergency dispatcher just after 7 p.m. on the night in question was played repeatedly for jurors, who listened intently and took notes.

On the call, Zimmerman reports that Martin is walking around in the rain and looks like ?he?s up to no good,? then says the teen is staring at him and approaching with his hand in his waistband.

After Zimmerman reports that Martin has started to run away, dispatcher Sean Noffke, hearing the sound of movement and wind, asks if he is following. When Zimmerman says he is, Noffke tells him, ?You don?t need to do that.?

Under questioning Monday, Noffke said he didn?t order Zimmerman to stay put because dispatchers are only supposed to make suggestions for liability reasons.

Under cross-examination, he said that when he asked Zimmerman which way Martin was running, he didn?t expect him to give chase, but allowed that someone could misinterpret his words.

"There was no need for him to follow and no concern for his safety? because Martin had left the immediate area, Noffke said.

In their opening statements, the prosecution and defense gave starkly different accounts of how and why Zimmerman shot Martin during the confrontation.

"George Zimmerman is not guilty of murder. He shot Trayvon Martin after being viciously attacked," said defense attorney Don West.

Joe Burbank / Pool / EPA

George Zimmerman waits for his defense counsel to arrive in court on Monday.

?This is a sad case, of course,? West said. ?A young man lost his life. Another is fighting for his. There are no winners here ... There are no monsters here.?

Prosecutor John Guy said the evidence does not support a self-defense claim.

?George Zimmerman did not shoot Trayvon Martin because he had to. He shot him for the worst of all reasons ? because he wanted to,? he said.

Guy said Zimmerman had used ?hate-filled words? during his conversation with Noffke, referring to ?punks.?

?These a------- always get away,? he quoted Zimmerman as saying.

He said another call ?? this one from a neighbor who dialed 911 after hearing a commotion. ? would support the prosecution?s charges.

?In the background, you will hear the gunshot that killed Trayvon Martin and you will hear screaming in the background. Listen carefully, please, to that call and listen carefully when the screaming stops. It?s right when the gunshot goes off. Trayvon Martin was silenced immediately when the bullet the defendant fired was shot through his heart,? Guy said.

West, who played the call for the jury, suggested it was Zimmerman yelling for help as he was attacked and said all the witnesses ?agree those are the screams of someone in a life-threatening situation.?

?If I?ve heard it once, I?ve heard it a thousand times, that Trayvon Martin was unarmed,? West said.

?Trayvon Martin armed himself with a concrete sidewalk and used it to smash George Zimmerman?s head,? he added. ?That is a deadly weapon.?

Editor?s note: George Zimmerman has sued NBC Universal for defamation. The company has strongly denied the allegation.

This story was originally published on

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2dbd5948/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A60C240C1911660A70Eessential0Eor0Eirrelevant0Ezimmerman0Eprosecutor0Efights0Eto0Ereveal0Eprevious0Ecalls0Eto0Ecops0Dlite/story01.htm

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This Wooden Bicycle Is Beautifully Impractical

This Wooden Bicycle Is Beautifully Impractical

There's a natural charm to cycling that allows you to feel at one with the environment that surrounds you?but if that's not enough, maybe you need this bike that's made from the environment that surrounds you.

There's no way around the fact that a wooden bicycle isn't as practical as its metallic brethren. Wood just isn't naturally suited to frame building: it doesn't weather as well, is bulky, and rides strangely. But this amalgam of wood and steel is a triumph of old-school design and craftsmanship, and its looks make up for the material's shortcomings.

There's a lot to lust over here, from the wooden handlebars to the neatly jointed head and seat tubes. But the best thing has to be those beautifully curved wooden mud guards, that hug the wheels just right. Pricing is as yet unconfirmed?expect it to be high?but the bikes will finally go on sale in September. [BSG Bikes via Behance via This Is Colossal]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-wooden-bicycle-is-beautifully-impractical-569331193

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Ailanthus tree's status as invasive species offers lesson in human interaction

Ailanthus tree's status as invasive species offers lesson in human interaction [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 24-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Matthew Swayne
mls29@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State

An exotic tree species that changed from prized possession to forest management nightmare serves as a lesson in the unpredictability of non-native species mixing with human interactions, according to researchers.

"There are other invasive tree species in Pennsylvania, but the Ailanthus, by far, has been here longer and does more damage than any other invasive tree," said Matthew Kasson, who received his doctorate in plant pathology and environmental microbiology from Penn State. "It's the number one cause of native regeneration failure in clearcuts in Pennsylvania."

Kasson, who is a post-doctoral researcher in plant pathology, physiology and weed science at Virginia Tech, said that William Hamilton, a pioneer botanist who corresponded with William Bartram and Thomas Jefferson, imported the first Ailanthus altissima -- Tree-of-Heaven -- a tree native to China, from England sometime between 1784 and 1785 and cultivated the tree on his estate, the Woodlands, in Philadelphia. The deciduous tree, which grows rapidly, often to a height of 50 feet, has become one of the biggest forest management problems, especially since the 1980s, according to the researchers.

Kasson and colleagues report in a recent issue of the Northeastern Naturalist that Ailanthus can invade quickly in areas where large, continuous stands of trees are cut down -- clearcuts -- and displace slower-growing native plants. The spread of Ailanthus in Pennsylvania occurred in spurts that seem to be connected with stages of human development, particularly during cross-state transportation projects, Kasson said.

While the tree was initially isolated to the properties of a few botanists and wealthy plant collectors, commercialization of Ailanthus after 1820 coupled with railroad construction projects that connected the eastern and western parts of the state in the mid-1800s intensified its spread, according to Kasson, who worked with Matthew Davis, lab assistant and Donald Davis, professor of plant pathology, both of Penn State.

In the 1980s, widespread gypsy moth infestation in Pennsylvania led to the death or near death of large stands of oak trees in the state forests, especially in south-central Pennsylvania. Crews that cut down the trees built roads to reach the sites, which became avenues for the spread of Ailanthus. From 1989 to 2004 the number of Ailanthus trees on inventory plots increased from 76 million to 135 million.

"In parts of the state forests there were no roads in areas associated with the gypsy moth devastation," said Kasson. "During these timber salvage operations, crews are building roads and moving a lot of soil and seed."

The researchers found one or two older female Ailanthus trees near areas where foresters removed trees following the gypsy moth infestation, but also discovered that most of the Ailanthus trees started to grow shortly after the clearing operation. The older seed-producing trees were often found upwind from the sites of the recent Ailanthus growth. Kasson said this indicates that following the clearcut Ailanthus grew faster than competing species and quickly dominated these forests.

Kasson said recent mining and drilling operations in Pennsylvania forests may also cause the species to expand.

"New roads are being constructed into these active drilling sites," said Kasson. "These drilling operations could lead to future spread."

Previous research may have also underestimated how long Ailanthus can live, according to Kasson. While prior studies estimated that Ailanthus's lifespan was between 50 to 75 years, the tree routinely lives longer than 100 years.

The researchers conducted tree-ring studies of Ailanthus in all the counties where the tree grows in Pennsylvania, as well as several surrounding states. The researchers used these studies, along with historic surveys and reports on plant species in the state, to determine age and growth patterns.

Ailanthus, which is also called Chinese sumac or stinking sumac, grows in 60 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, according to the researchers -- nine more counties than reported in previous studies. The research also suggests that the incidence of Ailanthus in Pennsylvania's northern-tier counties, where the tree has been historically absent, will likely increase like previous Ailanthus expansions in southern parts of the state.

###

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources supported this work.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Ailanthus tree's status as invasive species offers lesson in human interaction [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 24-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Matthew Swayne
mls29@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State

An exotic tree species that changed from prized possession to forest management nightmare serves as a lesson in the unpredictability of non-native species mixing with human interactions, according to researchers.

"There are other invasive tree species in Pennsylvania, but the Ailanthus, by far, has been here longer and does more damage than any other invasive tree," said Matthew Kasson, who received his doctorate in plant pathology and environmental microbiology from Penn State. "It's the number one cause of native regeneration failure in clearcuts in Pennsylvania."

Kasson, who is a post-doctoral researcher in plant pathology, physiology and weed science at Virginia Tech, said that William Hamilton, a pioneer botanist who corresponded with William Bartram and Thomas Jefferson, imported the first Ailanthus altissima -- Tree-of-Heaven -- a tree native to China, from England sometime between 1784 and 1785 and cultivated the tree on his estate, the Woodlands, in Philadelphia. The deciduous tree, which grows rapidly, often to a height of 50 feet, has become one of the biggest forest management problems, especially since the 1980s, according to the researchers.

Kasson and colleagues report in a recent issue of the Northeastern Naturalist that Ailanthus can invade quickly in areas where large, continuous stands of trees are cut down -- clearcuts -- and displace slower-growing native plants. The spread of Ailanthus in Pennsylvania occurred in spurts that seem to be connected with stages of human development, particularly during cross-state transportation projects, Kasson said.

While the tree was initially isolated to the properties of a few botanists and wealthy plant collectors, commercialization of Ailanthus after 1820 coupled with railroad construction projects that connected the eastern and western parts of the state in the mid-1800s intensified its spread, according to Kasson, who worked with Matthew Davis, lab assistant and Donald Davis, professor of plant pathology, both of Penn State.

In the 1980s, widespread gypsy moth infestation in Pennsylvania led to the death or near death of large stands of oak trees in the state forests, especially in south-central Pennsylvania. Crews that cut down the trees built roads to reach the sites, which became avenues for the spread of Ailanthus. From 1989 to 2004 the number of Ailanthus trees on inventory plots increased from 76 million to 135 million.

"In parts of the state forests there were no roads in areas associated with the gypsy moth devastation," said Kasson. "During these timber salvage operations, crews are building roads and moving a lot of soil and seed."

The researchers found one or two older female Ailanthus trees near areas where foresters removed trees following the gypsy moth infestation, but also discovered that most of the Ailanthus trees started to grow shortly after the clearing operation. The older seed-producing trees were often found upwind from the sites of the recent Ailanthus growth. Kasson said this indicates that following the clearcut Ailanthus grew faster than competing species and quickly dominated these forests.

Kasson said recent mining and drilling operations in Pennsylvania forests may also cause the species to expand.

"New roads are being constructed into these active drilling sites," said Kasson. "These drilling operations could lead to future spread."

Previous research may have also underestimated how long Ailanthus can live, according to Kasson. While prior studies estimated that Ailanthus's lifespan was between 50 to 75 years, the tree routinely lives longer than 100 years.

The researchers conducted tree-ring studies of Ailanthus in all the counties where the tree grows in Pennsylvania, as well as several surrounding states. The researchers used these studies, along with historic surveys and reports on plant species in the state, to determine age and growth patterns.

Ailanthus, which is also called Chinese sumac or stinking sumac, grows in 60 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, according to the researchers -- nine more counties than reported in previous studies. The research also suggests that the incidence of Ailanthus in Pennsylvania's northern-tier counties, where the tree has been historically absent, will likely increase like previous Ailanthus expansions in southern parts of the state.

###

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources supported this work.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ps-ats062413.php

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Ex-Stone Temple Pilots singer Weiland weds

Celebs

18 hours ago

Image: Scott Weiland.

? Bill Auth / Reuters

Scott Weiland.

Former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland is officially a married man!

The rocker said "I do" to photographer girlfriend Jamie Wachtel Saturday night at their Los Angeles home, according to PEOPLE. "We had the most beautiful, heartfelt ceremony," Wachtel tells the mag.

The bride donned a vintage dress from Paper Bag Princess in Beverly Hills and the groom looked dapper in John Varvatos as they exchanged their Pade Vavra rings.

PHOTOS: Guess the celebrity engagement rings

The Wildabouts rocker first met his now wife back in 2011 while filming music videos for his Christmas album. Scott told Billboard last year he knew when he met Jamie he'd be falling in love with her.

While on the music video shoot, Jamie told him "to tuck in your belly a little bit." He laughs: "It was around the holidays-it was after Thanksgiving, and you know how that tends to be. I was kind of caught off guard, and I started laughing and she started laughing. And I don't know ... something magical happened."

She then gave the rocker a ride home when he "just thought, 'I have a feeling that I am going to fall in love with this woman.'"

Congrats to the happy couple!

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/scott-weiland-marries-girlfriend-jamie-wachtel-6C10423394

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Egypt's president denounces sectarian killings

CAIRO (AP) ? President Mohammed Morsi's office on Monday condemned the killing of four Shiite Muslims by a Sunni mob, reportedly incited by ultraconservative Salafis, in a village near Cairo.

It said in a statement that authorities will not be "lenient" with anyone who interferes with the nation's security and stability or harm its society.

The statement echoed one issued earlier by Prime Minister Hesham Kandil.

Both said the culprits must be quickly found and brought to justice.

Egypt is an overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim nation with a tiny minority of Shiites. About 10 percent of its 90 million people are Christians.

According to security officials, the Sunday attack came after Salafi preachers in the village of Zawiyet Abu Muslim gave a small local Shiite community an ultimatum to leave the town by sundown. They said Salafis also joined the crowd. They spoke anonymously as they were not authorized to talk to reporters.

The incident also comes among a broad rise in hostile statements made against Shiites, including by the president's hard-line allies, fed in part by the growing sectarian overtones of Syria's civil war.

The killings came a week after Salafi clerics insulted Shiites during a June 15 rally attended by Morsi, who listened silently.

One cleric, Mohammed Hassan, called on Morsi "not to open the doors of Egypt" to Shiites, saying that "they never entered a place without corrupting it."

Egypt's Salafis have vehemently objected to the arrival in Egypt of tourists from Shiite Iran, forcing authorities to suspend their tours before allowing them to resume later. The tourists are not allowed in Cairo, home to some religious shrines revered by Shiites, flying directly to southern Egypt or Red Sea resorts.

Morsi's government has implicitly sanctioned travel to Syria by Egyptian volunteers who wish to join the mostly Sunni rebels fighting forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, a member of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiism.

Assad's forces are backed by fighters from Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah group, a longtime ally of the Syrian regime. Shiite Iran is Assad's chief foreign backer.

Egyptian volunteers have been fighting on the side of the Syrian rebels for over a year now, but the involvement of Egyptians in that nation's civil war is likely to widen after Morsi's decision to break diplomatic relations with Damascus and calls at the June 15 rally for jihad, or holy struggle, in Syria.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-president-denounces-sectarian-killings-114554019.html

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Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Tax-News.com: Canada Outlines Stance On Japanese Trade Talks

19 June 2013

The Canadian Government has tabled its response to a parliamentary committee's comments on the proposed economic partnership agreement (EPA) with Japan, welcoming the committee's analysis and recommendations.

The House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade (CIIT) began its study in April, 2012. It heard from a variety of witnesses, including representatives of the federal and provincial governments, academics, businesses, and industry associations.

The CIIT considered the main areas of negotiation, focusing on trade in goods and services, and investment protection. Among its recommendations were that the Government conclude an EPA that provides a net benefit to Canada, that it secure access to the Japanese market for goods and services that is at least equivalent as that offered by Japan to other jurisdictions, and that reductions in or elimination of Japan's escalating tariffs be secured.

In its response, the Government states that "A comprehensive EPA with Japan will help unlock the full potential of our bilateral relationship, leading to the creation of new opportunities, jobs and prosperity through increased trade and investment. Once fully implemented, an agreement with Japan could provide a CAD3.8bn (USD3.7bn) GDP boost for Canada and generate an increase of roughly 67 percent in bilateral trade."

It further explains that the Government hopes to "advance negotiations as quickly as possible," and is "committed to negotiating an ambitious and comprehensive EPA that is in the best interest of Canadians, results in overall benefits to the Canadian economy, will contribute to Canada?s long-term prosperity and create new jobs for hard-working Canadians."

On the issue of tariffs, the response stresses that the Government "recognizes the importance of ensuring a level playing field for Canadians seeking to do business in Japan. By reducing tariffs, improving market access, enhancing cooperation and otherwise facilitating trade, an EPA with Japan would allow Canadians to fully leverage the complementary economic relationship and benefit from commensurate opportunities in a wide range of sectors."

Tabling the response, Gerald Keddy, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, said that the talks "represent a historic opportunity to take Canada?s trade and investment relationship with one of the world?s largest and most innovative economies to the next level."

.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tax-news/~3/pNVMNnAilD4/Canada_Outlines_Stance_On_Japanese_Trade_Talks____61113.html

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