Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/ED4NDU_nGA8/
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Thursday, April 11, 2013
Kerri Walsh Jennings: Why We Chose the Name Scout Margery
"Scout is my favorite character in all of literature ... and Margery is after my mother," the Olympian explains
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Maryland lawmakers pass medical marijuana bill
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) ? The Maryland General Assembly on Monday approved a measure allowing medical marijuana programs at research centers that choose to participate.
The state Senate approved the measure, 42-4. Ten of the Senate's 12 Republicans joined 32 Democrats, while two Democrats and two Republicans voted against it. The action sends the bill to Gov. Martin O'Malley, who indicated he is likely to sign the bill.
"I'd like to read it first, but I probably would," O'Malley told reporters.
The Democratic governor noted his decision would hinge on whether the bill includes provisions enabling the governor to suspend the program if the federal government decides to prosecute state employees who administer it. The provisions were included in the bill earlier this session, after Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Joshua Sharfstein said he would support the bill with the amendments. That was a change from last year, when Sharfstein expressed concern about potential federal prosecution.
Sen. David Brinkley, a Frederick County Republican, said concerns about medical marijuana violating federal law have been around for years, as more than a dozen other states and the District of Columbia have moved forward.
"At the same time, I think more and more as states start pushing the envelope on this thing, the federal government has to recognize that some of these cancer patients ? some of these people that are very sick ? you know, they're not doing this because they want to," Brinkley said. "They do feel that it's perhaps an element of last resort, and the last thing we want to do is criminalize who there are, why they're sick, that they're sick or their caregivers."
Delegate Dan Morhaim is a Baltimore County Democrat and emergency room physician who has been pushing to get the bill through for years. He emphasized that the program would be carefully supervised by academic medical centers.
While state analysts have projected programs would not be up and running until 2016, Morhaim said now that academic medical research centers have had a chance to look over the details, they are taking a closer look. Morhaim said Sinai Hospital in Baltimore has expressed interest in writing, even if it has not yet committed to participating. He also said Johns Hopkins has indicated it would take a closer look.
"They needed to wait to see what the road map looked like, and now that they have, I think you're going to see much quicker movement than people may have anticipated," Morhaim said.
Sen. E.J. Pipkin, R-Cecil, said he voted against the bill because he believes a comprehensive proposal on the legalization of marijuana for a variety of purposes should be put before voters, instead of piecemeal measures slowly moving through the Legislature.
"Let's let them vote on it," Pipkin said, referring to the state's voters.
While advocates said the measure was well-intentioned, they said it didn't go far enough.
"Maryland has taken a small step in the right direction, but more steps are necessary for patients to actually obtain the medicine they need to alleviate their suffering," said Amanda Reiman, a policy manager for the Drug Policy Alliance, in a statement.
The measure would create a commission within the state health department to oversee programs.
A participating medical center would be required to specify the medical conditions it would treat and the criteria by which patients would be allowed to participate. A medical center also would have to provide the state health department data on patients and caregivers on a daily basis. The department would also have to make the data available to law enforcement.
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Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Fisker Automotive lays off 75 percent of workforce | Digital Trends
Fisker Automotive surprised many of its employees last Friday morning by telling them to pack their things. The maker of the luxury plug-in hybrid laid off 75 percent of its workforce so quickly, in fact, that it is now facing a lawsuit.
In a statement, Fisker called the layoff ?a necessary strategic step in our efforts to maximize the value of Fisker?s core assets.? The financially troubled carmaker is currently seeking a buyer, and having more cash around would presumably make it more attractive.
A lawsuit filed in a California US District Court argues that Fisker?s actions are in violation of the US Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which requires employers to give 60 days notice before a mass layoff.
The employees, represented by Sven Etzelsberger, the named plaintiff, are also demanding 60 days of ?wages, salary, bonuses, and other benefits.? Workers received no severance pay when they were laid off.
Fisker?s story has been nothing but bad news for the past few months. After a press battering over recalls, Karma production was shut down when battery supplier A123 Systems went bankrupt.
Needing cash to start production of the Atlantic, its proposed volume model, Fisker began looking for a suitor. Geely, the Chinese carmaker that already owns Volvo, appears interested, but no deal has gone down so far.
In the meantime, company founder and namesake Henrik Fisker resigned after a disagreement with other executives over business strategy.
With most of its workforce gone, it doesn?t look like Fisker intends to keep building cars. The small group of employees Fisker is retaining may just be around to manage a bankruptcy or court buyers.
Even if it does find a buyer, it?s unclear whether that buyer will be interested in the company as a whole, or just its cash, name and other assets.
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Retinoic acid gradient visualized for the first time in an embryo
Monday, April 8, 2013
In a ground-breaking study, researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan report a new technique that allows them to visualize the distribution of retinoic acid in a live zebrafish embryo, in real-time. This technique enabled them to observe two concentration gradients going in opposing directions along the head-to-tail axis of the embryo, thus providing long-awaited evidence that retinoic acid is a morphogen.
The report, published today in the journal Nature, puts an end to a long-standing debate around the presence of retinoic acid gradients across the vertebrate embryo, during the early stages of development. It also sheds light on the role of retinoic acid in tissue development.
Retinoic acid has been thought to be a morphogen, a signalling molecule that diffuses throughout the embryo switching genes on and off and imparting different cell fates depending on its concentration. However, retinoic acid concentration gradients had never been visualized because retinoic acid cannot be tagged with the commonly used 'green fluorescent protein' GFP, or GFP-like proteins, as label.
"Until now no one had succeeded in monitoring the concentration of retinoic acid in real-time in a live embryo, and there was no direct data proving the existence of a retinoic acid gradient in the vertebrate embryo, explains Dr. Miyawaki, who led the research.
In order to monitor the concentration of retinoic acid in live zebrafish embryos at the early stages of their development, Dr. Miyawaki and his colleague Dr. Shimozono developed a technique to tag the molecule that acts as receptor for retinoic acid with genetically-encoded, coloured fluorophores. Based on the principle of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), the tags allow them to visualize the presence of retinoic acid and quantitatively determine its concentration over time.
By combining this technique with pharmacological and genetic manipulations, Miyawaki and his team demonstrate the presence of two linear retinoic acid concentration gradients across the antero-posterior axis of the embryo, from the trunk area to the head and the tail. Their findings suggest that retinoic acid diffuses quickly, thus establishing stable and robust gradients that are resistant to external perturbations.
"A better understanding of the gradients of retinoic acid is essential for research into the patterns of tissue development. It is necessary if we ever want to control the development of three-dimensional tissue structures from induced pluripotent stem cells, for regenerative medicine for example," concludes Dr. Miyawaki.
###
RIKEN: http://www.riken.jp/engn/
Thanks to RIKEN for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127627/Retinoic_acid_gradient_visualized_for_the_first_time_in_an_embryo
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Monday, April 8, 2013
Five Important SEO Strategies for Small Business Entrepreneurs ...
If you?re a small business owner or entrepreneur who promotes their business online, you should ensure that your website ranks high in web searches so customers can find you quickly when they?re looking for items you sell or services you provide. How to do that? Quite simply, incorporate SEO.
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a strategy that improves the visibility of a website in organic search results (a.k.a. non-paid or natural search results) for a specified set of key phrases. SEO is extremely useful in that it offers you two invaluable assets:
- The highest possible number of quality leads you can get, and
- Targeted traffic
If you?ve been challenged with getting an increase in the numbers of potential customers who visit your website each day, try using the following strategies to pump up the volume:
1.?Know who your audience is and cater to them. This may seem easy, but a lot of companies don?t know who their target customer is and that is why their marketing plans fail. If you produce a breakfast cereal for children and your blog or website posts have no sense of fun or whimsy then you won?t be speaking the right language to the right people.
2.?Create valuable and useful content: As a business owner it?s your job to know everything there is to know about your goods and services. The challenge in sharing that information with the public is to know how to best encapsulate the facts for an online audience. Instead of posting staid and dry press releases on your site, try using video, images, polls and other interactive methods to educate and entertain your customers.
?3.?Be a social media smarty: If a company has a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn account, their posts are most likely to show up in search engine feeds. With this being the case, make sure the stories and information you?re pushing out is truly representative of your brand.
4.?Use dynamic keywords. When people search for information online they usually use Google and input keywords in order to find what they?re looking for fast. No one likes to spend hours looking for items to no avail. So when you?re creating blog posts or informative pieces for your website, it?s crucial to use buzz words within the content that are popular with search engines. If you operate a business that organizes helicopter tours in New York, what do you think the most important words are to use in your content? New York City, Helicopter and Tours. Sightseeing and tourists would be good words too.
5.?Feature impactful images with your posts. If keywords are crucial in SEO, images are just as important because they show up in internet engine searches as well and have a big role in getting people to click on an item. Also, due to the recent popularity of the social site Pinterest, more and more people are searching for and sharing images than ever before. Don?t let your news, posts and information get lost in the crowd.
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Source: http://www.techsling.com/2013/04/five-important-seo-strategies-for-small-business-entrepreneurs/
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How would you change the Droid Incredible 4G LTE?
Last summer, Verizon users who wanted an LTE-capable flagship had a stark choice: Samsung's Galaxy S III, or the Droid Incredible 4G LTE. When we reviewed the latter handset, we found it comfortable in the hand, with a pretty display, but lamented the fact that the carrier insisted upon its own variant, rather than sticking with the beloved One X. But did those Big Red-enforced tweaks ruin this handset for you? Here's the moment to share your experiences of this device, tell us what you loved, loathed and, if someone was listening, would you change?
Update: Perhaps we had Motorola on the brain, but of course the Droid Incredible 4G LTE is made by HTC. Thanks to everyone who pointed it out!
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC, Verizon
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/07/hwyc-droid-incredible-4g-lte/
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Sunday, April 7, 2013
Oh, the places you won't go! World's 25 least-visited countries
Using UN statistics, travel writer?Gunnar Garfors found that top contenders for the least-visited award are often dangerous or remote. But some are just plain boring.
Somali men look out across Mogadishu's fishing harbor in the early morning as fishermen land their catch and transport their fish to the market in the Xamar Weyne district of the Somali capital, March 16. Somalia is the second-least visited country in the world, according to a recent list compiled by travel writer Gunnar Garfors from UN statistics.
Courtesy of Stuart Price/AU-UN IST PHOTO/Reuters
EnlargeFor some travelers, getting off the beaten path is a point of pride, a way to see the parts of the world that don?t make it into glossy guidebooks.
Skip to next paragraph Ryan Lenora BrownCorrespondent
Ryan Brown edits the Africa Monitor blog and contributes to the national and international news desks of the Monitor. She is a former Fulbright fellow to South Africa and holds a degree in history from Duke University.?
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But how many of those same adventurous travelers would be willing to visit, say, Somalia?
About 500, it turns out.
At least, that?s how many tourists found their way to the wartorn east African nation last year. ?
That makes Somalia the second-least visited country in the world, after the tiny pacific island nation Nauru, according to a recent list compiled by travel writer Gunnar Garfors from UN statistics.?
Little Nauru ? 8.1 square miles in size, population 9,378 ? got just 200 visitors last year, and it?s pretty clear why.
?There is almost nothing to see there,? writes Mr. Garfors, ?as most of the island ? is a large open phosphate mine.??
Indeed, most of the world?s least visited countries seem to fall in one of two categories. There are the Naurus, where you?ll puzzle over what to do, and the Somalias, where it?s simply too dangerous to do much of anything at all. (As Somalia?s Wikitravel page aptly notes, ?the easiest method for staying safe in Somalia is not to go in the first place.?)?
Most of the ?nothing to do? countries are the crumbs that dust a map of the Pacific Ocean: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, and Tuvalu. The latter shares with the Maldives the dubious distinction of having "highest elevation points" that are the lowest on earth ? 15 feet above sea level. Visit while you can, as rising sea levels could make the island uninhabitable within a century.
As for the ?too dangerous? countries, the list reads like a global primer in political conflict. For instance, despite its pristine national parks full of wild gorillas and elephants, the perpetually ungovernable Central African Republic (#23) is an unpopular destination for tourists. And its stock will likely continue to plummet ? last week a rebel alliance seized the capital, Bangui, and the president fled to neighboring Cameroon. (For more on the tempestuous politics of the CAR, read about the rebel alliance that took power there Sunday)
Afghanistan (#10) also suffers from tourism-deflating instability, which keeps visitors away from its rugged peaks, ancient Buddhist monuments, and Islamic holy sites, including the 12th-century Minaret of Jam, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
?The Taliban have a message for foreign tourists who come to Afghanistan, especially if they are from any of the 50 countries that are part of the NATO-led coalition supporting the government: Big mistake,? writes The New York Times.
Other countries on the list, like Guinea Bissau (#14), Libya (#15), and East Timor (#18), have seen their reputations ? and infrastructure ? hobbled by recent wars or uprisings.
But not every country on the list is too dangerous or boring to visit. A few are simply effectively sealed off to the outside world.
All foreign visitors to North Korea (#16) are limited to a state-curated itinerary and must have an official government ?minder? by their side at all times. But for the few Western tourists who venture into the country, that?s part of the appeal. ?You will rarely get to see propaganda done more explicitly,? Garfors writes.
Except, perhaps, in Turkmenistan (#7), where visitors who brave the onerous Soviet-esque visa application process were, at least until 2010, rewarded with sites like a 50-ft. golden statue of former dictator Saparmurat Niyazov in the capital Ashgabat, which rotated throughout the course of the day to face the sun. But the country?s most indisputably impressive site is a massive flaming crater deep in the Karakum Desert. Measuring 230 feet across and almost 70 feet deep, the so-called ?Door to Hell? has been burning continuously since Soviet scientists lit it on fire in 1971. ?
Obscure? Yes. But that's part of the charm.
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Saturday, April 6, 2013
White House fights Catholic Church subpoena on birth control
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration has gone to court to try to block a subpoena from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York seeking White House documents about the government's requirement of insurance coverage for birth control.
The subpoena requesting documents from President Barack Obama and his senior advisers would be burdensome to fulfill, the administration said in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Citing U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the suit also argues that civil subpoenas of the president's executive office are inappropriate except in extraordinary circumstances.
The lawsuit was filed on Thursday and released on a court website on Friday.
Religious organizations, individuals and corporations have filed scores of suits to block a planned mandate that employers generally include coverage of contraception in health insurance plans they offer workers.
Though the mandate has some exceptions for religious employers, the New York archdiocese, one of the largest in the United States, said it expected to incur nearly $200 million each year in penalties if it refuses to comply.
The Catholic Church teaches that artificial birth control is sinful because it violates natural law.
A judge in Brooklyn federal court allowed an archdiocese lawsuit over the mandate to move forward in December, over the administration's argument that it was premature.
A lawyer for the archdiocese declined to comment on Friday on the administration's court action.
Obama has been trying to negotiate a settlement of the highly charged dispute, which pits advocates for women's health against those who say a mandate would violate the religious freedom of employers who oppose birth control.
A version of the mandate released in February would not apply to churches and other places of worship even when they operate schools and social services.
It would apply to others, including religiously affiliated nonprofit groups. But in those cases, it calls on private insurers to cover contraceptives through separate plans for employees, not through the employer's group plan.
The mandate was part of the 2010 healthcare law championed by Obama and congressional Democrats.
The Justice Department is representing the White House in the subpoena fight. A department spokeswoman had no immediate comment.
(Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Xavier Briand)
Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/Reuters/domesticNews/~3/mUlh3pQH8dQ/story01.htm
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Peggy leads the pack of 'Mad Men' women
By Kurt Schlosser, TODAY
The men of "Mad Men" may get most of the attention because, well, there they are in the title of the show, but let's not forget about the women.
Steven Pan / GQ
Elisabeth Moss (Peggy Olson) from "Mad Men."
Joan and Betty and Megan and Peggy -- and a bunch of other names and faces who (used to) cycle in and out of Don's bed -- bring a richness to the series which is only matched by the divisiveness they cause among those who like to debate the hot and the not.
Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss), who left us in season five, but who we're reminded (thanks to GQ!) will still be around this season, is clearly someone who is still worth chatting up near the coffee maker. GQ gets it right in labeling her "the office crush," and she gets it right in recognizing how relatable her character is compared to the rest.
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"I think Peggy captivates people because they see themselves in her," Moss told the magazine. "I think that she's sort of the everyman, and she's the one that -- especially women of all ages and especially women in the professional world -- identify with."
We've always appreciated the relationship Peggy has with Don and no episode spelled out their dynamic better than "The Suitcase" in season four. Did we want them to hook up? Of course not. OK, yes. Would it have ruined everything? Totally.
Everything was totally ruined for Don and his ex, Betty Francis (January Jones), and that has led to an interesting dynamic for fans when it comes to his current wife, Megan Draper (Jessica Par?). Don's cheating finally sent Betty packing and into the arms of Henry (zzzzzz), and we're left with Don trying to be a good husband this time around (zzzzzz).
AMC
More women of "Mad Men," from left, Betty, Megan and Joan.
Megan can "Zou Bisou Bisou" all she wants, but it's just not working. Betty is bitter and unhappy in marriage again and all we want is for her to have some sort of awkward affair with Don. What is wrong with us?!
Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) gets a lot of love for reasons that are way too obvious. Stop staring at her pen -- she's a partner now at the agency! And even though she slept with a man to get to the top, we're hoping she steps on a few in order to stay there.
"Mad Men" season six premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. on AMC.
Which female character is your crush on the show? Make your Trudy Campbell or Jane Sterling case over on Facebook!
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Friday, April 5, 2013
Kate Middleton Is Pregnant In A Plaid Coat For Her Scotland Visit ...
Courtesy of SplashNews
The Duchess of Cambridge looked so pretty in plaid during her latest visit to Scotland. Her six-month baby bump barely shows underneath the cute, $640 coat!
Kate Middleton, 31, and Prince William, 30, took a two-day tour in Scotland to launch a new sports program, where they stopped by the Emirates Arena to watch some riders practice on Apr. 4. Always impressing us with her chic maternity style, the Duchess looked divine, showing off a classic coat by Moloh. The flared skirt was so flattering over her growing figure!
Kate Middleton Pregnant Style ? Perfect In Plaid:
The pregnant royal showed almost no sign of a baby bump beneath the navy and gray plaid coat. Embellished with silver buttons, the coat was rather short, hitting Kate mid-thigh. While her pregnancy is advancing everyday you could hardly tell ? she looks like she hasn?t grown a bit! Kate wore the cropped coat over a pair of black tights and black boots for her Scotland excursion.
Aside from spending time at the Emirates Arena while in Gaslow, the Duchess also made her rounds to pay a visit to a homeless shelter as well as the Dumfries House. Hopefully the $640 coat kept her warm throughout her travels!
Moloh is a Brit brand known for dressing English women, and Kate is one of their biggest fans! She, (along with other members of the Royal Family), have been spotted at the brand?s flagship store on Pimlico Road more than once to add some winter goods to their wardrobes.
Kate seems to have an affinity for sporting tartan in Scotland. For her past few visits, (including her hubby?s knighting in July), the Duchess of Cambridge donned culturally appropriate plaid pieces.
The Duchess must have a closet full of her stylish and chic coats at home but we never get tired of seeing her debut new outerwear! Since spring is in the air we love that she opted for a shorter coat. It was perfectly appropriate for her busy day but still full of class. Additionally, Kate?s growing belly looked adorable in this get-up. Kate?s maternity style is so spot-on she?s still on the top of our best dressed list, even if she is pregnant!
Isn?t Kate Middleton?s coat adorable? Comment below! Watch an adorable video of Kate Middleton touring Scotland, provided by our friends at NowThisNews!
WATCH:?Kate Middleton And Her Baby Bump Tour Scotland?(NowThisNews)
Courtney Dunn
More On Kate Middleton News:
- Kate Middleton & Prince William Want A Second Baby ASAP ? Report
- Kate Middleton Writes Letter To Girl, 10, Who Missed Her Appearance
- 9 Most Glam Baby Showers: Kate Middleton, Kim Kardashian & More
Source: http://hollywoodlife.com/2013/04/04/kate-middleton-pregnant-style-scotland-plaid-coat-picture/
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Thursday, April 4, 2013
Ukraine opposition protests, court hears Tymoshenko ally appeal
By Olzhas Auyezov
KIEV (Reuters) - Thousands of supporters of Ukraine's re-energized opposition movement rallied outside parliament on Tuesday to press for early elections for the mayor of Kiev in the biggest such action against President Viktor Yanukovich this year.
A crowd led by the three main opposition leaders marched from the center of the capital to parliament, holding aloft banners calling for the release of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko and denouncing Yanukovich's policies.
The protesters' direct target was Olexander Popov, appointed by Yanukovich as head of Kiev city's administration and now effectively mayor of the capital.
The ruling Party of the Regions is pushing for the Kiev mayoral election to be delayed for two years until after the 2015 presidential election, in which Yanukovich is expected to run for a second term.
The last mayor, who left office in mid-2012, was effectively replaced by Popov and opposition leaders are pushing for a vote in early June.
Banners read "Popov as mayor means Kiev dies" and "Do not let Yanukovich steal elections from the people of Kiev" in a show of strength by the opposition which performed well in a parliamentary election in October.
The demonstration came as Ukraine's leaders hesitate between forging closer ties with the European Union or aligning themselves more closely with former Soviet master Russia.
The European Union warned Yanukovich in February that a free trade deal could be jeopardized if Ukraine did not show progress towards political reform by May.
For the EU, the deal is conditional on improved human rights and ending the practice of "selective justice" - meaning the jailing of political opponents such as former prime minister Tymoshenko, Yanukovich's arch rival who is serving a seven-year jail sentence for abuse of office.
RECALLING THE REVOLUTION
The united opposition is led by former economy minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, nationalist leader Oleh Tyahnybok and world heavyweight boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko.
It says Yanukovich, with vivid memories of the 2004 "Orange revolution" protests in Kiev which led to the unraveling of his first bid for the presidency, wants to keep Popov in control of the capital through the 2015 presidential election.
"They (the Yanukovich camp) don't want an election now because they will lose this election," Tyahnybok, head of the Svoboda (Freedom) nationalist party, told the crowd after he and other opposition leaders lobbied in parliament for a date to be fixed for the mayoral ballot.
"This is not just about the Kiev mayoral election. If they put off this election, what do you think will happen to the presidential one? The same," Yatsenyuk added.
Opposition parties have shown their teeth by paralyzing parliamentary proceedings, often for weeks on end, by blockading the speaker's rostrum.
One of their central demands is the release from jail of Tymoshenko and her allies. Her continued imprisonment could now threaten free trade and political agreements with the EU which would anchor the former Soviet republic in the Western camp.
But Yanukovich, despite an often-stated commitment to taking Ukraine into mainstream Europe, has so far refused to bow to pressure either from the opposition or from Western governments and intervene in the case of Tymoshenko, his fiercest rival.
Although Ukraine is keen to cut its dependency on ties with Russia, particularly in the sphere of gas supplies, Kiev has yet to make a clear choice between a closer relationship with the EU or Moscow.
There has been strong speculation that one of Tymoshenko's jailed allies, former interior minister Yuri Lutsenko who is serving a four-year sentence for embezzlement and abuse of office, might receive more lenient treatment.
A Kiev court on Tuesday began hearing Lutsenko's appeal against his conviction and was expected to hand down a ruling soon.
When proceedings opened, Lutsenko asked the court to be allowed out of the glass-fronted box in which he was held, saying: "I'm not a maniac. I haven't killed 10 people. If I am a maniac then I am a political one since I do not like your leader." The court refused his request.
(Writing By Richard Balmforth; editing by Mike Collett-White)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-opposition-protests-court-hears-tymoshenko-ally-appeal-122745552.html
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Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Euro outlook cut again after botched Cyprus bailout: Reuters poll
By Andy Bruce
LONDON (Reuters) - Evaporating hopes for an economic recovery and last month's botched bailout of Cyprus persuaded analysts to chop their outlook again for the euro over the coming months, a Reuters poll showed.
Although the median expectation of more than 60 analysts surveyed over the last few days shows the euro trading around its current levels near $1.28 over the next few months, further out, the poll shows the currency weakening to around $1.25.
Overall, forecasts for the euro were about 2 cents weaker compared with last month's poll, which also reflected its roughly 6 percent depreciation against the dollar since the start of February.
The poor state of the euro zone economy was the chief reason why the euro is expected to weaken further, with surveys on Tuesday showing a worsening manufacturing slump in the currency bloc.
The median outlook for the euro was the weakest since September last year, when European financial markets were in turmoil as speculation grew that Spain would soon need a banking sector bailout, which it eventually got in December.
"We expect euro zone fundamentals to deteriorate further. This, combined with outflow pressures, should keep the euro's downward trend intact," said Camilla Sutton, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank in Toronto.
Asked which currencies investors were most likely to buy at the expense of the euro following the Cyprus bailout, 22 out of the 26 who answered said the U.S. dollar, with seven responses each for sterling and the Australian dollar.
"If the euro comes under further stress, we expect the growth-linked currencies like the Australian and Canadian dollars to benefit instead," said Emmanuel Ng, currency strategist at OCBC Bank in Singapore.
EURO BEARS OUT IN FORCE
Cyprus struck a 10-billion euro bailout deal with the European Union and International Monetary Fund last week, designed to untwine it from a failed banking sector that has long dominated its economy.
While tiny in economic terms, the chaotic bailout deal highlighted the political discord that has left Europe's economy rudderless, with the latest data showing signs of further deterioration rather than recovery.
The euro's recent decline versus the dollar reflects these poor economic fundamentals far more so than ebullient European stock markets. The FTSEurofirst 300 index has rallied more than 6 percent since the start of the year.
The poll showed the euro declining to $1.27 in six months, and $1.25 a year from now.
Bearishness about the euro's prospects among respondents was palpable, matching data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that showed traders increased their short bets against the euro through March.
Out of 58 contributors who took part in both the April and March foreign exchange polls, slightly more than half, 31, cut their 12-month outlook for the euro.
Fewer than a third of analysts expect the euro to be stronger in 12 months than its current level near $1.28.
Against sterling, analysts expect the euro to trade near 85 pence over the next year.
(Analysis by Somya Gupta and Namrata Anchan; Polling by Somya Gupta and Ashrith Doddi; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/poll-euro-outlook-cut-again-botched-cyprus-bailout-170533274--business.html
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NASA sends unmanned aircraft to study volcanic plume
Apr. 2, 2013 ? Studying volcanos can be hazardous work, both for researchers and aircraft. To penetrate such dangerous airspace, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), especially those with electric engines that ingest little contaminated air, are an emerging and effective way to gather crucial data about volcanic ash and gases.
Last month, a team of NASA researchers deployed three repurposed military UAVs with special instruments into and above the noxious sulfur dioxide plume of Costa Rica's active Turrialba volcano, near San Jose. The project was designed to improve the remote-sensing capability of satellites, including satellite data research products such as maps of the concentration and distribution of volcanic gases. It was also designed to improve computer models of how and where volcanic plumes will travel.
Led by principal investigator David Pieri of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., the team launched 10 flights of the remote controlled UAVs into the volcanic plume and above the rim of Turrialba's 10,500-foot (3,200-meter) summit crater between March 11 and 14.
The small, twin electric engine Dragon Eye UAVs were acquired by researchers at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., from the United States Marine Corps. Weighing less than six pounds (2.2 kilograms) each and with a wingspan of 3.75 feet (1.1 meters), they have visible and infrared video cameras and can carry a one-pound instrument payload for up to an hour within a volcanic plume. The researchers equipped them with sulfur dioxide and particle sensors and automatic atmospheric sampling bottles keyed to measure sulfur dioxide concentration.
During the flights, the team coordinated its data gathering with NASA's Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft, allowing scientists to compare sulfur dioxide concentration measurements from the satellite with measurements taken from within the plume.
Scientists believe computer models derived from this study will contribute to safeguarding the National and International Airspace System, and will also improve global climate predictions and mitigate environmental hazards (e.g., sulfur dioxide volcanic smog, or "vog") for people who live near volcanoes.
A key constituent of such models is the intensity and character of the volcanic activity located near the eruption vent. For instance, knowing the height of ash and gas concentrations, and temperatures over the vent during an eruption are important initial factors for any model that predicts the direction of the volcanic plume.
"It is very difficult to gather data from within volcanic eruption columns and plumes because updraft wind speeds are very high and high ash concentrations can quickly destroy aircraft engines," said Pieri. "Such flight environments can be very dangerous to manned aircraft. Volcanic eruption plumes may stretch for miles from a summit vent, and detached ash clouds can drift hundreds to thousands of miles from an eruption site."
The project supports NASA's ASTER mission as well as JPL's planned Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HyspIRI) satellite mission by improving satellite data-based retrievals of gases and solid aerosols associated with volcanic activity, as well as volcanic emission transport models. HyspIRI will study the world's ecosystems and provide critical information on natural disasters such as volcanoes, assessing their pre-eruptive behavior and the likelihood of future eruptions.
For more information, read the full Ames feature at: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/earthmonth/volcanic-plume-uavs.html . For more on NASA's Airborne Science Program, visit: http://airbornescience.nasa.gov/ . For more on HyspIRI, visit: http://hyspiri.jpl.nasa.gov/ . For more on ASTER, visit: http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ .
JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
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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.
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
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Tuesday, April 2, 2013
?Phablets? called a ?fad? that will eventually succumb to iPhone-sized devices
As per usual, Google put out various, elaborate April Fools Day jokes, which only reminded everyone how much time and money the tech company has to spend on projects that aren't core products like, ahem, Google Reader.?For those too busy to follow along, The Next Web has a running list of the myriad pranks. And while some of the antics, like the pirate treasure map,?are harmless and cute, others hit too close to home.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/phablets-called-fad-eventually-succumb-iphone-sized-devices-191226786.html
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Mexican consumer protection agency files suit against Telmex
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Mexican government's consumer protection agency said on Sunday it had opened a class action lawsuit against Carlos Slim's fixed line phone company Telmex for making illegal charges.
Rafael Ochoa, a legal expert at the federal prosecutor's office for the consumer (Profeco), said Telmex had made unwarranted charges for a privacy service and that Profeco had filed the suit with a federal civil court in Mexico City.
Profeco took the step after noticing that Telmex was charging users some 10.40 pesos ($0.84) a month for a data protection service that was a constitutional right, said Ochoa.
It was unclear how many customers could join the suit and how much Telmex might be liable for, he noted.
"There's still not a precise estimate," Ochoa said, noting the period under scrutiny began in March 2012. He added that he expected a judge to rule on the case in around six months.
Telmex did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Slim, the world's richest man, controls roughly 80 percent of Mexico's fixed line phone market and 70 percent of the country's mobile business through his giant phone company America Movil , of which Telmex is a part.
In February, Mexico's competition watchdog Cofeco said it would fine Telmex $52 million for monopolistic practices.
Slim's companies have successfully fought off a number of lawsuits in the past, but the billionaire is facing tougher regulation from President Enrique Pena Nieto's government.
On March 11, Pena Nieto unveiled the biggest planned shake-up of the Mexican telecommunications market in decades, a sweeping reform that aims to boost competition and give regulators the power to make dominant players sell assets.
($1 = 12.3392 Mexican pesos)
(Reporting by Adriana Barrera and Dave Graham; Editing by Bernard Orr)
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Monday, April 1, 2013
AP PHOTOS: Easter celebrations around the world
Pope Francis blesses a man as he leads the Easter vigil service in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican Saturday, March 30, 2013. Pope Francis is celebrating a trimmed back Easter Vigil service after having reached out to Muslims and women during a Holy Week in which he has begun to put his mark on the Catholic Church. Francis processed into a darkened and silent St. Peter's Basilica at the start of the Saturday service, which recalls the period between Christ's crucifixion on Good Friday and resurrection on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Francis blesses a man as he leads the Easter vigil service in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican Saturday, March 30, 2013. Pope Francis is celebrating a trimmed back Easter Vigil service after having reached out to Muslims and women during a Holy Week in which he has begun to put his mark on the Catholic Church. Francis processed into a darkened and silent St. Peter's Basilica at the start of the Saturday service, which recalls the period between Christ's crucifixion on Good Friday and resurrection on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Francis leaves after celebrating the Easter vigil service in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican Saturday, March 30, 2013. Pope Francis celebrated a trimmed back Easter Vigil service after having reached out to Muslims and women during a Holy Week in which he has begun to put his mark on the Catholic Church. Francis processed into a darkened and silent St. Peter's Basilica at the start of the Saturday service, which recalls the period between Christ's crucifixion on Good Friday and resurrection on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Francis leaves after celebrating the Easter vigil service in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican Saturday, March 30, 2013. Pope Francis celebrated a trimmed back Easter Vigil service after having reached out to Muslims and women during a Holy Week in which he has begun to put his mark on the Catholic Church. Francis processed into a darkened and silent St. Peter's Basilica at the start of the Saturday service, which recalls the period between Christ's crucifixion on Good Friday and resurrection on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Cardinal Audrys Juozas Backis bless during the Easter vigil mass at the Cathedral-Basilica in Vilnius, Lithuania, Saturday, March 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Penitents of the "Las Siete Palabras" brotherhood take part in the procession of "La Soledad" during Holy Week in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, March 30, 2013. Hundreds of processions take place throughout Spain during the Easter Holy Week. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
In his Easter Vigil homily at St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis kept his message simple and tied to the liturgical readings. "Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with trust: he is life!" Just a few hours after the vigil ends, Francis on Sunday will celebrate his first Easter Mass as pontiff and deliver his "Urbi et Orbi" speech, Latin for "To the city and the world."
Here are scenes from Easter celebrations at the Vatican and across the world.
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Ambitious Startups Could Signal The Coming Of A Second Space Age
In late March, the American Geophysical Union announced that the Voyager I space probe became the first man-made object to leave our solar system. Just a few hours later though, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory shot down that claim noting that the tell-tale sign of hitting interstellar space (a "change in the direction of the magnetic field") hasn't been detected yet. Still, this whole thing got me thinking: NASA launched Voyager I in 1977 to peer more closely at the outer planets. By late 1980, the probe had completed its tour of Jupiter and Saturn and made a gravity-assisted beeline for the edge of the solar system. In the 40 or so years that Voyager has toured the outer fringes of the solar system, our focus on space has grown more limited, and in many ways it's a new breed of space-based startups that are helping to spark imaginations the way NASA has done for decades.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ploJDImW_VI/
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013
TCTV Presents Highlights From The SXSWi Trade Show
From Yamtrader to Das Keyboard, the SXSWi trade show floor is a mixed bag. While not everything lent itself to a detail visit with the TCTV camera, we did find a few interesting companies in the mix.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/wfMuYPLB96s/
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Job burnout can severely compromise heart health
Mar. 12, 2013 ? Americans work longer hours, take fewer vacation days, and retire later than employees in other industrialized countries around the globe. With such demanding careers, it's no surprise that many experience job burnout -- physical, cognitive, and emotional exhaustion that results from stress at work. Researchers have found that burnout is also associated with obesity, insomnia, and anxiety.
Now Dr. Sharon Toker of Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Management and her fellow researchers -- Profs. Samuel Melamed, Shlomo Berliner, David Zeltser and Itzhak Shpira of TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine -- have found a link between job burnout and coronary heart disease (CHD), the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries that leads to angina or heart attacks.
Those who were identified as being in the top 20 percent of the burnout scale were found to have a 79 percent increased risk of coronary disease, the researchers reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. Calling the results "alarming," Dr. Toker says that these findings were more extreme than the researchers had expected -- and make burnout a stronger predictor of CHD than many other classical risk factors, including smoking, blood lipid levels, and physical activity.
Taking a toll on the heart
Some of the factors that contribute to burnout are common experiences in the workplace, including high stress, heavy workload, a lack of control over job situations, a lack of emotional support, and long work hours. This leads to physical wear and tear, which will eventually weaken the body.
Knowing that burnout has been associated with other cardiovascular risk factors, such as heightened amounts of cholesterol or fat in the bloodstream, the researchers hypothesized that it could also be a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Over the course of the study, a total of 8,838 apparently healthy employed men and women between the ages of 19 and 67 who presented for routine health examinations were followed for an average of 3.4 years. Each participant was measured for burnout levels and examined for signs of CHD. The researchers controlled for typical risk factors for the disease, such as sex, age, family history of heart disease, and smoking.
During the follow-up period, 93 new cases of CHD were identified. Burnout was associated with a 40% increased risk of developing CHD. But the 20% of participants with the highest burnout scores had a 79% increased risk. Dr. Toker predicts that with a more extended follow-up period, the results would be even more dramatic.
Avoiding long-term damage
These results are valuable for preventative medicine, says Dr. Toker. Healthcare providers who know that their patients are experiencing burnout can closely monitor for signs of coronary heart disease as well.
Once burnout begins to develop, it sparks a downwards spiral and ultimately becomes a chronic condition, she warns. Employers need to prioritize prevention by promoting healthy and supportive work environments and keeping watch for early warning signs of the condition. Simple diagnostic questionnaires that identify burnout are already available online. Workers can contribute to prevention by making healthy lifestyle choices, such as exercising more regularly, getting seven to eight hours sleep per night, and seeking psychological therapy if required.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Friends of Tel Aviv University.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- S. Toker, S. Melamed, S. Berliner, D. Zeltser, I. Shapira. Burnout and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: A Prospective Study of 8838 Employees. Psychosomatic Medicine, 2012; 74 (8): 840 DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e31826c3174
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
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Love and Relationships: How to Develop Good Communication ...
I think people have a misconception that when you get married, you have arrived. In fact, I think we believe that about everything. We don?t see life as a constant but as a destination. So, we want to get out of high school. Some aren?t encouraged to go to college. But for those who are, you want to go to college.
After getting your degree, you imagine you?ll do that forever. But things are always improving and to BE. Extraordinary! you need continuing education classes, connections with other innovative people who empower you to be strong and amazing. We are single, and decide that marriage will be the end of something we feel void of, and this is your lie to yourself.
Marriage is absolutely awesome, adorable, lovely. Being married to my husband brings me joy and I can only liken it to my decision to live for God. I believe that marriage has a doctrine and in that first year, learning how to understand the covenant created between you two, and the choice to walk in it, is a challenge for anyone.
Married 18 years ? Anthony and Christina Murray, Oasis Church in Atlanta, Georgia
It does not change your love, if anything marriage should rekindle the fire that you have for God as your mate serves as an example, a tangible expression of your divine relationship with the most high. Also, your love should grow as you handle discrepancies with care. In the first year, you will learn:
- When to fight
- How to fight
- What communication really is all about
When emotions are high, and tension makes you impulsive, you can raise your voice or argue in front of children. When you get married, whatever you were able to hide is exposed. Whether you struggle with pornography, poor eating habits, or are irresponsible the first year of your marriage will require you to examine yourself beyond what your single preparation for marriage may have done for you.
It is important that you don?t blame each other, or try to parent one another but that you truly develop a love and partnership. Create an atmosphere that inspires the other to heal, grow, mature and BE. Extraordinary! There is nothing wrong with having non-negotiables but remember that God gave us free will to serve, and choose our relationship with him. Our relationship with our mate is not about power and control.
The relationship tip is:
Do Not Abandon Your Communication Skills
You could say that at some point in your life you?ve felt abandoned by God. Whether the statement of your feelings are true or not may be different but understand that there have been times where we?ve felt like God was not hearing us. We have to learn in our intimacy with God, how he talks to us. For me, he speaks directly at times, through people (who do not know that they are conveying a message), and in dreams. How does God talk to you?
I would have never said that anything was more important than sex before getting married. I may have put them on the same level but I venture to say that communication is necessary for anything else to work. God speaks, but he also listens. I believe that one way to learn effective communication is to examine and develop your communication with God.
Sometimes the way we communicate with each other can feel like we?re being punched in the face. Is this how you want your mate to feel?
And, as it relates to your mate, use wisdom. Know when to speak, when to listen and when to decide mutually to be silent agreeing to come back together in a short period of time to work it out. Consider communication the percussion section of your marriage.
Ressurrection Graves is a relationship mentor who loves love. She writes and maintains her blog, is an author and national speaker on topics surrounding healing, love, relationships, entrepreneurship, child sexual abuse and homelessness. To check out her speaking topics please click here.
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Ressurrection Graves is a Child Sexual Abuse Grooming Expert and H.E.A.L.E.R. (Healer, Educator, Activist, Life Skills Expert, Empowerment Speaker, Relationship Mentor) Her website reaches readership in 188 countries. She is available for national speaking engagements, radio and television interviews. She can be reached at: 202.717.7377 or send your request to: ressurrection dot wordpress at yahoo dot com or comment on http://www.ressurrection.wordpress.comJennifer Aniston naomi watts Oscar Nominations 2013 Beasts of the Southern Wild 2013 Oscars academy awards Sally Field
Monday, March 11, 2013
Jury begins deliberations in Ohio Craigslist murder trial
By Kim Palmer
AKRON, Ohio (Reuters) - Jurors began deliberating on Monday in the trial of an Ohio street preacher accused of murdering down-on-their-luck men who answered a Craigslist ad for a non-existent job.
Richard Beasley, 53, was a "master manipulator" who preyed on people who were "easy targets and desperate for a better life," Jonathan Baumoel, Summit County assistant prosecuting attorney, told jurors in Akron, Ohio, during closing arguments in the case.
"He earned their trust and it cost them their lives," Baumoel said.
Beasley faces the death penalty for the 2011 murders of David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Virginia; Ralph Geiger, 56, of Akron, Ohio; and Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon, Ohio.
Beasley is accused of killing Geiger first after luring him with the possibility of a non-existent job, stealing his identity, and then killing the other two men after they answered a Craigslist ad for the job.
Beasley is also charged with the attempted murder of a South Carolina man, Scott Davis, who testified earlier in the trial that he answered the ad for a $300-dollar-a-week farmhand job.
Baumoel told jurors that although there was no DNA evidence linking Beasley to the murders, the overwhelming number of connections between him and the dead men is "the DNA of the crime telling you who committed these crimes."
Beasley, dressed in a dark sport coat and tie, took notes and sometimes shook his head as Baumoel made his arguments.
Defense attorney James Burdon told jurors Beasley was "a fall guy" and all the evidence in the case was circumstantial. The defense said members of a local motorcycle gang are the real killers and that witnesses lied to protect themselves.
Burdon admitted that Beasley was trying to evade getting arrested by using false identities and helped post the Craigslist ad but denied killing anyone.
The attacks were among a series of incidents involving social media in which people advertising goods for sale or responding to ads have been attacked and killed.
In 2009, a former medical student was accused of killing a masseuse he met through Craigslist. Last year, two men in Tennessee were accused of killing a man and a woman for "unfriending" the daughter of one of the suspects on Facebook.
Beasley's alleged accomplice, Brogan Rafferty, 18, was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison without parole in November for his role in the deadly scheme.
The jurors in the Beasley case are sequestered. They will deliberate until 9 p.m. local time Monday.
(Reporting By Kim Palmer; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Todd Eastham)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jury-begins-deliberations-ohio-craigslist-murder-trial-210939760.html
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Budget Cuts Keep Freshman Senators in the 'Swing Suites'
The across-the-board cuts to the federal government?s budget are exacerbating an already convoluted process for new senators moving from cramped temporary digs to their permanent offices.?
?We?re told that the sequester is slowing it down,? said Kay Rand, the chief of staff to Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, when National Journal Daily recently visited the newly elected member?s temporary office space, an old, small hearing room in the Russell building.
The Senate Rules Committee, which oversees process, told Rand the move would be delayed by about a month because of sequestration, the $85 billion in automatic cuts to the federal government that went into effect March 1. A recent meeting of Democratic chiefs of staff included discussion of the sequestration?s impact on moving, according to a Democratic Senate source who would only talk on condition of anonymity.
Because of the delay, Rand said she expects to be operating out of the hearing room until June, a month longer than normal.
?It?s like a call center,? Rand said. ?We?re replacing all of our large desks with smaller desks so that we can fit more people.??
But they don?t have enough room for the number of staffers they would like to hire, and they don?t have adequate space for constituents eager to meet with their new senator. The situation is prompting King to find a better way to execute the process to move what are increasingly larger classes of new senators into the Capitol complex.
?We?re working on ways to expedite the process so that there isn?t such a long lag time between when we come here and get into our offices,? King told National Journal Daily late last week. King, who sits on the Rules Committee, added: ?The freshman class have agreed among ourselves to shorten our decision time, which will compress the schedule, and I?m also working with the chief of staff of the committee on whatever other ideas we can come up with.?
Because they?re last in Senate seniority, most of the dozen new members elected in the 2012 cycle are last to choose their permanent offices and must wait until April to view what permanent office suite they want. According to Senate rules, they have at most a day to choose, at which point workers employed by the Architect of the Capitol begin the moving process.
?Offices were warned of a potential delay in the moving process because of sequestration?s effect on the Architect of the Capitol?s office,? said Brian Fallon, a spokesman for Rules Committee Chairman Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. ?The timetable for each senator to choose an office should not be affected by sequestration.?
Other freshman senators are also grappling with less-than-ideal temporary quarters. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, considered one of the most high-profile freshman senators because of his outspoken support for tea-party positions, is operating out of a cramped space in the Dirksen basement, next door to the similarly small offices of a few other freshman senators, including Democrats Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
?Sen. Cruz hit the ground running, but we?re running with a thin staff,? said Chip Roy, Cruz?s chief of staff, in a recent interview in their office?s only conference room. ?We still only have about half a policy staff, because frankly, we don?t have space to hire them.?
Roy, who shares an office with Cruz, said they have about 25 people in their office now.
The office of Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., is a small space on the ground floor of the Dirksen building with windows, which is a luxury for temporary offices. ?I think they gave us a littler nicer space because we?re number 100?last?in the office lottery,? Tessa Gould, Heitkamp's chief of staff, said with a laugh.
The office lottery Gould referred to is the system that puts in single-file line a dozen senators all being sworn in on the same day, who thus have the same level of Senate seniority. The system considers, among other factors, whether the senator is a former House member and whether the new senator spent time in a previous administration. The last factor is state population. With fewer than 700,000 people, North Dakota is the third least-populated state in the country, which explains in part Heitkamp?s dead-last position in the lottery.
The ?swing suites??as the temporary offices are nicknamed on Capitol Hill?of two high-profile Democratic senators, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, are near each other in a big trailer in the courtyard of Russell. Constituents often have a hard time finding both their offices.
As a reminder that life isn?t fair, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who was appointed in December to replace Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., is already moved into his permanent office, DeMint?s cushy old suite in Russell. The new digs give Scott?s employees enough space to staff up.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/budget-cuts-keep-freshman-senators-swing-suites-123530906--politics.html
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