Shanzhai Biennial: Dark Optimism

This song, like the dress and the woman wearing it, is the sincerest form of flattery. In that they're all shameless knockoffs.

Everything about this music video from Shanzhai Biennial, a trio of artists?Cyril Duval, Babak Radboy and Avena Gallagher?posing as a ?multinational brand posing as an art-project posing as an multinational brand posing as a biennial? is fake.

Living up to their Shanzhai namesake (the Chinese convention of knockoff goods) for this project, the group got Chinese model Wu Ting Ting to fein lip syncing to a Nova Heart rendition of Sinead O'Connors "Nothing Compares 2 U" while wearing a dress that looks suspiciously like a bottle of Head and Shoulders.

?The relevance of the song is right there in the title,? Radboy told Nowness. ?We were searching desperately for a version in Mandarin and finally found a recording on an obscure and outdated Chinese social networking site by a pretty busted looking queen in his 40s?so there are four levels of separation there.? Two more and you win a free Kevin Bacon.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/shanzhai-biennial-dark-optimism-508958890

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Policy, discretion guide media sources probes

The screen on the phone console at the reception desk at The Associated Press Washington bureau, Monday, My 13, 2013. The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

The screen on the phone console at the reception desk at The Associated Press Washington bureau, Monday, My 13, 2013. The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? It was a rare moment in relations between the media and the government: In 2008, FBI Director Robert Mueller called the top editors at The New York Times and The Washington Post to apologize because the bureau had improperly obtained reporters' telephone records four years earlier.

The extraordinary call was an admission that the FBI's actions violated Justice Department policy about seeking journalists' phone records. But nothing about what the FBI did in 2004 appeared to run afoul of any law.

The Justice Department's latest effort to examine whom journalists are talking to ? the secret subpoena of Associated Press phone records from April and May of last year ? demonstrates how government investigators are guided more by policy and the judgments of high-ranking officials than by specific laws or, in this case, the need to satisfy an independent federal judge.

The AP case involves a criminal investigation into who gave information to the news cooperative's reporters about a foiled bomb plot in Yemen. The AP's May 7, 2012, story attributed details of the operation to unnamed government officials.

The government informed the AP 10 days ago that it had secretly obtained records for 21 phone numbers, including those of the reporters on the bomb plot story. The department's guidelines, first drafted in the wake of Watergate-era government abuses, call for news organizations to be informed before investigators ask phone companies for records unless doing so would compromise the investigation.

Attorney General Eric Holder said the story was the result of "a very serious leak, a very grave leak." AP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt called the gathering of phone records a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news.

New developments emerged Monday in another case that has led to the indictment of an official for revealing classified information. Federal prosecutors got a search warrant for the private emails of Fox News reporter James Rosen and used building security records at the State Department to track his movements as they sought to identify whom he had relied on for classified information in a story about North Korea.

The tension over balancing the government's duty to protect national security and the media's role as public watchdog is long-standing. Take away protections for reporters' confidential sources and "the people who know what's happening become fearful, and they will not come forward with information the public may find very valuable," said Lucy Dalglish, dean of the University of Maryland's journalism school. "It's a classic chilling effect."

But neither, said George Washington University law professor Orin Kerr, does the public want a world of free disclosure by government workers with no opportunity for the government to investigate. "It requires a very delicate balance. We wouldn't want either extreme," Kerr said.

One possibility for compromise is a long-discussed federal media shield law to go along with similar laws in most states. Even as President Barack Obama defended his administration's aggressive pursuit of leakers of government secrets, he also said Congress should consider a law that generally would protect journalists from government subpoenas and allow judges, in rare instances, to decide whether national security concerns trump press freedoms.

Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said they would introduce a new version of a media shield bill that Congress last considered four years ago.

The congressional proposals ? and there have been many over the years ? are partly a response to a 1972 Supreme Court ruling that nothing in the First Amendment protects reporters from being called to testify before grand juries. Justice Byron White's majority opinion scoffed at the idea that it would dry up confidential sources. He said Congress was free to give journalists, or "newsmen" in that era's parlance, additional protection under federal law. That case arose in the context of the government's pursuit of Black Panthers and also drug users in Kentucky.

But the 5-4 ruling in Branzburg v. Hayes also has bedeviled generations of prosecutors, media lawyers and judges because one of the five justices in the majority, Lewis Powell, wrote a concurring opinion that suggested that maybe the court's holding was not as absolute as it sounded. Powell said courts would consider the competing claims of prosecutors and journalists case by case, and called judges to strike "a proper balance between freedom of the press and the obligation of all citizens to give relevant testimony with respect to criminal conduct."

At the time, Justice Potter Stewart charitably referred to Powell's opinion as "enigmatic" and hoped that it would lead to "a more flexible view in the future."

Last year, Judge Albert Diaz, a member of a federal appeals court panel that is weighing an effort to compel a reporter's testimony in an investigation of unauthorized disclosure, called the 1972 ruling "clear as mud." The panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., has yet to rule on the attempt by New York Times journalist James Risen to avoid testifying at the trial of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling. Sterling is accused of leaking classified information about a botched covert operation in Iran.

Earlier, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, the trial judge handling Sterling's case, sided with Risen, saying, "A criminal trial subpoena is not a free pass for the government to rifle through a reporter's notebook."

Other courts, though, recently have rejected journalists' attempts to quash subpoenas for their testimony.

The rules governing how the government seeks other information such as emails haven't kept up with the pace of technology. When it comes to electronic records held by Internet service providers, technology companies and credit card companies, the rules "are not as strict as they are for news media telephone toll records," said Alan Butler, appellate advocacy counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

The wide sweep of the subpoena ? across AP bureaus in Washington, New York and Hartford, Conn. ? and the lack of advance warning make the government's approach look "more like a dragnet" than the narrowly drafted request the Justice Department guidelines say is required, Dalglish said.

University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone said Justice Department officials are aware that the broader they cast the net, the more questions they will face. "They reached as far as they did because it was the only way to get the information they needed," Stone said.

As for the lack of notice, he said, it was at least plausible to believe that the authorities "really want to catch this guy who leaked really bad information, from their perspective. They didn't want to do anything to scare him off."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-05-21-US-AP-Phone-Records-Legal-Landscape/id-54a3adafa64545fd8292ef8e00c60a2b

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More Obama aides knew of IRS audit; Obama not told

FILE - In this May 15, 2013 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington. It might have seemed a no-win situation to the White House: either keep President Barack Obama in the dark about a looming investigation into political targeting by the Internal Revenue Service or blur legal lines by telling him about an independent audit. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

FILE - In this May 15, 2013 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington. It might have seemed a no-win situation to the White House: either keep President Barack Obama in the dark about a looming investigation into political targeting by the Internal Revenue Service or blur legal lines by telling him about an independent audit. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

FILE - In this May 10, 2006 file photo, then-federal prosecutor, now White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler is seen in Houston. It might have seemed a no-win situation to the White House: either keep President Barack Obama in the dark about a looming investigation into political targeting by the Internal Revenue Service or blur legal lines by telling him about an independent audit. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney gestures as he speaks during his daily news briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, May, 20, 2013. Carney spoke on various subjects including the recent scandals involving the IRS and Justice Department. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

FILE - In this May 9, 2013 file photo, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. It might have seemed a no-win situation to the White House: either keep President Barack Obama in the dark about a looming investigation into political targeting by the Internal Revenue Service or blur legal lines by telling him about an independent audit. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 15, 2010 file photo White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. It might have seemed a no-win situation to the White House: either keep President Barack Obama in the dark about a looming investigation into political targeting by the Internal Revenue Service or blur legal lines by telling him about an independent audit. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and other senior advisers knew in late April that an impending report was likely to say the IRS had inappropriately targeted conservative groups, President Barack Obama's spokesman disclosed Monday, expanding the circle of top officials who knew of the audit beyond those named earlier.

But McDonough and the other advisers did not tell Obama, leaving him to learn about the politically perilous results of the internal investigation from news reports more than two weeks later, officials said.

The apparent decision to keep the president in the dark underscores the White House's cautious legal approach to controversies and reflects a desire by top advisers to distance Obama from troubles threatening his administration.

Obama spokesman Jay Carney defended keeping the president out of the loop on the Internal Revenue Service audit, saying Obama was comfortable with the fact that "some matters are not appropriate to convey to him, and this is one of them."

"It is absolutely a cardinal rule as we see it that we do not intervene in ongoing investigations," Carney said.

Republicans, however, are accusing the president of being unaware of important happenings in the government he oversees.

"It seems to be the answer of the administration whenever they're caught doing something they shouldn't be doing is, 'I didn't know about it'," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told CBS News. "And it causes me to wonder whether they believe willful ignorance is a defense when it's your job to know."

Obama advisers argue that the outcry from Republicans would be far worse had McDonough or White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler told the president about the IRS audit before it became public, thereby raising questions about White House interference.

Still, the White House's own shifting information about who knew what and when is keeping the focus of the IRS controversy on the West Wing.

When Carney first addressed the matter last week, he said only that Ruemmler had been told around April 22 that an inspector general audit was being concluded at a Cincinnati IRS office that screens applications for organizations' tax-exempt status. He said the audit was described to the counsel's office "very broadly."

But on Monday, Carney said lower-ranking staffers in the White House counsel's office first learned of the report one week earlier, on April 16. When Ruemmler was later alerted, she was told specifically that the audit was likely to conclude that IRS employees improperly scrutinized organizations by looking for words like "tea party" and "patriot." Ruemmler then told McDonough, deputy chief of staff Mark Childress, and other senior advisers, but not Obama.

A new Pew Research Center poll shows 42 percent of Americans think the Obama administration was "involved" in the IRS targeting of conservative groups, while 31 percent say it was a decision made solely by employees at the IRS.

The IRS matter is one of three controversies that have consumed the White House over the past week. In each instance, officials have tried to put distance between the president and questionable actions by people within his administration.

As with the IRS investigation, the White House says Obama learned only from news reporters that the Justice Department had subpoenaed phone records from journalists at The Associated Press as part of a leaks investigation. And faced with new questions about the deadly attacks in Benghazi, Libya, Obama's advisers have pinned responsibility on the CIA for crafting talking points that downplayed the potential of terrorism, despite the fact that the White House was a part of the process.

Former White House officials say a president has little choice but to distance himself from investigations and then endure accusations of being out of touch, or worse.

"It's a tough balance," said Sara Taylor Fagen, who was White House political director for President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2007.

"With a scandal, there's no way to win," said Fagen, whom the Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed and sharply questioned in a probe of dismissed U.S. attorneys. "There may never have been any wrongdoing by anyone in the White House, on any of these issues," she said, "but once the allegations are made, you can't win."

A White House peeking into an ongoing investigations can trigger a political uproar. A well-known case involved President Richard Nixon trying to hinder the FBI's probe of the Watergate break-in.

In a less far-reaching case in 2004, the Bush White House acknowledged that its counsel's office learned of a Justice Department investigation into whether Sandy Berger ? the national security adviser under President Bill Clinton ? had removed classified documents from the National Archives. Democrats said the White House hoped to use the information to help Bush's re-election campaign.

In the current IRS matter, two congressional committees are stepping up their investigations this week with hearings during which IRS and Treasury officials will be questioned closely about what they knew and when.

Former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman heads to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, giving lawmakers their first opportunity to question the man who ran the agency when agents were improperly targeting tea party groups. The Senate Finance Committee wants to know why Shulman didn't tell Congress ? even after he was briefed in 2012 ? that agents had been singling out conservative political groups for additional scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status.

Also testifying will be Steven Miller, who took over as acting commissioner in November, when Shulman's five-year term expired. Last week, Obama forced Miller to resign.

On Wednesday, Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin will testify before the House oversight committee.

Treasury inspector general J. Russell George says he told Wolin about the subject of the IRS inquiry last summer.

In a related matter, the IRS acknowledged Monday that an official testified to Congress about tax-exempt matters long after her duties supposedly had shifted to health care law. Republicans point to Sarah Hall Ingram's history at IRS as they question the agency's ability to properly oversee aspects of Obama's health care overhaul.

The IRS said in a statement that Ingram "was in a unique position to testify" about tax-exempt policies in May 2012. It said Ingram "still formally held" the title of IRS commissioner of tax exempt and government entities, even though "she was assigned full-time to (health care law) activities since Dec. 2010."

___

Associated Press writers Stephen Ohlemacher, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Jim Kuhnhenn and researcher Monika Mathur contributed to this report.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Charles Babington at http://twitter.com/cbabington

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-05-20-US-IRS-Political-Groups/id-51ea5e89543e4a5bb9c900e2100f4c83

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The Latest Turn of the Screw (talking-points-memo)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/306913157?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Not just blowing in the wind: Compressing air for renewable energy storage

May 20, 2013 ? Enough Northwest wind energy to power about 85,000 homes each month could be stored in porous rocks deep underground for later use, according to a new, comprehensive study. Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Bonneville Power Administration identified two unique methods for this energy storage approach and two eastern Washington locations to put them into practice.

Compressed air energy storage plants could help save the region's abundant wind power -- which is often produced at night when winds are strong and energy demand is low -- for later, when demand is high and power supplies are more strained. These plants can also switch between energy storage and power generation within minutes, providing flexibility to balance the region's highly variable wind energy generation throughout the day.

"With Renewable Portfolio Standards requiring states to have as much as 20 or 30 percent of their electricity come from variable sources such as wind and the sun, compressed air energy storage plants can play a valuable role in helping manage and integrate renewable power onto the Northwest's electric grid," said Steve Knudsen, who managed the study for the BPA.

Geologic energy savings accounts

All compressed air energy storage plants work under the same basic premise. When power is abundant, it's drawn from the electric grid and used to power a large air compressor, which pushes pressurized air into an underground geologic storage structure. Later, when power demand is high, the stored air is released back up to the surface, where it is heated and rushes through turbines to generate electricity. Compressed air energy storage plants can re-generate as much as 80 percent of the electricity they take in.

The world's two existing compressed air energy storage plants -- one in Alabama, the other in Germany -- use human-made salt caverns to store excess electricity. The PNNL-BPA study examined a different approach: using natural, porous rock reservoirs that are deep underground to store renewable energy.

Interest in the technology has increased greatly in the past decade as utilities and others seek better ways to integrate renewable energy onto the power grid. About 13 percent, or nearly 8,600 megawatts, of the Northwest's power supply comes from of wind. This prompted BPA and PNNL to investigate whether the technology could be used in the Northwest.

To find potential sites, the research team reviewed the Columbia Plateau Province, a thick layer of volcanic basalt rock that covers much of the region. The team looked for underground basalt reservoirs that were at least 1,500 feet deep, 30 feet thick and close to high-voltage transmission lines, among other criteria.

They then examined public data from wells drilled for gas exploration or research at the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington. Well data was plugged into PNNL's STOMP computer model, which simulates the movement of fluids below ground, to determine how much air the various sites under consideration could reliably hold and return to the surface.

Two different, complementary designs

Analysis identified two particularly promising locations in eastern Washington. One location, dubbed the Columbia Hills Site, is just north of Boardman, Ore., on the Washington side of the Columbia River. The second, called the Yakima Minerals Site, is about 10 miles north of Selah, Wash., in an area called the Yakima Canyon.

But the research team determined the two sites are suitable for two very different kinds of compressed air energy storage facilities. The Columbia Hills Site could access a nearby natural gas pipeline, making it a good fit for a conventional compressed air energy facility. Such a conventional facility would burn a small amount of natural gas to heat compressed air that's released from underground storage. The heated air would then generate more than twice the power than a typical natural gas power plant.

The Yakima Minerals Site, however, doesn't have easy access to natural gas. So the research team devised a different kind of compressed air energy storage facility: one that uses geothermal energy. This hybrid facility would extract geothermal heat from deep underground to power a chiller that would cool the facility's air compressors, making them more efficient. Geothermal energy would also re-heat the air as it returns to the surface.

"Combining geothermal energy with compressed air energy storage is a creative concept that was developed to tackle engineering issues at the Yakima Minerals Site," said PNNL Laboratory Fellow and project leader Pete McGrail. "Our hybrid facility concept significantly expands geothermal energy beyond its traditional use as a renewable baseload power generation technology."

The study indicates both facilities could provide energy storage during extended periods of time. This could especially help the Northwest during the spring, when sometimes there is more wind and hydroelectric power than the region can absorb. The combination of heavy runoff from melting snow and a large amount of wind, which often blows at night when demand for electricity is low, can spike power production in the region. Power system managers have a few options to keep the regional power grid stable in such a situation, including reducing power generation or storing the excess power supply. Energy storage technologies such as compressed air energy storage can help the region make the most of its excess clean energy production.

Working with the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, BPA will now use the performance and economic data from the study to perform an in-depth analysis of the net benefits compressed air energy storage could bring to the Pacific Northwest. The results could be used by one or more regional utilities to develop a commercial compressed air energy storage demonstration project.

The $790,000 joint feasibility study was funded by BPA's Technology Innovation Office, PNNL and several project partners: Seattle City Light, Washington State University Tri-Cities, GreenFire Energy, Snohomish County Public Utility District, Dresser-Rand, Puget Sound Energy, Ramgen Power Systems, NW Natural, Magnum Energy and Portland General Electric.

REFRENCE: BP McGrail, JE Cabe, CL Davidson, FS Knudsen, DH Bacon, MD Bearden, MA Chamness, JA Horner, SP Reidel, HT Schaef, FA Spane, PD Thorne, "Techno-economic Performance Evaluation of Compressed Air Energy Storage in the Pacific Northwest," February 2013, http://caes.pnnl.gov/pdf/PNNL-22235.pdf.

COMPRESSED AIR ENERGY STORAGE SITES

Columbia Hills Site

? Location: north of Boardman, Ore., on Washington side of Columbia River

? Plant type: Conventional, which pairs compressed air storage with a natural gas power plant.

? Power generation capacity: 207 megawatts

? Energy storage capacity: 231 megawatts

? Estimated levelized power cost: as low as 6.4 cents per kilowatt-hour

? Would work well for frequent energy storage

? Continuous storage for up to 40 days

Yakima Minerals Site

? Location: 10 miles north of Selah, Wash.

? Plant type: Hybrid, which pairs geothermal heat with compressed air storage

? Power generation capacity: 83 megawatts

? Energy storage capacity: 150 megawatts

? Estimated levelized power cost: as low as 11.8 cents per kilowatt-hour

? No greenhouse gas emissions

? Potential for future expansion

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/mb3lmNXBYK8/130520142823.htm

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Syrian army, Hezbollah attack rebels in border town: opposition

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian troops supported by Hezbollah militants launched an offensive to retake a major town near Lebanon from rebels on Sunday, the heaviest fighting yet involving Lebanese armed group, opposition activists said.

At least 32 people were killed when rebel fighters clashed with mechanized Syrian army units and Hezbollah guerillas in nine points in and around the town of Qusair, 10 km (six miles) from the border with Lebanon's Bekaa valley, they said.

Speaking from Qusair, activist Hadi Abdallah said Syrian warplanes bombed Qusair in the morning and shells were hitting the town at a rate of up to 50 a minute.

"The army is hitting Qusair with tanks and artillery form the north and east while Hezbollah is firing mortar rounds and multiple rocket launchers from the south and west," he said.

"Most of the dead are civilians killed by the shelling."

The region near the Orontos River has been segregated into Sunni and Shi'ite villages in the civil war that grew out of protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

It is vital for Assad, who belongs to the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, to keep open a route from Shi'ite Hezbollah's strongholds in the Bekaa to areas near Syria's Mediterranean coast inhabited by co-religionist Alawites.

Opposition sources say Syria's coastal region could serve as an Alawite statelet in case Assad falls in Damascus, in a potential fragmentation of Syria along ethnic and sectarian lines that raises the prospect of many more deaths.

Sources in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley said shells fired by rebels hit the edges of the town of Hermel, a stronghold of Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, but no casualties were reported.

Syrian Television said the army is "leading an operation against terrorists in Qusair", with troops reaching the town's center.

"Our heroic forces are advancing toward Qusair and are chasing the remnants of the terrorists and have hoisted the Syrian flag on the municipality building. In the next few hours we will give you joyous news," the television said.

The United Nations says at least 80,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which started with peaceful demonstrations against four decades of family rule by Assad and his late father.

The protests were met by bullets, sparking an armed uprising that turned into a civil war mainly pitting majority Sunnis against the Alawite sect, which has controlled Syria since the 1960s.

(Editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-army-hezbollah-attack-rebels-border-town-opposition-132854254.html

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Powerball jackpot could go higher than $600M

By Karen Brooks

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The Powerball jackpot Saturday night could be even higher than the record $600 million being advertised, possibly rivaling the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, a Texas Lottery official said on Saturday.

"Oftentimes, the advertised amount is lower than what the actual jackpot ends up being," said Kelly Cripe, a spokeswoman for the Texas Lottery. "It's entirely possible this $600 million jackpot will end up being a bigger jackpot."

The Powerball record in November was advertised at $550 million, but ended up being $587.5 million when the winning numbers were drawn, thanks to last-minute sales.

Powerball officials told participating states on Saturday they would not be raising the advertised number for the drawing, Cripe said.

There had been speculation the advertised amount for the lottery would be increased to surpass $656 million - the largest jackpot in U.S. history, set by the Mega Millions jackpot in March 2012. The lottery is offered in 43 states, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

That prize was split between winners in Maryland, Kansas and Illinois.

Chances of winning the Powerball on Saturday were one in 175 million, Cripe said.

If the drawing yields no winner, all records will be shattered as the jackpot for Wednesday would go to $925 million.

But players across the country weren't pushing their luck, shelling out bills for the nighttime drawing.

"It's only a couple bucks for a small daydream," said Russell Williams, 35, a salesman in Austin, Texas.

In New York City, talent acquisition agent Michelle Amici was playing the "if I win" game.

"Not sure that I'd buy anything," she said. "Rather, I'd attempt to quench my wanderlust by traveling the world. I'd also donate a large portion to education reform."

El Paso, Texas, mom Bonnie Carreno rarely plays but was taking a chance on this one. "I only ever buy a ticket when I see the amazing numbers in the headlines," she said.

For Austin marketing professional Becky Arreaga, the odds are not so long that she was discouraged about her chances.

"As long as the odds are 1 in anything, I'm in," said Arreaga, a partner at Mercury Mambo marketing firm. "I truly believe I could be the one."

"Just takes one ticket to win," echoed Tela Mange of Austin.

The popular lottery has not had a winner in two months.

The $2 tickets allow players pick five numbers from 1 to 59, and a Powerball number from 1 to 35. The numbers will be drawn Saturday at 10:59 p.m. EDT (02:59 GMT on Sunday) in Tallahassee, Florida.

(Reporting by Karen Brooks; Editing by Greg McCune, Doina Chiacu)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/powerball-jackpot-could-higher-600-million-161816661.html

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Leader of Toots and the Maytals injured at concert

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) ? Officials say the leader of the reggae band Toots and the Maytals was injured when a 19-year-old man threw a bottle and hit the singer during a concert in Richmond.

Police said Sunday the man has been charged with aggravated assault. Authorities have not identified him.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that (http://bit.ly/17PhlkD ) Frederick "Toots" Hibbert was treated at a hospital for a cut to his head and released.

Hibbert was hit by a glass bottle thrown from the crowd Saturday night as the band was performing at the Dominion Riverrock outdoor sports and music festival. The band stopped playing after he was hit.

Festival organizers say Hibbert was in good spirits despite the traumatic event and regretted that the concert had to be stopped early.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-05-19-Musician%20Injured/id-f5820fa3bcc04e4ebacda33e7716106f

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FBI searches apartment in ricin letter case

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) ? Authorities in hazardous materials suits searched a downtown Spokane apartment Saturday, investigating the recent discovery of a pair of letters containing the deadly poison ricin.

Few details have been released in the case, and no arrests have been made. Federal investigators have been searching for the person who sent the letters, which were postmarked Tuesday in Spokane.

The letters were addressed to the downtown post office and the adjacent federal building, but authorities have not released a potential motive. They also have not said whether the letters targeted anyone in particular.

Ricin is a highly toxic substance made from castor beans. As little as 500 micrograms, the size of the head of a pin, can kill an adult if inhaled or ingested.

There have been no reports of illness connected to the letters.

FBI agents, Spokane police and U.S. Postal Service inspectors descended on the three-story apartment building Saturday morning and the investigation continued into the afternoon.

FBI spokeswoman Ayn Sandalo Dietrich would not say whether agents were questioning anyone in connection with the case.

"We are not actively looking for a subject," Sandalo Dietrich said. "We are not asking the public's help in bringing someone in."

Despite the hazmat suits, officials said apartment residents were not at risk, and people were seen coming in and out of the brick building in the city's historic Browne's Addition neighborhood.

"There's no public risk," Sandalo Dietrich said.

Scott Ward has lived in the building for three years, and lives on the second floor near the apartment that was being searched. He said he does not know the neighbor who lives in that apartment.

"He's a guy with a big beard," Ward said. "He sticks to himself."

"He doesn't talk," said Ward, who added he was awakened about 7 a.m. by the sounds of "banging and what sounded like a big vacuum."

Building resident Jim Lehman said he was asleep when he was called by a friend. "He said, 'hey Jim, you're surrounded,'" Lehman said. Lehman said he saw workers in hazardous material suits working in a second floor apartment.

"It was all gas masks and the door was open and there were hoses in there," Lehman said.

Sandalo Dietrich would not say specifically why the FBI was searching the apartment.

"Information we developed led us to believe this was a productive spot to search," she said.

Two letters containing the substance were intercepted at the downtown Spokane post office Tuesday.

The Postal Service has received no other reports of similar letters, said Jeremy Leder of the Postal Inspection Service on Saturday.

In a statement following the discovery, the Postal Service said the "crude form of the ricin suggests that it does not present a health risk to U.S. Postal Service personnel or to others who may have come in contact with the letter."

The Spokane investigation comes a month after letters containing ricin were addressed to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator and a Mississippi judge. A Mississippi man has been arrested in that case.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fbi-searches-apartment-ricin-letter-case-191809079.html

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Can Medical Bills Cause Bankruptcy? | Finance on Deann Aproach

M??t bankruptcies occur f?r reasons beyond ??r control. A? medical bills continue t? soar t? extraordinary heights, those wh? ??n?t afford adequate health insurance h??? n? ?h???? b?t allocate th??r savings t? vital treatments ?n? procedures. Once th??? individuals r?n out ?f cash, th?? m??t resort t? bankruptcy. Here?s a brief look ?t th? correlation between bankruptcy ?n? medical expenses ?n th? U.S.

Rising Medical Costs
In recent years, medical costs h??? become more daunting th?n ???r f?r struggling families ?n? individuals. According t? a study b? health care consulting firm Milliman Inc., healthcare costs f?r th? average family ?f four exceed ,000. Those forced t? file f?r bankruptcy ?ft?n pay much more th?n thatespecially considering th?t ?n average night ?n a hospital costs nearly ,000.

Health-Related Filings
According t? th? American Journal ?f Medicine, ???t over 62% ?f ??? bankruptcies ?n 2007 w?r? filed b?????? ?f insurmountable medical debtsup fr?m 46% ?n 2001. Aft?r exhausting th??r savings, many people sell th??r cars, jewelry, ?n? homes. Aft?r months ?f trying t? keep up w?th medical debts, th??? individuals h??? n? ?h???? b?t t? resort t? bankruptcy.

H?w Bankruptcy Helps
Bankruptcy ?? a ??rf??t?? legal ?n? h?n??t way t? eliminate insurmountable debtsespecially ?f those debts ?r? ?f a chiefly medical nature. Chapter 7 bankruptcy ??n immediately eliminate m??t debts, including outstanding medical bills, b?t involves th? seizure ?n? sale ?f personal property. Chapter 13 bankruptcy ??n ???? eliminate outstanding debts, b?t ?n?? ?f th? debtor adheres t? a three t? five-year repayment ???n. Before selecting a bankruptcy option, ?t?s always a ???? ???? t? speak w?th ?n experienced bankruptcy attorney.

Millions ?f Americans ?r? ???t one illness away fr?m financial r??n, despite being ?n general ???? health ?n? obtaining th? best health insurance possible. In case ?f medical emergencies, h?w???r, th? law permits bankruptcy ?? a strong safety net. If ???r medical bills ?r? becoming insurmountable, consider bankruptcy ?? a solution t? ???r financial problems. Y?? ??n contact Gary Brenner Law Offices f?r ?n? further q???t??n?.

Source: http://www.deannaproach.com/can-medical-bills-cause-bankruptcy/

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lern2play Resources and Information. This website is for sale!

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Obama takes Cabinet secretaries out to play golf

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama has taken two Cabinet secretaries out for a round of golf ? in the rain.

The White House said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (seh-BEEL'-yuhs) and outgoing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined the president Saturday at Andrews Air Force Base. LaHood is running the Transportation Department until the Senate confirms Obama's choice of Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx as successor.

Reporters saw Sebelius climb into the president's SUV before the motorcade left the White House. She's overseeing the president's health care law.

Before he got into the vehicle, Obama looked up at the grey sky with an outstretched hand. A steady rain was falling by the time he arrived about a half hour later.

White House assistant chef Sam Kass completes the foursome.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-takes-cabinet-secretaries-play-golf-165709657.html

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I absolutely abhor exercise... tips? - Health, Fitness, and Sports

Tsiiki Toucan Joined: Dec 02, 2007 Age: 24 Posts: 271	Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 12:26 pm?? ?Post subject: I absolutely abhor exercise... tips? I'm not too far gone yet weight wise, but I'm heading there. Just calculated my body fat and at 35% which isn't good, and BMI is borderline overweight. So I know I *should* get fit, I just can't stand it!!!!! I can't stand being out of breath and gasping for air (happens very very fast even after working out for months, actually think I have exercise induced asthma which would be useful to get checked out) I can't stand the pain when your muscles are struggling or the weakness from being so tired But worse of all, I absolutely cannot handle the muscle soreness afterwords. This has been an issue all my life, and since you guys are fellow aspies, and more prone to hypersensitiveness I was wondering if there was any tips to get around this stuff. I'm a lazy brat so forcing myself out there is going to be REALLY REALLY HARD. And likely will give up. :X I would force myself every semester while in college to take 1-2 gym courses just to get some sort of physical activity in. I have taken karate, fitness walking, fencing, archery, rock climbing, on my own I've also done a lot of badminton (work), jump rope, running, weight lifting, rowing machine, tredmill, etc. I'm a fairly good swimmer too.... laser tag is a huge workout too I've discovered. I'm competitive beyond belief and that is the sole thing that gets me through any of it, running? Find someone faster and chase after, must win! Unfortunately I can't handle "going slow." Doing x activity for y minutes... always feel a need to go faster faster faster, see how fast I can get this done, or must lift this weight 10x so lift as fast as possible, even though I know that you're supposed to do slow, I just can't stand the activity so much I want it done asap. So I'm at a loss. I have done all those activities, and while some are fun, the drawbacks of them make me unable to force myself to continue. There really are few things in this world I hate more than exercise... (oh yeah, to make things worse I have serious RLS pain happen after I run (happens on its own as well but rarely anymore, but always when I run)) What is a good way for me to get even a little more fit? Small things like parking father away and walking in I can do (though often forget), but what else? If it is an activity it's likely going to have to be competitive... I want to learn martial arts, but the countless reps were driving me insane in karate, is there one that is more bout oriented and can actually work to "defeat" someone and "win" more often? Fencing had a lot more bouts than my karate class ever did, so considering that. How do I keep myself to keep going and doing it? And for the love of god, how the hell do I stop feeling so shitty!?!!! I've taken advil/motrin, I've tried hot baths, cold showers, stretching before, stretching after, stretching day after, etc and can't seem to get rid of it or tolerate it (last week I had moved a 100lb and 50lb bed and frame myself 3x that day, the next 6 days were hell. The day after was so bad I went home early from work and went straight to sleep to sleep through it x.x)
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Kurgan I'm always right Joined: Apr 07, 2012 Age: 24 Posts: 1676 Location: Norway	Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 1:45 pm?? ?Post subject: Re: I absolutely abhor exercise... tips? Tsiiki wrote: I can't stand being out of breath and gasping for air (happens very very fast even after working out for months, actually think I have exercise induced asthma which would be useful to get checked out) There are many ways to excercise. I have asthma and I also struggle with my hand-to-eye coordination because of my Asperger's syndrome. It didn't stop me from getting to a 300 lb bench press in just a year. Quote: I can't stand the pain when your muscles are struggling or the weakness from being so tired But worse of all, I absolutely cannot handle the muscle soreness afterwords. Your first exercises are going to be that way. If the problem persists, it means that you're not eating enough protein. Contrary to popular belief spred by envious pseudointellectuals, bread and butter won't give you nearly enough protein to actually get any results. Quote: I'm a lazy brat so forcing myself out there is going to be REALLY REALLY HARD. And likely will give up. :X I would force myself every semester while in college to take 1-2 gym courses just to get some sort of physical activity in. Get a structured exercise routine. F*cking around with randomly selected exercises on randomly selected days with a randomly selected level of intensity will get you nowhere. Quote: And for the love of god, how the hell do I stop feeling so shitty!?!!! Protein shakes are a good start.
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DonkeyBuster Phoenix Joined: May 12, 2009 Age: 55 Posts: 1298 Location: New Mexico, USA
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sacrip Phoenix Joined: Oct 18, 2008 Age: 39 Posts: 664	Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 2:03 pm?? ?Post subject: With running, a walk/run routine is more efficient than steady jogging. Walk a ways, sprint from point to point, then walk again. It won't take long before you find that you're sprinting faster and walking further. With exercise in general, what stopped me for a long time was fear. Fear of trying to do something, like 20 good push-ups, and failing. You almost have to forgive yourself first before you start any program, because you have to be your own cheerleader, not your own critic. Remember, exercise, no matter how short or easy, is always worth it. Don't tell yourself that if you don't spend at least 2 hours non stop at the gym it isn't worth going. Even if you just do 10 push-ups and call it a day, do them. _________________ Everything would be better if you were in charge.
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girly_aspie Tufted Titmouse Joined: May 16, 2013 Posts: 35
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girly_aspie Tufted Titmouse Joined: May 16, 2013 Posts: 35
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Tsiiki Toucan Joined: Dec 02, 2007 Age: 24 Posts: 271	Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 2:45 pm?? ?Post subject: The protein tip is good, I would do semester long batches so know that it isn't just the starting sorenesses Like the semester I took fencing I would do fencing 2-3x a week and another 2-3x a week of running, weight lifting, and rowing machine... was in pain that entire semester and just hated life even more. Structure may help a little, but I'm notorious for giving up things and not sticking to them... only reason managed the previous years was because grades were dependant on going to class :X And yeah I do "run/walk"... because walking is too boring and running too tiring, so it's sprint, then walk until can breath again, then sprint, etc... XD And yes, I agree with the mental thing, and yes drink a lot of water actually and no to other person, I don't eat well either... planning on trying to sneak a little more health in, but these are both mutually difficult things :X Also, curious, thought came while reading one of your articles about hardwired to hate it: Asthma means you aren't getting enough oxygen to your cells basically, right? I assumed that it could be because I'm borderline anemic, but took iron suppliments (w/ vitamin c to absorb better) in attempt to stave off RLS pain (failed attempt, but tried nevertheless). I didn't find it helped my perceived death by gasping fish syndrome, but if it was asthma and not getting enough oxygen... could lack of oxygen while working out lead to increased muscle soreness?
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neilson_wheels Toucan Joined: Mar 12, 2013 Posts: 269 Location: London, UK	Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 2:48 pm?? ?Post subject: A balanced diet can improve your mental state. Cycling is better than running in my opinion, less impact on the leg joints. With martial arts finding the right class or teacher can make a massive difference. Most Karate styles are fairly rigid in structure. Different arts will incorporate sparing into the classes earlier, you just need to try some out. The best class I attended was Tai Chi, due to the teacher, half the time spent in contact exercises. All styles do require time and effort to study the set forms though, you can expect to improve without the fundamentals.
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Tsiiki Toucan Joined: Dec 02, 2007 Age: 24 Posts: 271
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Tsiiki Toucan Joined: Dec 02, 2007 Age: 24 Posts: 271	Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 2:55 pm?? ?Post subject: Oh yeah, I completely forgot The reason I think I have the asthma thing is because (and I know this is a clear sign of trying too hard) I will get to the point where my hearing gets duller until can't hear at all and...will continue until I lose all color vision ^^;;; This has been happening on/off since middle school, and wasn't nearly as lazy then as I am now (and better diet and fitness/bodyfat too was actually underweight when started college, oh how things have gone down hill) Just frustrating when people (appear, obviously not since the state I'm in) are worse off than you and can keep going and you're about to pass out XD
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DonkeyBuster Phoenix Joined: May 12, 2009 Age: 55 Posts: 1298 Location: New Mexico, USA	Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 2:57 pm?? ?Post subject: Tsiiki wrote: And yes, I agree with the mental thing, and yes drink a lot of water actually and no to other person, I don't eat well either... planning on trying to sneak a little more health in, but these are both mutually difficult things :X OK, so addressing the impatience aspect is part of your exercise program. Impatience management. I can say I know something about that! Quote: Also, curious, thought came while reading one of your articles about hardwired to hate it: Asthma means you aren't getting enough oxygen to your cells basically, right? I assumed that it could be because I'm borderline anemic, but took iron suppliments (w/ vitamin c to absorb better) in attempt to stave off RLS pain (failed attempt, but tried nevertheless). I didn't find it helped my perceived death by gasping fish syndrome, but if it was asthma and not getting enough oxygen... could lack of oxygen while working out lead to increased muscle soreness? Pretty sure it does. My memory is vague here, but when the body goes into anaerobic mode during exercise, muscle tissue gets broken down & lactic acid & other toxins increase, causing muscle soreness. So because of your reduced lung capacity, you may go over the oxygen threshold much sooner than average. You might also have some dietary inflammatory stuff happening...are you celiac & not watching what you eat very carefully? Or other dietary autoimmune issues?
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neilson_wheels Toucan Joined: Mar 12, 2013 Posts: 269 Location: London, UK	Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 3:17 pm?? ?Post subject: Yes try Aikido if you have a class local, try anything until you find the right thing. Karate is great if you are going to devote your life to it. Have you spoken to a doctor about the asthma and anemia? Any blood tests?
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Tsiiki Toucan Joined: Dec 02, 2007 Age: 24 Posts: 271	Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 3:42 pm?? ?Post subject: Anemia has come up w/ me and the doctors which is why I tried iron supplements, asthma has not... *mumbles* needa find new doctor, last one tried sending me to a mental hospital /grudge (depression, badly, which is reason I care more about exercising for weight rather than just dieting, because it's *supposed* to be good for you) Quote: OK, so addressing the impatience aspect is part of your exercise program. Impatience management. I can say I know something about that! Like what? And I just eat a lot of crappy foods... mutual love for each other and all, not allergic to anything though intense distaste to many or not eat, often too tired/lazy to eat after work, so its often an (unhealthy) snack or nothing Sounds like the quickest "fix" to being able to tolerate this stuff is seeing dr... if I can simply breathe may be able to tolerate the soreness *tries convincing herself things really will get better*
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DonkeyBuster Phoenix Joined: May 12, 2009 Age: 55 Posts: 1298 Location: New Mexico, USA	Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 3:53 pm?? ?Post subject: Tsiiki wrote: Quote: OK, so addressing the impatience aspect is part of your exercise program. Impatience management. I can say I know something about that! Like what? I meditate--there are various kinds: walking, standing, sitting & lying down--& I really feel the repeated letting go of the thought & returning to the breath is basically a patience practice. Not to mention all the marvelous health benefits they keep finding. I could give you some basic instruction if you like or answer questions you might have. Find a healthy thing & do it. For me a protein shake or smoothie would work. Quick, easy, & can be a real powerhouse of nutrition. Also, assume you're not getting enough sunlight & get your Vit. D levels tested. Strong evidence linking low levels w/depression, etc. Quote: Sounds like the quickest "fix" to being able to tolerate this stuff is seeing dr... if I can simply breathe may be able to tolerate the soreness *tries convincing herself things really will get better* I see this as another try at quick when slow & steady wins the race for you. It's about avoiding pain, making the exercise pleasurable, fun. For you, I think the old adage "No pain, no gain" is a sinker. Assume pain is telling you that you got it WRONG for you. That adage is for people who have a higher pain tolerance or stronger endorphin releases or something. Not for you, I'm thinking. Or me. If it's fun, I'll do it. If it's not fun, I won't. Simple as that.
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neilson_wheels Toucan Joined: Mar 12, 2013 Posts: 269 Location: London, UK
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