archean prepossessing: June 2012

Saturday, June 23, 2012

BlurFix for GoPro Hero/Hero2 Review

I’m really loving the?GoPro2 HD Hero2; it’s wide angle 170? FOV lens and small size make it so versatile and handy, and it nicely compliments my “normal” camera gear. The waterproof housing supplied with it means it’s a robust little unit, and knowing that it’s waterproof to 60m gives you quite a bit of peace [...]

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Notgiamatti: "Oh Dusty, why don't you try MANAGING?" - Sir Laurence Olivier to then Giants hitting coach Dusty Baker, 1993.

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Egypt waits for president: Islamist or army man

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians were waiting for a president on Saturday, the first they have chosen themselves, and one who will either be yet another military man or an Islamist from the army's old adversary the Muslim Brotherhood.

Impatient Brotherhood supporters have been out on Cairo's Tahrir Square day and night since a call in midweek from their leaders to demand the current military rulers cancel measures they say are designed to hem in the powers of the man they believe was elected last weekend, Islamist Mohamed Morsy.

Hundreds were there on Saturday morning, chanting "Victory for Morsy!" and "Morsy, Morsy, Allahu akbar!" (God is greatest)

The party atmosphere anticipated what could be one of the most dramatic turns of events in the Middle East in decades - the emergence of an Islamist president of the biggest Arab nation.

A delay in announcing the result, said by officials to be due to dealing with appeals over local voting irregularities, has prompted Brotherhood concern that the military-led "deep state", left over when Hosni Mubarak was toppled last year, was trying to steal their victory, as it did routinely in the past.

"We want the military council to announce the real results without forgery," said Hassan Eissa, 43, an accountant from north of Cairo who was demonstrating on the square. He accused the army of reneging on promises to hand over when it dissolved the Islamist-led parliament on the eve of the presidential run-off and then took for itself legislative powers by decree.

"They have no right," Eissa said. "Egyptians shouldn't be under any kind of guardianship after the revolution."

Some officials say a result could come as early as Saturday, although electoral commission head Farouk Sultan told Reuters officials were still examining appeals and he could not say when the result would be announced.

A Morsy win would create a dramatic new configuration for Egypt's politics. Supporters of religious rule will be delighted but others, including many who fought on Tahrir Square to end dictatorship, will be anxious at what it means for minorities, women, secular values and Egypt's dealings with the West.

Violence by hardline Islamists in Tunisia, whose revolt inspired that in Egypt, has troubled many Egyptian liberals.

On Saturday, a group of liberal and leftist groups announced the formation of an alternative "civil front" and called for respect for judicial rulings.

"Those who are attacking the military council, have allied with it when their interests were in line," said Ahmed Saied, head of the liberal Free Egyptians Party.

TALKS

Senior figures from both the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the Brotherhood told Reuters they had been in discreet talks this week on political arrangements, though the army has made clear it will not go back on what critics called a "soft coup" aimed at delaying a handover to full civilian rule.

It will neither cancel the dissolution of the Islamist-led parliament nor a decree by which it reserved legislative powers for the council, curbing the president's power.

Presented with a take-it-or-leave-it choice, the Brotherhood may find a compromise to pull their protesters off the streets. Years of conflict have made it a wary organisation, and it has cooperated with the council in the 16 months since Mubarak fell.

Electoral and military officials told Reuters during the week and as late as Friday that the Brotherhood candidate had a narrow but clear lead over former general Ahmed Shafik, Mubarak's last prime minister. But nothing is certain.

One newspaper, Shorouk, headlined: "Morsy to be announced president today ... Unless."

Morsy, like Shafik, has promised to build a government that brings in people from across the political spectrum. Many of those who launched the Arab Spring uprising were dismayed when more centrist candidates, neither from the army nor the Brotherhood, were eliminated in the first round vote last month.

While some grudgingly backed Shafik to block religious rule, others half-heartedly supported Morsy to prevent what they saw as a return to the old regime. Among those protesting on Tahrir Square on Saturday, Cairo lawyer Atef Rehan said: "I'm not from the Brotherhood and I voted for Morsy only reluctantly.

"But I am here to support their demands."

A 60-year-old, U.S.-educated engineer, the bearded and bespectacled Morsy is not a familiar figure to Egyptians, some of whom ridicule him as the movement's "spare tyre" after his campaign was launched following the exclusion from the race on a technicality of a much better known leader, Khairat al-Shater.

Both sides recall the bloodshed that ravaged another North African state, Algeria, when military rulers thwarted an Islamist movement's triumph at the ballot box in the 1990s, and appear willing to renew the tentative cooperation they built up after Mubarak's overthrow and step back from an outright clash.

An Islamist insurrection in Egypt in the 1990s also cost hundreds of lives, making the Brotherhood wary of violence.

WEIGHING OPPOSITION

Delay in the final tally of votes was due to many appeals being heard by the electoral commission, officials said. But it also gave more time for talks to defuse tensions.

"There has definitely been the process involved in tallying the official vote before announcing results," a senior state official familiar with the counting process told Reuters on Friday. "But there is also the politicking behind the scenes, with each side weighing up the strength of the other.

"The Brotherhood can draw millions of disciplined supporters onto the streets and the army has a mandate to ensure order."

Discussions between generals and Islamists, whose violent confrontation has marked Egypt for decades, were assuming Morsy would win narrowly.

"We have met with them to discuss how to get out of this crisis after parliament was dissolved and the new president's powers curbed," Shater, who runs the Brotherhood's finances and strategic planning, told Reuters - although he added they were some way from reaching any kind of agreement.

"The generals feel they are the proprietors of power and have not yet reached a level of real compromise," he said.

Major General Mamdouh Shaheen, a member of SCAF, confirmed the recent meetings and repeated the army's commitment to a democratic transition. But he echoed a strong statement issued by SCAF on Friday that rejected the Brotherhood's demands.

"The constitutional decree is the exclusive authority of the military council," Shaheen told Reuters.

In a brusque statement read on state television as Egyptians were completing their Friday prayers, the generals said: "The issuance of the supplementary constitutional decree was necessitated by the needs of administering the affairs of the state during this critical period in the history of our nation."

Morsy shot back that the generals were defying the will of the people and said protests would go on. But he praised the army as "patriotic" and urged a rapid election result.

In what were menacing tones for the army's old adversary the Muslim Brotherhood, SCAF criticised its premature announcement of the election result as sowing division and said people were free to protest - but only if they did not disrupt daily life.

In a country where virtually no one can remember an election before last year that was not rigged, trust is low, not least among Brotherhood officials, many of whom, like Morsy, were jailed under Mubarak for their political activities.

The same electoral commission that handed 90 percent of a November 2010 parliamentary vote to Mubarak's supporters - a result that fuelled the protests that brought him down a few weeks later - sits in judgment on the new presidency.

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Mars Snowflakes Are as Tiny as Red Blood Cells

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At least $380K raised for bullied NY bus monitor

A video of a 68-year-old school bus monitor being mercilessly taunted by seventh-graders became a rallying point against bullies Thursday, with a fund for the New York state grandmother raising at least $380,000 and a deluge of people demanding harsh punishment for the boys.

Police said Karen Klein does not want her young tormenters to face criminal charges, partly because of the storm of criticism leveled at the boys from the Rochester suburb of Greece after the video went viral.

"They've received death threats," Greece Police Capt. Steve Chatterton said Thursday. "Their families have been threatened. We have custody of one of their cellphones, and he had over 1,000 missed calls and 1,000 text messages threatening him. And he's 13 years old. That must stop."

The verbal abuse was captured in a 10-minute cellphone video recorded Monday by a student of Athena Middle School in suburban Rochester and later posted to YouTube. The video shows Klein trying her best to ignore the stream of profanity, insults and outright threats directed at her.

One student taunted: "You don't have a family because they all killed themselves because they don't want to be near you." Klein's oldest son killed himself 10 years ago.

Eventually, she appears to break down in tears.

"You want to jump into that bus and you want to grab those kids and say 'Knock it off!' And you want to hold her," said Amy Weber, a 43-year-old independent filmmaker from the Detroit area who pledged $100 Thursday through the international crowd-funding site Indiegogo.com.

"I think we hear about bullying every day and we become a little desensitized to it. This puts it in our face," said Weber, who is making a feature film about a bully.

Klein told NBC's "Today" show Thursday that it took "a lot of willpower" not to respond to the jeers from the four boys riding the bus operated by the Greece Central School District. Klein said she was "amazed" at the support she received.

"I've got these nice letters, emails, Facebook messages," she said. "It's like, wow, there's a whole world out there that I didn't know. It's really awesome."

She said she hopes the parents will talk to their children about being "a little more respectful."

Klein did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press.

The video logged more than 2 million views by Thursday evening, breaking hearts and raising passions of people who recalled bullying in their own pasts. The fundraiser set up on Indiegogo.com shattered its goal of raising $5,000 to send the grandmother of eight on a "vacation of a lifetime." Thousands of people donated, many in denominations of $20 or less.

"I don't see how anyone can watch that and not be touched by it. It made me realize ? and I posted on my Facebook wall ? that sticks and stones may break my bones but words will still hurt you no matter how old you are," said Deana Rock, a 42-year-old marketing professional from Williston, Vt., who pledged $30.

Rock said she was moved to tears by the video and donated the money so Klein would not have to get back on the bus.

Police in the suburb of Greece had to step up patrols near the houses of the four boys and said they had received several threatening hoax calls from people. The boys had not yet apologized to Klein as of Thursday afternoon, though police said they regretted their acts and their parents are cooperating.

The district apologized to Klein and will discipline all four students.

The swell of support for Klein follows a recent surge in awareness of bullying that has brought the issue from the classroom to the stage and screen to the White House.

In September, after 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer of suburban Buffalo killed himself after complaining about being bullied about his sexuality, pop singer Lady Gaga decried the loss of another life to bullying, tweeting to millions of followers that she'd take her concerns to President Barack Obama.

This year, the White House held a conference on bullying prevention, estimating that it affects 13 million students, or about a third of those attending school. Obama said he hoped to "dispel the myth that bullying is just a harmless rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up."

In April, the documentary film "Bully" examined the problem by following five kids over the course of a school year.

___

Carola and Hill reported from Albany. Associated Press writer Mary Esch in Albany contributed.

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Monday, June 11, 2012

Spain bows to inevitable, will seek bailout

Spain will be fourth euro nation to ask for help. Bailout will be for Spain's troubled banking sector, so no added austerity measures are expected.

By Associated Press / June 9, 2012

An ember traffic light is seen in front of the Catalunya Caixa bank headquarters in central Barcelona, June 9, 2012. Spain says it will ask

Albert Gea/Reuters

Enlarge

Spain?will ask for a bank bailout from Europe, becoming the fourth and largest country to seek help since the single currency bloc's debt crisis erupted.

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Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said Saturday the aid will go to the banking sector only and so would not come with new austerity conditions attached for the economy in general.

He gave no figure as to how much?Spain?will request, saying that he would wait until independent audits of the country's banking sector have been carried out before asking for a specific amount.

De Guindos did say, however, that?Spain?would request enough money for recapitalization, plus a safety margin that will be "significant."

The money will be funneled through an existing bailout fund called the FROB.

De Guindos said that with markets in turmoil, the government's efforts so far to shore up the financial sector ? through new provisioning requirements ? "Must be completed with the necessary resources to finance the needs of recapitalization."

"Therefore, the Spanish government states its intention to request European financing for the recapitalization of banks that need it," the minister told a press conference after a videoconference with colleagues from the 17-member eurozone.

A statement issued after that meeting said up to ?100 billion would be made available to?Spain.

The Spanish acceptance of aid for its banks is a big embarrassment for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who said just 10 days ago firmly that the banking sector would not need a bailout.

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Sunday, June 10, 2012

Hundreds flee raging Western fires

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Rift over political spending divides huge union

FILE - In this March 6, 2012 file photo AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer Lee A. Saunders speaks in Albany, N.Y. A heated battle is taking place inside the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees after its failed effort this week to oust Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. At stake is the future direction of the 1.3-million-member government workers union following the labor movement's biggest political loss in three decades. (AP Photo/Stewart Cairns, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2011 file photo, Civil Service Employees Association union president Danny Donohue speaks in Albany, N.Y. A heated battle is taking place inside the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees after its failed effort this week to oust Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. At stake is the future direction of the 1.3-million-member government workers union following the labor movement's biggest political loss in three decades. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A heated battle is taking place inside a giant U.S. public employees' union following its crushing failure this week to oust Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker ? organized labor's biggest political loss in decades.

At stake is the direction of the 1.3-million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees after 31 years under retiring president Gerald McEntee. He's been known for his zeal to build and maintain AFSCME's clout as a leading liberal voice and political kingmaker in the Democratic Party.

A major question is whether that should continue.

Fresh off losses in the Wisconsin recall election and in California municipal referendums rolling back public employee pension and health benefits, the union will pick a successor to the 77-year-old McEntee in two weeks.

The race is shaping up as a broader debate on whether AFSCME should become more prudent in doling out cash to Democratic causes and candidates and perhaps make itself less a lightning rod for attacks from conservatives.

The union's No. 2 official, secretary-treasurer and McEntee protege Lee Saunders, faces a strong challenge from Danny Donohue, the union's leader in New York state. Donohue questions whether the union's free-spending ways in the political arena have been effective given the pounding public employees are taking around the country.

Delegates will select their new leader June 20 at the union's convention in Los Angeles.

AFSCME has pledged to spend about $100 million this election cycle ? more than any other union ? to help re-elect President Barack Obama and boost other labor-friendly candidates at the federal, state and local levels. AFSCME was the biggest overall spender in the 2010 midterm elections, pouring about $93 million into races around the country.

Donohue criticizes McEntee's approach as "checkbook unionism," saying the union has been too Washington-focused and has lost sight of the issues facing members locally.

"We seem to be trying to throw money at problems," Donohue said in an interview. "Instead of writing a check, how do we galvanize our members?"

"It's just not about the Senate and the House. It's about the governor races, the county races, who's going to be mayor in some cities. Our enemies ... didn't start in Washington, they started at the school board and county level," he said

The union has been hit hard in recent years, losing about 10 percent of its members since 2009, according to public filings and internal documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

AFSCME claims it has 1.6 million members, but a spokesman says that includes retirees. Its most recent annual report with the U.S. Department of Labor says it had about 1,423,000 active members in 2011. That number has dropped to about 1,315,000 as of February, documents show.

Saunders defends the McEntee era and says accusations the union is too focused on national politics are wrong. He said about 65 percent of the union's political budget goes to local battles.

"I think we've got to recognize that we have one of the best political and legislative operations in the country and I think we've done a lot of things that are right," Saunders said in an interview.

Donohue claims the union doesn't share enough information with members about how their political money is spent.

Some labor leaders were scratching their heads, for example, when AFSCME spent $1 million in January to buy TV ads in Florida criticizing Mitt Romney ahead of the state's GOP presidential primary. They questioned whether that was the best use of the union's money in a year when collective bargaining seemed under attack in more than a dozen state legislatures around the country.

"Rather than just dumping it all on the primary fight with Romney, we could have spent half of it mobilizing our members," Donohue said.

Saunders said the Florida ad buy linking Romney to a culture of "corporate greed" during his time running the private-equity firm Bain Capital was effective in "softening up" the presumptive GOP nominee. He pointed out that Obama's re-election campaign is now going after Romney on the same issue.

McEntee, who has strongly endorsed Saunders, defends his own tenure as having built the strongest grass-roots operation in American labor.

"We worked our hearts out on the 2010 elections," McEntee said when asked if the union could have done more to prepare for the onslaught of anti-union measures in Wisconsin and other states. "Anyone who indulges in Monday morning quarterbacking on the 2010 elections is delusional."

And Saunders says he never heard Donohue complain about AFSCME's political strategy until he recently made it an issue in his bid for the union presidency.

Donohue has also criticized what he considers exorbitant spending and lavish salaries for the union's top leaders. McEntee earned a base salary of $387,671 in 2011. Donohue has pledged to slash that by $100,000 if he wins. Donohue currently earns about $200,000. Saunders' salary is $310,137.

The election is a rematch between the two candidates. Saunders narrowly defeated Donohue in a 2010 race to become secretary-treasurer. Before that, Saunders was McEntee's executive assistant in charge of running the union's political operation. He began his career with AFSCME in 1978 as a labor economist.

Donohue has been president of the New York State Civil Service Employees Association since 1994 and has been with the union since 1975.

___

Follow Sam Hananel's labor coverage on Twitter at http://twitter.com/SamHananelAP

Associated Press

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Sunday, June 3, 2012

Egypt candidate attacks Islamist rival

Egyptians gather at Tahrir Square in Cairo to call for a new revolution in Egypt, Saturday, June 2, 2012. Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison Saturday for failing to stop the killing of protesters during the uprising that forced him from power last year. The ousted president and his sons were acquitted, however, of corruption charges in a mixed verdict that swiftly provoked a new wave of anger on Egypt's streets. (AP Photo/Fredrik Persson)

CAIRO (AP) ? Presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq, a former prime minister under Hosni Mubarak's regime, has attacked his Islamist rival by saying he would terrorize Christians and lead Egypt to "the dark ages."

Mohammed Morsi of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood tried to cash in Sunday on the unpopularity of a court verdict a day earlier that sentenced Mubarak to life but acquitted him and his two sons of corruption. Six top police commanders accused of complicity in the killing of protesters during last year's uprising were also acquitted.

Tens of thousands demonstrated in Cairo and other cities Saturday to protest against the verdict.

Shafiq and Morsi will go head-to-head in a runoff vote June 16-17.

Associated Press

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225 Cervantes, Lake Oswego OR, 97035 - Lake Oswego Real ...

Posted by admin on Jun 3, 2012 in Blog

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2 beds, 1 full, 1 part baths
Home size: 1,216 sq ft
Lot Size: 3,049 sq ft
Property Type: ATTACHD
MLS Number: 12513072

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Solutions on How to Lose Weight - The Leukemia & Lymphoma ...

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