Maps in iOS 6 facing user complaints, Apple says it will get better

Apple's recently released Maps app that replaces Google Maps in iOS 6 has gotten quite a bit of criticism in the 24 hours since it was released. Apple recently responded to these claims stating that "it will get better".

As of iOS 6, users no longer have the built-in Google Maps anymore but their own native Maps app that's powered by Tom Tom. While the Maps app adds new features such as Fly Over and voice navigation that integrates with Siri, many users have been finding the experience less than stellar.

Apple spokesperson, Trudy Miller, has responded on behalf of the company claiming that it will get better over time.

?Customers around the world are upgrading to iOS 6 with over 200 new features including Apple Maps, our first map service,? said spokeswoman Trudy Miller. ?We are excited to offer this service with innovative new features like Flyover, turn-by-turn navigation, and Siri integration. We launched this new map service knowing it is a major initiative and that we are just getting started with it. Maps is a cloud-based solution and the more people use it, the better it will get. We appreciate all of the customer feedback and are working hard to make the customer experience even better.?

Siri was released as a beta but the Maps app was never released as such. While many understand Apple's desire to not depend on a competitor like Google, most users don't agree that it should come at the cost of the consumer. Apple does offer a way to report problems and add locations with Maps but is it enough?

What kind of issues are you experiencing with Maps? Would you prefer the older Google maps over the new iOS 6 version or do you think it truly will get better as more and more user data is fed into it?

Source: All Things D

ios 6

Maps

map issues

complaints

apple statement

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/p9_qWyLQMy0/story01.htm

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Analysis: Options limited to finance Chicago teachers contract

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago public school teachers returned to their classrooms on Wednesday but thorny questions remained over how Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the cash-strapped school system will pay for the tentative contract that ended a strike of more than a week.

The three-year contract, which has an option for a fourth year and which awaits a ratification vote by the 29,000-member Chicago Teachers Union, calls for an average 17.6 percent pay raise over four years and some benefit improvements.

Average teacher pay is now about $76,000 a year, according to the district, which pegged the annual cost of the new contract at $74 million a year, or $295 million over four years.

The $5.16 billion fiscal 2013 budget approved by Chicago Board of Education last month closed a $665 million deficit by draining reserves and levying property taxes at a maximum rate, while also slashing administrative and operational spending.

But that budget included no teacher salary raises with the understanding the budget would be amended once a contract was in place, according to a spokeswoman for the district. The increase agreed in the tentative contract with teachers called for a 3 percent increase in year one.

"There is really no room in the existing budget for that level of increase," said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a Chicago-based government finance watchdog group.

Msall said the nation's third largest school system, which was already projecting a $1 billion budget deficit for fiscal 2014, will have to cut personnel, including teachers, and close low-enrollment schools to meet the contract's financial demands.

"You'll have a smaller district hopefully operating more efficiently," he said.

While there have been reports in the local media of plans to shutter dozens of schools, Mayor Emanuel is not talking specifics on school closures. He has also declined to answer questions about how he will pay for the agreement.

"When the school system looks at it, they'll look at what the academic standards are, they'll look at the enrollment, and they'll make some choices that are difficult to do," he told reporters on Wednesday.

The mayor also pointed to "major changes" coming for the district's central office, adding "there is no item we won't look at." He has already cited millions of dollars in savings from administration of the district.

As for boosting its revenue, the Chicago Public Schools would need voter approval to exceed a capped property tax levy, Msall said.

The state of Illinois is struggling with its own fiscal problems that have led to cuts in education funding, Msall said, adding that it was unlikely that the state would send more money to Chicago schools.

The state Legislature could act to ease the district's pension contributions, which will jump to $534 million in fiscal 2014 from just $196 million in the current fiscal year due to the expiration of a three-year, state-approved pension funding holiday. The Democrat-controlled General Assembly has so far failed to pass reforms for state or local pension funds despite pressure from Emanuel and Governor Pat Quinn.

Chicago teachers are required to contribute 9 percent of their salary toward their pensions, but the school system picks up most of that (7 percent), at a cost of about $127 million in the current budget, according to a recent report by the Civic Federation.

Chicago teacher pensions were about 60 percent funded in fiscal 2011, the report said, a level that is well-below the 80 percent level considered to be healthy. The retirement fund, which had about $10 billion in net assets at the end of fiscal 2011, paid out just over $1 billion in benefits that year.

John Tillman, chief executive officer of the Illinois Policy Institute, a think tank that says it promotes free markets, said the school system could increase the ranks of charter schools, which are largely staffed by non-union teachers.

He also predicted Illinois' flat income tax rate will be targeted by public labor unions, which could seek a constitutional amendment to change it to a progressive tax to wring more money out of higher-earning residents that could be used to fund education and other government services.

Aside from the contract, the school system faces increased borrowing costs after it was hit with negative credit rating actions this summer, affecting about $5.6 billion of its outstanding debt.

Moody's Investors Service dropped its rating to A1 with a negative outlook from Aa3, and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded the school system to A-plus with a stable outlook from AA-minus. Fitch Ratings revised the outlook on its A-plus rating to negative from stable. The district's draining of reserves for its new budget, escalating pension costs and contentious relations with its labor unions were cited as reasons for the rating actions.

The agencies on Wednesday had no immediate comment on the tentative contract.

"We're going to be analyzing the full contract and will determine how the finances will be affected," said David Jacobson, a Moody's spokesman.

(Reporting By Karen Pierog, additional reporting by Peter Bohan; Editing by Claudia Parsons)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-options-limited-finance-chicago-teachers-contract-215419737.html

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Bank of Japan, ECB and Fed in a ?Race to Debase ... - Yahoo! Finance

Three makes a trend. Late last night the Bank of Japan joined the European Central Bank and U.S. Federal Reserve in announcing an asset buying program intended to spur spending and stimulate moribund economies. At least jump-starting growth is the stated intent; the only thing printing money to buy assets does for certain is weaken local currencies and drive asset prices higher.

With these moves from the ECB and BOJ coming on the heels of the Fed's announcement last week, U.S. investors are rethinking the weird new world. Jeff Kilburg, founder and CEO of Killir Kapital Managment has some simple advice: Buy.

"Analysts? They can go on vacation at least until after Christmas," Kilburg says in the attached video. "You can buy anything except the U.S. Dollar."

As the BOJ, ECB and Fed all obviously know, if you print an unlimited amount of anything the value is reduced. The U.S. has long taken advantage of that economic law of supply and demand to help its exports and reduce its debt burden. It wasn't the deed that shocked traders, it was the magnitude. With a more than $40b per month and estimates for the total size of anywhere from $250 billion to $2 trillion, the magnitude of the Fed's plan is simply stunning.

"Initially everyone was looking for the big bazooka," says Kilburg. "Ben dropped the A-bomb." More bullish still, at least in terms of asset prices, is that the stimulus can't be quickly unwound even if the Fed wanted. With unlimited QE and a stated intent to keep rates low through 2015, the Fed is going to help whether the market needs it or not.

With China thought to be a long-time currency manipulator and Japan, the ECB and Fed al doing so openly with their own paper Kilburg says "It's the race to debase". "Everyone in the world is trying to bring their currency down."

For now the U.S. is in the lead. Until that changes Kilburg says that anytime the market is open is a good time to buy stocks.

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/bank-japan-ecb-fed-race-debase-says-kilburg-113550179.html

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Mozilla Hacks Weekly, September 20th 2012 Mozilla Hacks ? the ...

hacks.mozilla.org Home

Mozilla Hacks Weekly is the chance for us in Mozilla?s Developer Engagement team to share good links with you, which we do here every Thursday!

Weekly links

If there is anything you think we should read or know about, don?t hesitate to post a comment, contact us on Twitter or through any other means.
The picks this week are:

The Developer Engagement team

Mozilla?s Developer Engagement team work with writing articles, documentation ? such as MDN (Mozilla Developer Network) ? public speaking and generally helping and informing about open technologies and Mozilla products. If you are interested in following our work, here are the team members:

Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License v3.0 or any later version.

Source: https://hacks.mozilla.org/2012/09/mozilla-hacks-weekly-september-20th-2012/

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Reality check on Jesus and his 'wife'

Four words on a previously unknown papyrus fragment appear to provide the first evidence that some early Christians believed Jesus had been married. This video from Harvard Divinity School discusses the find.

By Alan Boyle

A fourth-century fragment of papyrus that quotes Jesus telling his disciples about "my wife" has set off a buzz among scriptural scholars?? but this is no "Da Vinci Code" come true. Rather, the "Gospel of Jesus' Wife" is just the latest discovery to suggest how the early Christian church took shape.

---

Fans of the Dan Brown thriller are already familiar with the theory that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a husband-and-wife relationship. The basis for such speculation lies in Gnostic gospels that came out in the first through third centuries, but were left out of the standardized scriptures ? texts such as the Gospel of Philip, the Gospel of Mary and the recently reconstructed Gospel of Judas.

Even though only a few phrases can be read on the papyrus fragment that's just come to light, those phrases are consistent with the Gnostic view of early Christianity ??which tended to give a more prominent role to women, and particularly to Mary Magdalene. The text, written in the Sahidic Coptic dialect, includes the phrase "Jesus said to them, 'My wife...'" as well as references to a woman named Mary being "worthy of it," and to a woman who "will be able to be my disciple." ?

The marriage debate
Karen L. King, the Harvard Divinity School professor who received the fragment from an anonymous owner, emphasized that the discovery does not serve as evidence that Jesus was married.?Rather, it suggests that there was a debate within the early Christian church on the status of women, and that Jesus' relationship with women figured into the discussion. Revisiting that debate may be unsettling to some believers, but to scriptural scholars, it just comes with the territory.

"Christian tradition has long held that Jesus was not married, even though no reliable historical evidence exists to support that claim," King said in a news release from Harvard Divinity School. "This new gospel doesn't prove that Jesus was married, but it tells us that the whole question only came up as part of vociferous debates about sexuality and marriage. From the very beginning, Christians disagreed about whether it was better not to marry, but it was over a century after Jesus' death before they began appealing to Jesus' marital status to support their positions."

Ben Witherington, a New Testament scholar at the Asbury Theological Seminary, noted that the latest find fits King's perspective on scriptural scholarship. "She does have a dog in this hunt," he told me. "She's an advocate for the Gospel of Mary and the Gospel of Judas, telling us of early Christian experiences of various kinds, particularly of the Gnostic kind."

The fragment that King calls the Gospel of Jesus' Wife could well contribute to the study of Gnosticism in the second or fourth century, but Witherington said it's not a game-changer for our view of the first-century Jesus.?"While this fragment is interesting, if you are interested in the historical Jesus, this is much ado about not very much," Witherington said via email.

Witherington noted that experts who have gotten a close look at the papyrus say it's genuine, ?but he cautioned that "we cannot be absolutely sure of its authenticity or origins" as long as scholars can't track down the details surrounding how, when and where it was discovered.

Bart Ehrman, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, voiced similar caution. However, if the document proves authentic, it would represent an important advance in scriptural scholarship, he said.?

"It's certainly not reliable for saying anything about the historical Jesus," Ehrman told me. "But what it is important for is that this would be the first time we have any Christian authority or Christian group indicating that, in their opinion, Jesus was married." Like King, Ehrman suggested that such claims might have figured into early Christian debates over the comparative merits of marriage vs. celibacy.?

Monks and 'sister-wives'?
Witherington said the text could be open to alternate interpretations. "In view of the largely ascetic character of Gnosticism, it is likely that we are dealing with the 'sister-wife' phenomenon, and the reference is to a strictly spiritual relationship, which is close but does not involve sexual intimacy," Witherington said.

During a follow-up phone call, he explained that "during the rise of the monastic movement, you had quite a lot of monk-type folks and evangelists who traveled in the company of a sister-wife." The fellow travelers looked after each other, but celibacy was part of the deal, he said.

"The other question about this is ... were these 'fractured fairy tales' that helped monks in the desert while away the time, or were they serious religious texts?" Witherington said.

Gnostic works proliferated in Egypt's Christian monasteries until Athanasius of Alexandria drew up what became the "official" list of books in the New Testament and condemned the rest in the year 367. Scholars believe that the best-known collection of Gnostic texts, the Nag Hammadi library, was bundled up and buried in the desert as a result.

The debate over the papyrus fragment's authenticity and the meaning of the Gospel of Jesus' Wife is likely to play out for a long time among scriptural scholars ? and among "Da Vinci Code" fans as well. For now, here are links to background material and the initial blog reactions:

• The news release from Harvard Divinity School points to a Web page about the papyrus and to the manuscript that King has prepared for publication in January's issue of Harvard Theological Review.
• James Tabor, a scriptural scholar at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the co-author of controversial books about Jesus and his family, notes King's research ? and says?Witherington and other scholars should "reconsider the question" surrounding Jesus' marital status.?
• Michael Heiser, a scholar in biblical languages, says on his PaleoBabble blog that he tends to agree with the view that church leaders have "manipulated the testimony of Mary Magdalene"?? but he warns against reading too much into the discovery.
• Jim West, a biblical scholar at the Quartz Hill School of Theology and pastor of Petros Baptist Church, says on the Zwinglius Redivivus blog that "without more context, both historically and archaeologically, the snippet is valueless."?
• James McGrath, a New Testament scholar at Butler University, also voices caution on the?Exploring Our Matrix blog?but adds that there's no reason why people should find the idea that Jesus was married "inherently unbelievable."

Update for 9 p.m. ET: Some observers have pointed out that the New Testament contains multiple allusions to Jesus as a bridegroom, and the church or the collective people of God as his bride. This report from The Atlantic?catalogs the references.?However, Witherington said the Coptic papyrus appears to refer to a different kind of relationship. "A bride is one thing, and a wife is another," he told me. The fragment's additional references to "Mary" and a prospective woman disciple also argue against attaching a purely metaphorical meaning to the word "wife."

For what it's worth, here are all the translated bits from the papyrus:

"'... not [to] me. My mother gave to me li[fe] ...'"

"The disciples said to Jesus, '..."

"deny. Mary is worthy of it" (Or: "deny. Mary is n[ot] worthy of it")?

"...' Jesus said to them, 'My wife...'"

"... she will be able to be my disciple ..."

"Let wicked people swell up ..."

"As for me, I dwell with her in order to ..."

"an image"

"my moth[er]"

"three"

"forth which ..."

More about scripture and history:

---

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/18/13945001-reality-check-on-jesus-and-his-wife?lite

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Light-Sensing Chip Captures Elusive Sperm Swimming Pattern

A lens-free system has provided the first direct evidence of the spiraling swimming pattern of sperm

By Helen Shen

A scanning electron micrograph of sperm on Earth. Sperm movements are notoriously hard to catch on camera. Image: http://weboflife.nasa.gov/images/sem_sperm_med.jpg

By Helen Shen of Nature magazine

Human sperm have been caught twirling in an elaborate dance. A new three-dimensional imaging technique has revealed spiraling movements that had previously only been inferred from two-dimensional data.

The study, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, describes the first large-scale, high-resolution recordings of human sperm in three dimensions, tracking more than 1,500 cells over several hours. Human sperm have eluded such detailed observation in the past. Their heads are just 3?4 micrometers long and can only be seen under high magnification, but the cells zoom around at up to 100 micrometers per second, ducking in and out of focus or darting out of range in an instant.

?Our intention was to create something not bounded by conventional optics,? says Aydogan Ozcan, a bioengineer at the University of California, Los Angeles, who led the study. ?This is the first observation of something that was entirely hidden.?

The research team watched the wily sperm not with a conventional microscope lens, but with a light-sensing chip ? measuring about 4 by 6 millimeters ? placed underneath the translucent samples. A red light-emitting diode (LED) shines down on the sperm, forming a hazy shadow on the chip that follows the head of each cell as it moves horizontally. A second, blue LED illuminates the sperm from a different angle, casting shadows that change with each sperm head?s vertical position. Imaging cells en masse at about 90 frames per second allowed the researchers to characterize sperm movement more precisely than ever before.

More than 90% of the sperm moved along slightly curved paths, wiggling their heads slightly from side to side. A small fraction ? 4?5% ? traveled in near-perfect spirals, forming helices between 0.5 and 3 micrometers in radius (see video, below). Most of the helices were right-handed, but Ozcan says that it is too early to know whether this preference serves any physiological function.

Susan Suarez, a sperm researcher at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, is curious about the significance of the swimming patterns. She hopes that the method can be used to study sperm swimming under a wider range of physiological conditions, including the pH and fluid conditions encountered by the sperm en route to an egg.

Chip-based imaging could one day lead to cheaper and more portable ways for fertility researchers to look at sperm movement, replacing costly computer systems that analyze microscope images. But Ozcan says that his technique ? which can be used only on translucent materials ? could also be used to study bacteria and other swimming microorganisms.

Illuminating possibilities
David Brady, head of the Duke Imaging and Spectroscopy Program at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, says that the sperm imaging is ?a great demonstration of an application? in the growing field of lens-free imaging. Smaller and more powerful technologies have emerged in the past 5?10 years, he says, that have yet to cross over into mainstream experimental biology. The authors have come up with an application that will ?get people talking?.

Some sperm biologists think that the technique could also open up research avenues. ?I?ve been trying to find a way to look at sperm ? moving sperm ? and this seems like it would be a good method,? says David Clapham of Boston Children's Hospital in Massachusetts. ?The beauty of this is that it?s done so quickly and on so many cells at once.? However, Clapham says, the method tracks only sperm heads, so can't capture the complex tail movements that are crucial to understanding sperm function ? and dysfunction.

The skinny tails, which can measure less than half a micrometer across, would require improvements to the imaging technology, says Ozcan. But, he says, ?it?s definitely possible?.

This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on September 17, 2012.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=ce21ebca3762017529b23e7b2829d07a

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Syracuse Volunteers ?Blitz? Local Neighborhood | NCC News

Home HeadQuarters had another great turn out to their annual ?Block Blitz?

? 2012 Erin Kelly

by Erin Kelly SYRACUSE (NCC News) The sounds of home improvement came from the 200 block of McLennan Avenue while volunteers spruced up a local neighborhood. Home HeadQuarters hosted its annual Block Blitz where volunteers come out to do small home improvement jobs for residents who don?t have the skills or resources necessary for the projects. Some endeavors tackled by the volunteers were: painting, weeding, installing fences and mailboxes, and landscaping.?

The Volunteers? Point of View

Janelle Fields, a member of Home HeadQuarters development committee, was responsible for a team of ten volunteers at the event.

?I love this community and my business is in this community and I think the Block Blitz is a wonderful opportunity for neighborhoods to come together and for the greater community to come together to support neighborhoods that have former beauty and maybe aren?t so beautiful today,? Fields said.

What It Means to the Residents

Stephanie Miner, the Mayor of Syracuse, stopped by the event and spoke about how important this event is to the residents who live in these homes. Some of who have lived in their homes for over forty years.

?We as a city and all of our partners really care about [the residents] and want to help them stay with dignity and live in these houses, they?re the foundation of our neighborhoods and the foundation of our city,? Miner said.

How to Get Involved

Not only did people volunteer their time, but also many made donations. The Bank of America presented Home HeadQuarters with a check for $20,000.

Home HeadQuarters is a non-profit organization and a charted member of NeighborWorks America. They are focused on property redevelopment, home improvement lending, and homeowner education.

Hear the sounds of home improvement below:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Source: https://nccnews.expressions.syr.edu/?p=57897

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Performing Arts Series sure to be a global delight | The Anchor ...

James Lucey, A&E Editor
September 18, 2012
Filed under Arts and Entertainment

Every year without fail, the Rhode Island College Performing Arts Series provides world class entertainment.

That is not necessarily an exaggeration. For the fall of 2012, RIC welcomes a superbly diverse repertoire, offering acts from around the globe. If you like dance, music or kung-fu, it is likely that there is something for you.

Kicking off on Tuesday, Oct. 2, Ballet Folkl?rico de M?xico brings traditional dance with some serious pageantry. Impeccable choreography defines this troupe, but the costumes, the intermittent mariachi band and the fun, rhythmic music make this event a true cultural experience.

There is a storytelling element, a desire to convey traditions and lifestyles through dance and music, which makes it an encompassing tale. Styles from pre-Columbian to Revolutionary periods are represented, as well as regional costumes and dances. In the Northeast, our conception of ?Mexican? is usually limited to the combo menu at Taco Bell. It is not a bad idea to get a little cultural education from one of the most reputable dance companies in the world. The performance will take place in The Auditorum in Roberts Hall at 7:30 p.m.

Soyeon Kate Lee is a pianist garnering much attention these days. Korean born and American raised, Lee has three degrees from Julliard under her belt. She has gained notoriety for claiming first prize at the Naumberg International Piano Competition in 2010. Her ability is of the highest caliber, playing with incredible clarity and poise. She will perform on Sunday, Oct. 21, in the Nazarian Center?s Sapinsley Hall at 2:30 p.m.

If just one master musician isn?t enough for you, the Muir String Quartet will be RIC on Monday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. in the Nazarian Center?s Sapinsley Hall. Taking up residence at Boston College, the Grammy winning Quartet will perform String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95, String Quartet in B-? at Major, Op. 18, No. 6 and String Quartet in A minor, Op. 132 from Beethoven?s String Quartet Cycle. It is classy classical music.

If there would be one standout act in the Performing Arts Series this Fall, it has got to be the Shaolin Warriors. The name itself is synonymous with mystery and ancient secrets. But, in reality, these guys are just incredibly talented martial artists. Combining acts of physical daring and choreographed martial arts demonstrations, this performance is sure to satisfy the action movie junkie in all of us. How about breaking cinder blocks with a sword over a dude?s belly who?s on top of another dude who?s on top of a bed of nails? Eat your heart out, Cirque de Soleil.The Shaolin Warriors will perform in The Auditorium in Roberts Hall on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Finally, on Sunday, Dec. 9th, Natalie MacMaster will fiddle around. She plays the violin, that is. Well, the fiddle. The Nova Scotian musician has shared the stage with a cast of talents that range from Carlos Santana to the Chieftains, from Faith Hill to Yo-Yo Ma. If you like country music, or traditional Celtic fare, MacMaster is certain to dazzle. She will be in The Auditorium in Roberts Hall at 7:30 p.m.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Box Office at The Nazarian Center, or call (401) 456 8144.

Source: http://www.theanchoronline.org/ae/2012/09/18/performing-arts-series-sure-to-be-a-global-delight/

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Shaun White Apologizes for Arrest, "Poor Behavior"

Shaun White is very sorry.

The world champion snowboarder was arrested in Nashville Sunday on charges of vandalism and public intoxication, and doesn't deny that ugly incident took place.

"I want to apologize for the unwise choices I made over the weekend and for any inconvenience it caused my family, friends, business partners, the hotel and their guests," White says in a statement posted on his Facebook page.

"I was celebrating a happy occasion with a ton of family and friends and got carried away. I'm truly sorry for my poor behavior."

Did he ever!

White was in town for musician Patrick Carney's wedding and is accused of pulling a hotel fire alarm and then attempting to flee the scene, only to end up tackled by a citizen with whom White tussled soon after his evacuation prank.

He was taken to a hospital after police arrived on the scene and then treated, charged and released.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/09/shaun-white-apologizes-for-arrest-poor-behavior/

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Andy Murray receives rousing welcome in hometown

2012 U.S. Open tennis men's singles champion Andy Murray, of Britain, poses in Central Park on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

2012 U.S. Open tennis men's singles champion Andy Murray, of Britain, poses in Central Park on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

DUNBLANE, Scotland (AP) ? Thousands of people have lined the streets in gloomy Scottish weather to give Andy Murray a rousing welcome to his hometown of Dunblane as he celebrated his Olympic and U.S. Open victories.

Britain's first Grand Slam winner in 76 years arrived on an open-top bus before walking slowly through the town's streets, signing autographs as the crowds chanted his name, waved Scottish flags and lifted homemade placards.

Murray says "so many people, so much support, it's been a bit overwhelming ? it will take a few days to sink in."

The 25-year-old Murray beat Novak Djokovic in five sets to win the U.S. Open on Monday and end his agonizing wait for a major title, five weeks after he routed Roger Federer in the final of the Olympic tournament.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-09-16-TEN-Murray-Homecoming/id-4fe50e733483461d89829a0d235cfb9f

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Easily Browse the iTunes Store by Dragging Icons to Your Web Browser [ITunes]

We all know that iTunes and the Mac App Store are available from any web browser, but they don't exactly allow you to "browse" the store like you can in iTunes. If you want the flexibility of a tabbed web browser with the browsability of the official store, you can get the best of both worlds with a little drag-and-drop action.

Say you're browsing the iTunes Store and find a number of apps you want to check out. You can't open them in tabs in the iTunes Store, but you can just click and drag their icons into your web browser of choice. They'll show up in their own tab, so you can open a bunch at once and compare reviews without having to repeatedly click the "back" button or perform new searches. It's a simple tip, but can be pretty handy if you're in the middle of an intense app shopping session.

Drag and drop Mac App Store icons to make up for its lack of tabbed browsing | Finer Things in Tech via Mac OS X Hints

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/rkatZmTy-2E/easily-browse-the-itunes-store-by-dragging-icons-to-your-web-browser

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Cambodia genocide defendant freed due to illness

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) ? Cambodia's war crimes tribunal set free a former leader of the Khmer Rouge on Sunday, upholding a decision that has outraged survivors seeking an explanation of the mass killings committed more than 30 years ago.

Eighty-year-old Ieng Thirith, who has been declared mentally unfit for trial, was driven out of the U.N.-backed tribunal's compound by family members. She made no comment to reporters.

The Sorbonne-educated Shakespeare scholar served as social affairs minister during the Khmer Rouge's 1975-79 rule, during which an estimated 1.7 million people died of execution, medical neglect, overwork and starvation.

The tribunal initially announced its decision to free Ieng Thirith on Thursday, saying medical experts had determined there was no prospect for her to be tried due to a degenerative mental illness that was probably Alzheimer's disease.

Prosecutors then delayed her release by filing an appeal demanding that conditions be set to restrict her freedom.

On Sunday, the tribunal's supreme court said it had accepted the appeal, which is expected to be heard later this month. In the meantime, it set three provisional conditions on her movement.

The tribunal said Ieng Thirith must inform the court of her address, must turn in her passport and cannot leave the country, and must report to the court whenever it summons her.

Ieng Thirith was the Khmer Rouge's highest-ranking woman and also a sister-in-law of the group's top leader, Pol Pot, who died in 1998.

She is accused of involvement in the "planning, direction, coordination and ordering of widespread purges," and was charged with crimes against humanity, genocide, homicide and torture.

Three other senior Khmer Rouge leaders are currently on trial, including her husband, 86-year-old Ieng Sary, the regime's former foreign minister; 85-year-old Nuon Chea, its chief ideologist and No. 2 leader; and 80-year-old Khieu Samphan, a former head of state.

The tribunal said earlier that Ieng Thirith's release does not mean the charges against her are being withdrawn and is not a finding of guilt or innocence. It plans to consult annually with experts to see whether future medical advances could render her fit for trial, although that is considered unlikely given her age and frailty.

Survivors of the Khmer Rouge called Ieng Thirith's release shocking and unjust. They said they have waited decades for justice and find it hard to feel compassion for her suffering.

"It is difficult for victims and indeed, all Cambodians, to accept the especially vigorous enforcement of Ieng Thirith's rights taking place at the (tribunal)," said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a group that researches Khmer Rouge atrocities.

In a statement Sunday, he noted the irony of Ieng Thirith receiving "world class health care." As social affairs minister she was "personally and directly involved in denying Cambodians even the most basic health care during the regime's years in power," he said.

The long-delayed tribunal began in 2006 ? nearly three decades after the fall of the Khmer Rouge ? following years of wrangling between Cambodia and the United Nations. The lengthy delays have been costly and raised fears that the former leaders could die before their verdicts come.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-09-16-Cambodia-Khmer%20Rouge/id-f503b7551ba14cc88531fd99b03b5a12

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Bayou Billionaires: Dowden Day Parade

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Source: http://www.thetvdb.com/index.php?tab=episode&seriesid=253211&seasonid=498070&id=4375119

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Israeli military moves major operations to south

FILE - In this July 28, 2005 file photo, Israeli soldiers walk inside the Re'im army base in southern Israel. The Israeli military in 2012 is embarking on its biggest construction project in three decades, moving 10,000 soldiers out of some of the country's priciest real estate to a massive new base it is building in the desert sands of southern Israel. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner, File)

FILE - In this July 28, 2005 file photo, Israeli soldiers walk inside the Re'im army base in southern Israel. The Israeli military in 2012 is embarking on its biggest construction project in three decades, moving 10,000 soldiers out of some of the country's priciest real estate to a massive new base it is building in the desert sands of southern Israel. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 16, 2008 file photo, an Israeli helicopter is seen flying above armored vehicles during an army exercise at the Shizafon Army Base in southern Israel. The Israeli military in 2012 is embarking on its biggest construction project in three decades, moving 10,000 soldiers out of some of the country's priciest real estate to a massive new base it is building in the desert sands of southern Israel. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill, File)

HANEGEV JUNCTION, Israel (AP) ? The Israeli military has begun construction of its largest training base ever, moving operations from some of the country's priciest real estate to the barren sands of southern Israel in a new attempt to realize the longtime dream of making the desert bloom.

The $650 million construction project is the military's biggest in three decades: Beginning in late 2014, 10,000 soldiers will be moved into the new base 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of the city of Beersheba from their current quarters in the country's Tel Aviv-area heartland.

The program is designed to streamline combat support training, now carried out at multiple facilities, by funneling it into a single site.

But critics question whether it will jumpstart the economy of the Negev region as officials promise. They also note the project doesn't even discuss benefits for Arab Bedouin who account for a third of the 500,000 Israelis living in the area.

Not since Israel pulled up its bases from Egypt's Sinai desert in the early 1980s under the two countries' landmark peace treaty has the military carried out a project of this scope, in terms of cost, number of soldiers involved and sheer physical size, said project director Lt. Col. Shalom Alfassy.

Today, only a few spare buildings stand on the 625 acres (250 hectares) earmarked for the site. But within two years, 2.7 million square feet (250,800 square meters) of construction is supposed to go up, including barracks, hundreds of computerized classrooms, simulation sites and firing ranges.

The base will not train combat soldiers, but drivers, paramedics and other troops who would support them at the front. It will not draw operations from the main military headquarters and Defense Ministry in the heart of Tel Aviv.

The project is part of a broader move to relocate military facilities to the Negev. Alfassy says about half of the bases in Israel's center will move to the region by the end of the decade.

The Negev accounts for over half of Israel's land mass but is home to just 8 percent of its 8 million people. Making it flourish was the vision of Israel's founding father, David Ben-Gurion. But poor services have kept the area languishing, despite a series of government programs and improved road and rail links designed to boost it.

Alfassy believes things will be different this time. He estimates the project will create 20,000 to 30,000 temporary construction jobs for Negev residents. Some 500 civilian workers will work at the base and 2,000 to 2,500 jobs will be created for outside vendors, he predicted.

The military expects 200 to 300 career soldiers will move their families to the south to be near the base, boosting the economy as well as educational and medical services, he said.

Erez Tzfadia, head of the department of public policy and administration at Sapir College in the Negev, scoffed at that notion.

"There are half a million people" in the area where the base is being built, he said. "Will 200 families of career soldiers really pull up the Negev?"

The project's champions also talk about bringing more buying power to the Negev through the 10,000 soldiers to be based there.

But "soldiers don't have any money," Tzfadia said. "At most they will buy felafel at the central bus station in Beersheba. You don't build an economy on that."

None of the tribal Arab Bedouin who have been living in the area for decades will have to move to make way for the base, reducing any opposition to the project. Past attempts to develop the south have been marred by forced evictions of unauthorized Bedouin villages.

At the same time, the relocation program does not specifically consider ways to involve the impoverished Bedouin community.

"They aren't even taken into consideration as a party that should be a beneficiary, even at the level of discourse," Tzfadia said.

Alfassy said Bedouin would be considered for projects but had no information on plans designed to benefit them.

A top benefit of the relocation is having the military vacate sought-after real estate in central Israel. The Ministry of Construction and Housing estimates 35,000 apartments, including about 9,000 classified as affordable housing, will be built on the emptied sites.

That could bring some relief to the masses of young families who cannot afford their own home in an area where even a modest apartment can cost $500,000.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-09-16-Israel-Military%20Revamp/id-d02b66a2d1b54ac6b7b96c0410deba20

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Moroccan man sentenced to 30 years in US bomb plot

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge sentenced a Moroccan man to 30 years in prison on Friday after he was caught in an FBI sting operation planning to detonate a bomb in the U.S. Capitol building, prosecutors said.

Amine El Khalifi, 29, an illegal immigrant who lived in Alexandria, Virginia, was sentenced after pleading guilty in June to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

He faced a maximum sentence under the law of life in prison, but prosecutors agreed to 25 to 30 years as part of a plea deal.

"The sentence in this case must be a beacon to those would seek to commit such attacks that, when caught and prosecuted, they will be sentenced to decades," prosecutors for the U.S. Justice Department said in court papers before the sentencing.

U.S. District Judge James Cacheris imposed the sentence in federal court in Alexandria.

El Khalifi's lawyers asked for a sentence of 25 years, saying that would be enough to deter others from pursuing similar plans.

The FBI's tactics in the case, including providing El Khalifi with what he thought were working explosives, were legitimate but weighed in favor of the shorter sentence because he never put anyone in actual danger, his lawyers said.

"Every significant movement by Mr. El Khalifi was monitored and observed by the FBI, to include even aerial surveillance," the lawyers said in court papers.

El Khalifi was raised in Casablanca, his lawyers said in court papers. He came to the United States in 1999 on a tourist visa with his father and "became enamored with America," staying behind with an uncle as his father returned to Morocco.

He moved to the Washington area in 2000 and held a variety of jobs, including retail clothing sales in the upscale Georgetown neighborhood, his lawyers said. A nightclub argument in 2007 resulted in his conviction on misdemeanor criminal charges, an incident that led to a deepening commitment to his religion, Islam, they said.

In conversations with FBI agents who said they were from al Qaeda, El Khalifi talked about wanting to bomb U.S. military targets on behalf of God, prosecutors said. He changed his mind and focused on the Capitol building, seat of the U.S. Congress and a popular tourist attraction.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/moroccan-man-sentenced-30-years-us-bomb-plot-092531258.html

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Prince Harry unharmed after Taliban attack in Afghanistan - NATO

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The iPad tops tablet customer satisfaction ratings, but the Kindle Fire isn?t far behind

If anyone?s going to pose a real challenge to Apple (AAPL) in the tablet space, it looks as though it will have to be Amazon (AMZN). J.D. Power has released its latest tablet customer satisfaction study and has found that Amazon?s Kindle Fire is the only tablet within striking distance of Apple?s iPad, although it notes that the Kindle Fire?s only advantage over the iPad is its low price while the iPad holds the edge for performance, ease of operation, features, style and design.

Even so, the J.D. Power survey is the second survey in recent months to find that the Kindle Fire is right behind the iPad for customer satisfaction. ComScore last month found that iPad owners scored their overall satisfaction with their tablet an 8.8 on a scale of one to ten, while Kindle Fire owners scored their overall satisfaction at 8.7. This fits right in with J.D. Power?s customer satisfaction ratings, which scored the iPad at 848 and the Kindle Fire 841 on a scale of 0 to 1,000.

Neither the J.D. Power survey nor the comScore survey asked users to rate their satisfaction with Google?s (GOOG) Nexus 7 tablet. J.D. Power?s full press release follows below.

J.D. Power and Associates Reports:?Tablets Challenge Personal Computers for Top Position in Content Consumption?

Apple Ranks Highest in Owner Satisfaction among Tablet Manufacturers

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 13 September 2012??Tablets are transforming the way content is consumed and challenging the usage patterns for personal computers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 U.S. Tablet Satisfaction Study^SMreleased today.

The inaugural Tablet Satisfaction Study finds that tablet owners spend 7.5 hours per week browsing the Internet, watching videos, listening to music, and reading books on their device, compared with spending 9.6 hours per week on a personal computer for the same activities. Overall satisfaction is 857 (on a 1,000-point scale) among owners who view three or more hours of video per week on their tablet, which is 45 points higher than among those who do not. In addition, those who spend three or more hours viewing video content are more likely to purchase another tablet from their current manufacturer in the future than are those who do not watch as much video content (90% vs. 81%, respectively).

?As tablet computing, multimedia, display, and application offerings continue to evolve, their impact on usage patterns will continue to grow,? said Dr. Uma S. Jha, senior director of mobile devices at J.D. Power and Associates. ?Tablets are a force in the marketplace that offer a great alternative to laptops and netbooks.?

The study measures tablet owner satisfaction among those who have owned their tablet for less than two years. Satisfaction is measured across five key factors. In order of importance, they are: performance (26%), ease of operation (22%), styling and design (19%), features (17%), and price (16%).

Apple ranks highest, achieving a score of 848, and performs well in four factors: performance; ease of operation; styling and design; and features. Amazon (841) closely follows Apple in the rankings and performs particularly well in the price factor.

The study also finds the following key tablet usage patterns and purchase trends:

• Tablet owners who also have a smartphone spend 40 percent more time browsing the Internet on their tablet than on their smartphone. Similarly, they spend 56 percent more time using gaming apps on their tablet than on their smartphone.
• One-fourth (25%) of owners indicate they use their tablet for business purposes.
• More than one-third (37%) of tablet owners say they are likely to buy a new tablet within the next 12 months.
• Among tablet owners who are highly satisfied (those rating their device 10 on a 10-point scale), 90 percent say they are likely to purchase additional consumer electronic devices from the same manufacturer.
• Three-fourths (75%) of tablet owners indicate they were the sole decision-maker in purchasing their device.
• More than one-half (61%) of owners share their device with at least one other person.

The 2012 U.S. Tablet Satisfaction Study is based on experiences reported by 1,985 tablet owners. The study was fielded in July 2012.

For more information on customer satisfaction with wireless service, wireless retail sales, cell phone handsets, customer care, prepaid wireless service and business wireless service, please visit JDPower.com.

Prior to joining BGR as News Editor, Brad Reed spent five years covering the wireless industry for Network World. His first smartphone was a BlackBerry but he has since become a loyal Android user.

MORE ARTICLES FROM BRAD ?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheBoyGeniusReport/~3/0PlW76DRgUo/

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Investment Tips: Investing in Gold vs. Real Estate - Real Estate ...

Non-market investments have attracted thousands in terms of finding better ways to make money grow, especially given the last decade and the roller-coaster ride the stock market has had. As a result, two types of investment, gold and real estate, have attracted many for different reasons. That said, both have their pros and cons.

GOLD
Gold generally catches people?s eye because it tends to be in demand as a hedge against a weak U.S. dollar, as well as the fact that people historically want the precious metal for jewelry or as a non-currency asset. That said, gold itself has no intrinsic value. It doesn?t grow and become more than its original size, it doesn?t pay a dividend, and it doesn?t produce anything. As a result, gold?s value is entirely subject to the market and people?s perception of it. When that perception falls, which it has in the past, gold drops heavily, causing significant losses for those who bought it at a high price.

REAL ESTATE
Real estate has for decades represented an opportunity of significant growth if bought in the right location. The demand for the property as well as its surrounding location tends to be the primary factors in real estate valuation increases. However, in the last decade and due to market speculation, real estate pricing has skyrocketed and then crashed heavily. So it too is not a guaranteed safe harbor for investment money. That said, if a neighborhood is good and remains in demand, and nearby comparable prices regularly rise, consequently the given real estate asset is likely to increase in value as well.

Both gold and real estate assets can generally be traded for cash when they need to be sold. Gold is far easier to liquidate, but both are viable investments. At the end of the day, though, the timing of purchase and sale matters significantly.

Source: http://www.realestateglobalnetwork.com/xn/detail/2211201%3ABlogPost%3A244169

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Serendipitous science gets the Golden Goose

Golden Goose Award

Physicist Charles Townes' seemingly useless research in the 1950s led to the invention of the laser in 1960.

By Alan Boyle

Scientists who came up with laser technology, glow-in-the-dark proteins and coral-inspired bone grafts received the first-ever Golden Goose Awards today on Capitol Hill, as part of a campaign to counter the fuss over seemingly silly science.

Believe it or not, all those innovations came from federally funded research projects that were once dismissed as too arcane or unworkable to produce practical applications. And that's the point: It's easy to mock scientists who teach robots to fold laundry or put shrimp on underwater treadmills. But sometimes it's the ridiculous research that yields a big payoff.

"We should honor, not mock, scientists," U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., said in a news release. "Like the fabled golden goose, today's awardees gave unexpected gifts to mankind. Budget cutbacks must be made, but science should be spared."

---

It was Cooper who came up with the idea behind the Golden Goose Awards as a?counterbalance to?the negative stereotype often?attached to odd or obscure studies. Back in the 1970s, Sen. William Proxmire, D-Wis., created the Golden Fleece Awards to ridicule federally funded projects that he thought were wasteful. His "winners" included NASA, which sought $2 million to fund a radio-based search for extraterrestrial intelligence; and the National Science Foundation, for spending $84,000 on relationship research.

The tradition has continued in recent times, in the form of congressional reports that are critical of NSF spending. For what it's worth, the American Association for the Advancement of Science estimates?that total federal spending on research and development has been staying around the level of 11 to 13 percent of overall discretionary spending for more than 30 years.?

The Golden Goose Awards are the result of Cooper's collaboration with other lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats, as well as with the AAAS and other science-minded organizations. The program's stated purpose is "to demonstrate the human and economic benefits of federally funded research by highlighting examples of seemingly obscure or unusual studies that have led to major breakthroughs and have had a significant impact on society."

The eight Golden Goose recipients were announced over the weekend. Here's the list:

• Charles Townes,?a physicist who was told early in his career not to waste resources on an obscure technique for amplifying waves of radiation into a continuous stream. His research in the 1950s led to the invention of laser technology, which was initially seen as a "solution looking for a problem." Today, of course, lasers are essential for applications ranging from DVD players and grocery-store scanners to surgery, military weapons and nuclear fusion experiments. Townes' work earned him a Nobel Prize in 1964.
• Eugene White, Rodney White, Della Roy and the late Jon Weber, who spent way too much time studying the microscopic structure of tropical coral. They eventually figured out that the structure could be adapted to create a type of ceramic scaffolding that's commonly used today in bone grafts and prosthetic eyes.
• Martin Chalfie, Roger Tsien, and Osamu Shimomura, whose research focused on the nervous systems of jellyfish. In the 1960s, Shimomura extracted a substance known as Green Fluorescent Protein, or GFP, that made certain jellyfish glow under ultraviolet light. Chalfie and Tsien later found ways to use GFP and similar proteins as cellular markers in a variety of organisms. The discoveries earned the trio a Nobel Prize?in 2008. In its Nobel citation, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said glow-in-the-dark proteins have become "a guiding star for biochemists, biologists, medical scientists and other researchers."

AAAS CEO Alan Leshner said the stories behind the awards demonstrated that "the unexpected benefits of basic research have been huge."?What do you think? Get the full story from the Golden Goose website ??and get set to hear about a new wave of seemingly silly science next week, when the Ig Nobel Prizes are awarded for achievements "that first make you laugh, and then make you think."

More about silly science:

---

In addition to the AAAS, the Golden Goose Awards' founding organizations include the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the Breakthrough Institute, the Richard Lounsbery Foundation, The Science Coalition, the Task Force on American Innovation and United for Medical Research. Other organizational sponsors include the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American Chemical Society and the American Mathematical Society.

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/13/13850419-and-the-golden-goose-goes-to?lite

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AdWatch: New GOP ad disputes Obama claims on taxes

WASHINGTON?TITLE: "Broke"

LENGTH: 30 seconds.

AIRING: Crossroads GPS, the nonprofit arm of a Republican super PAC, says it has bought $5.3 million of airtime in Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia to counter an ad by President Barack Obama's campaign.

KEY IMAGES: Video of Obama saying his tax plan won't raise taxes on families making less than $250,000, followed by the word, "Untrue," on a television screen.

"Middle-class Americans face a huge tax increase because of Obamacare," says a female narrator as the image of a woman, her head in her hands, appears on the screen. "Now, Obama claims Mitt Romney will raise middle-class taxes. Also untrue. Romney's plan lowers middle-class tax rates by 20 percent. Barack Obama?dishonest on taxes because he's failed on jobs."

ANALYSIS: Both the Republican ad and Obama's earlier ad show the importance of middle-class voters to the campaigns. Republicans want to portray Obama as violating a 2008 campaign pledge not to raise taxes on the middle class, while Democrats want to portray Romney as favoring the rich, even if it means raising taxes on others.

Both campaigns overstate the other's desire to raise taxes on the middle class.

The Crossroads GPS ad says Obama's new health care law will increase the middle-class tax burden. Starting in 2014, the law requires people to pay a penalty?which the Supreme Court has labeled a tax?but only if they don't get health insurance.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that about 4 million people will have to pay the penalty, which will average about $1,000 apiece in 2016, when the penalties are fully phased in. Many of those people will be middle class, according to the CBO.

The Crossroads GPS ad also disputes a claim by Obama that Romney's tax plan would raise taxes on middle-class families by $2,000. Obama made the claim in his speech at the Democratic National Convention, and his campaign makes it again in its own ad.

Obama's claim relies on a study by the Tax Policy Center, a research group formed by two Washington think tanks: the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution. Their study, however, is far more nuanced than Obama's claim.

The study analyzes Romney' plan to reform the tax code in a way that reduces income tax rates by 20 percent, maintains tax breaks for investment income, eliminates the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax, and pays for it all by eliminating or reducing unspecified tax credits, deductions and exemptions. The goal would be a simpler tax code that raises the same amount of money as the current system, but does it in a more efficient manner.

Romney says his plan wouldn't raise taxes on anyone. But the study concludes it wouldn't be possible for Romney to meet all of his stated goals without shifting some of the tax burden from people who make more than $200,000 to people who make less.

In one scenario, the study says, Romney's proposal could result in a $2,000 tax increase for families who make less than $200,000 and have children.

The study created such a strong backlash from Romney's campaign that the authors issued a follow-up paper that sought to answer some frequently asked questions, including this one:

Question: Did you say that Governor Romney wants to raise taxes on the middle-class?

Answer: "No. We said that simultaneously achieving all five of the tax goals stated above would result in lower taxes for high-income households and thus?because of the revenue-neutrality constraint?would require raising taxes on other households."

Source: http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_21545005/adwatch-new-gop-ad-disputes-obama-claims-taxes?source=rss

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The Attacks After The Attack

By MICHAEL FALCONE ( @michaelpfalcone ) and AMY WALTER ( @amyewalter )

NOTABLES:

U.S. AMBASSADOR KILLED IN LIBYA: The U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, died as Libyan militants stormed the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, ABC's Kevin Dolak, Deab Schabner, Enjoli Francis, and Anthony Castellano report. Stevens, 52, was killed on Tuesday along with three other members of his staff as 20 gun-wielding attackers stormed the U.S. consulate, angry about an American made film that depicts Prophet Mohammad as a fraud and womanizer. Nearly a dozen Americans were inside the consulate at the time, guarded only by Libyan security. For nearly 20 minutes the Libyan guards exchanged fire with the attackers, who hurled a firebomb inside. http://abcn.ws/Sbas0e

THE FILM THAT STARTED IT: Explaining clips from the film, The Atlantic's Max Fisher writes: "The movie is called Innocence of Muslims, although some Egyptian media have reported its title as Mohammed Nabi al-Muslimin, or Mohammed, Prophet of the Muslims. If you've never heard of it, that's because most of the few clips circulating online are dubbed in Arabic. ? it's associated with Florida Pastor Terry Jones [who threatened to burn the Qur'an] ? Obviously, there's a lot to this story that's still unclear. What we do know is that some members of Egypt's sometimes-raucous, often rumor-heavy media have been playing highly offensive clips from the highly offensive film, stressing its U.S. and Coptic connections." http://bit.ly/NZdkSB

FROM THE WHITE HOUSE: President Obama's statement: "I strongly condemn the outrageous attack on our diplomatic facility in Benghazi, which took the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. Right now, the American people have the families of those we lost in our thoughts and prayers. They exemplified America's commitment to freedom, justice, and partnership with nations and people around the globe, and stand in stark contrast to those who callously took their lives."

FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statement: "the Americans we lost in yesterday's attacks made the ultimate sacrifice. We condemn this vicious and violent attack that took their lives, which they had committed to helping the Libyan people reach for a better future. America's diplomats and development experts stand on the front lines every day for our country. We are honored by the service of each and every one of them."

THE NOTE:

The attacks on the diplomatic facilities in Benghazi and Cairo, including the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three members of his staff, remind us how much of the campaign is out of the candidates' control.

Four years ago it was the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and the financial crisis that threw the campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain into unchartered territory. Obama took advantage and control of the chaos, while McCain wilted.

Romney's full throated criticism of the Cairo embassy's statement suggests that his campaign is going onto offense on this issue, and wants to turn this latest foreign policy crisis into a campaign issue:

"I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi," Romney said in a statement released last night. "It's disgraceful that the Obama administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks."

And he's taking the Republican Party with him. Republican National Committee chairman Reince Preibus tweeted around the same time: "Obama sympathizes with attackers in Egypt. Sad and pathetic." Joining in were other prominent GOP voices, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin who weighed in with her own scathing statement on the president's foreign policy leadership: "We already know that President Obama likes to 'speak softly' to our enemies. If he doesn't have a 'big stick' to carry, maybe it's time for him to grow one."

However, as ABC's Jake Tapper points out, the attacks by Republicans, including Romney's, do "not stand up to simple chronology. The US Embassy in Cairo issued a statement 'condemn(ing) the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims' - referring to the anti-Muslim movie allegedly inflaming the demonstrators, rioters, and attackers - but that statement was issued before the attacks on the diplomatic missions." (Read the rest of Tapper's take: http://abcn.ws/PbbHOl )

In addition, Romney is likely to face questions today about his decision to release a statement on the incidents overseas before all the dust had settled.

Early this morning, Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said in a statement the campaign was "shocked that, at a time when the United States of America is confronting the tragic death of one of our diplomatic officers in Libya, Governor Romney would choose to launch a political attack." (That was before it had been reported that more Americans, including the ambassador, had also been killed).

Moreover, taking on the president on the fight on national security is risky

The latest ABC News-Washington Post poll showed Obama with a 51-40 advantage on who voters trust more to handle terrorism.

Another unintended consequence: It could expose Romney's own weaknesses and gaps in experience on these issues. The president has an advantage in that he has access to report and information that no one else will get. That puts any challenger at a disadvantage.

NOTE IT!

ABC's RICK KLEIN: The campaign just took a serious turn toward foreign policy - and not in a way President Obama could have anticipated. Rather than emphasize his strengths - ending the Iraq war, the killing of bin Laden - the violent protests that killed a U.S. ambassador highlight anti-American sentiments as well as a flip side of the Arab spring. That, plus the new tensions with Israel, could give Mitt Romney a chance to make a case on ground he previously didn't consider fertile.

FAVORABILITY GAP REOPENS: AMERICANS LIKE OBAMA AGAIN. The latest ABC/Washington Post poll shows President Obama's favorable ratings resurfacing, ABC's Gary Langer writes: Barack Obama crossed into majority favorability among registered voters for the first time since spring ? The shifts in this survey poll re-open the popularity gap between Obama and Romney - now 8 points in Obama's favor, 52 percent vs. Romney's 44 percent, after closing to 4 points last week (within the margin of error), after the GOP convention and before the Democrats had their say. Obama's favorable vs. unfavorable ratings, 52-45 percent, are back in the positive zone, +7 percentage points, after dipping below the waterline last week, 47-49 percent. Romney, at 44-49 percent, remains underwater, for the 12th time out of 14 ABC/Post favorability polls this year. http://abcn.ws/SbfRnZ

? BUT INDEPENDENTS ARE SPLIT. More from ABC's Gary Langer: Obama's rating among independent registered voters, by contrast, is essentially flat - 46-49 percent favorable-unfavorable this week, 45-51 percent last week. Nor did he see any change among political moderates in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates. http://abcn.ws/SbfRnZ

HISTORICALLY LOW RATINGS. Langer writes: In previous post-convention polling, two candidates have received at least numerically lower favorability ratings than Obama's and Romney's now - John Kerry in 2004 and Mike Dukakis in 1988. Several others were either numerically lower than Obama now, or in a similar position. http://abcn.ws/SbfRnZ

THE BUZZ:

with ABC's Chris Good ( @c_good)

CONSERVATIVES VS. MITT. Taking criticism from Laura Ingraham, George Will, and Rush Limbaugh, Mitt Romney could be facing a crisis of confidence among members of his own party, ABC's David Muir reports for "World News." Muir, reporting from Las Vegas, notes that criticism has centered on Romney's economic plan, after ABC/Washington Post polling showed him lagging behind President Obama on the question of who will handle the economy better. Muir: "Many conservative critics now argue Romney must start delivering details. For example, on Romney's promise of tax cuts for all without raising the deficit, many economists asking which tax deductions he'll get rid of to make up the difference-so many deductions commonplace in America, like the mortgage interest deduction." WATCH: http://abcn.ws/PhYLoh

FRETTING OVER ROMNEY IN A 'GIMME ELECTION.' ABC's Z. Byron Wolf and Rick Klein have more on those conservative worries: Conservative radio talk show host Laura Ingraham on Monday called 2012 a "gimme election" for Republicans. But she lamented a lack of strong branding in the Romney campaign's message. ? Other conservatives have joined in, albeit expressing less overt frustration than Will and Ingraham. "Speak Up, Mitt!" is the title of a piece by William Kristol in a forthcoming issue of the Weekly Standard. The Wall Street Journal's editorial page wrote Monday that "The GOP candidate might try explaining his policies. Just a thought." http://abcn.ws/RHwlJw

SWING STATE POLLS CAUSE GOP WORRY. ABC's Jonathan Karl reports: According to a GOP source with access to private polling being done by independent Republican groups (who are spending a lot of money tracking public opinion in the battleground states), Romney is in trouble in two must-win states: Ohio: Romney down 5 percent. Virginia: Romney down 4 percent. ? The good news: In Wisconsin ? Romney is only down 2 percent ? In Nevada ? the race is tied. http://abcn.ws/TJMmzy

NEW FROM CHICAGO - OBAMA AD: ROMNEY TAX PLAN DODGES DETAILS. ABC's Devin Dwyer reports: A new 30-second TV spot titled "Won't Say" begins airing today in Iowa, Nevada, Virginia and Ohio, the campaign said, hammering the Republican presidential nominee for personal secrecy with his own taxes and the specifics of his proposed tax reform plan. "You could lose the deduction for your home mortgage, college tuition, health care," the narrator says. "How much would you pay? Romney just won't say." http://abcn.ws/RHly27

OBAMA TAPS STAR POWER FOR CAMPAIGN CASH. After Obama and Democrats reported outraising Romney and Republicans in August, ABC's Devin Dwyer reports: President Obama is back on the money trail next week for another round of star-studded New York City fundraisers, featuring Beyonce and Jay-Z. The president will head to the Big Apple on Tuesday, Sept. 18, when he is expected to headline an intimate 100-person event at the rapper's 40/40 Club near Madison Square Park in Chelsea, his campaign announced today. ? Obama's last campaign fundraiser was Aug. 22, a basketball-themed evening in New York City dubbed the "Obama Classic" that was co-hosted by NBA legend Michael Jordan. http://abcn.ws/U7oNMX

BILL CLINTON GOES SOLO, BREAKS 9/11 TRUCE. Bill Clinton held his first solo rally of the campaign yesterday, and his event for President Obama broke the informal campaign truce on 9/11. Clinton called the right's strategy "militant" and "bitter," ABC's Devin Dwyer reports: "I believe we should be working, in an interdependent world, for an America of shared responsibility, shared opportunity, shared prosperity and shared membership in one American community. That's what I believe in," Clinton said. He said the opposing approach was a "a militant, bitter, anti-government strategy," though he did not mention the Republican candidate by name. http://abcn.ws/RRuq3W

PUTIN TO ROMNEY: THANKS. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Mitt Romney's infamous comment about Russia-that it's America's "number one geopolitical foe"-helps Russia clarify its views on missile defense, ABC's Kirit Radia reports from Moscow: "I'm grateful to him (Romney) for formulating his stance so clearly because he has once again proven the correctness of our approach to missile defense problems," Putin told reporters, according to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. "The most important thing for us is that even if he doesn't win now, he or a person with similar views may come to power in four years. We must take that into consideration while dealing with security issues for a long perspective," he said. http://abcn.ws/U7pcyS

PAUL RYAN BUYS ADS IN HIS DISTRICT. ABC's Elizabeth Hartfield reports: Ryan, who represents the state's first congressional district, placed an ad buy with WISN Milwaukee that will begin running tomorrow, and Ryan campaign officials note, this will not be the only buy from the VP nominee. "As he has done in years past, Congressman Ryan will be airing advertisements in Milwaukee and Madison TV media markets in the run up to the November elections," Ryan campaign manager Kevin Seifert told ABC News. "This is the first in the series of ads that will be rolled out between now and November 6th by Ryan for Congress, and you can expect to see additional TV, radio and print advertisements." http://abcn.ws/QIHMRz

OBAMA SITS FOR 'PIMP WITH THE LIMP' INTERVIEW. ABC's Devin Dwyer reports: President Obama was heard on the South Florida airwaves this 9/11 Anniversary morning in a 10-minute radio interview with Miami's "Pimp with the Limp" DJ Laz from 106.7 WRMA-FM. "You're big time. You've got Pitbull and Flo Rida and all these guys just beating a path to your door," Obama said, buttering up Laz. "And so I'm hoping that I can get a little of that magic from you in this interview." http://abcn.ws/NnVWp7

ROMNEY RENEWS CALL FOR AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL. ABC's Emily Friedman reports from Reno, Nev.: Mitt Romney, who failed to mention Afghanistan in his RNC acceptance speech, today renewed his call for American troops in Afghanistan to come home by the end of 2014. In a speech today that marked and paid tribute to the eleventh anniversary of 9/11, the Republican presidential candidate said: "Our goal should be to complete a successful transition to Afghan security forces by the end of 2014. We should evaluate conditions on the ground and solicit the best advice of our military commanders." http://abcn.ws/RLnlh1

THE SENATE GUESSING-GAME. After a series of candidate missteps, The New York Times' Jonathan Weisman and Jennifer Steinhauser report: "With less than two months until Election Day, the Senate landscape is both broader and more fluid than it has been in years, with control of the upper chamber now anyone's guess. Both parties have seen new opportunities and new challenges, but the net result is that Democrats appear to be in less danger of losing the Senate, while Republicans have a more difficult path to gaining the majority. Connecticut may be the biggest surprise. Two years after a decisive loss in her first Senate campaign, the Republican candidate, Linda E. McMahon, a former professional wrestling executive, is surging in polls. Wisconsin is also now tilting Republican." http://nyti.ms/QF3inU

$575 MILLION IN SWING-STATE ADS. USA Today's Martha T. Moore reports: "Presidential candidates and supporting groups have already spent $575 million on political ads in 12 swing states, according to an NBC News analysis released Tuesday. More than half the money, 55%, has been spent in the swing states of Florida, Ohio and Virginia. Romney and allies have outspent Obama and his forces, if narrowly, in seven states. Obama and his supporters have spent more in Florida, Ohio and Colorado, and the two sides are virtually tied in Virginia and New Hampshire, according to NBC, which based the report on data from SMG/Delta, an ad-tracking firm." http://usat.ly/Pi9EXk

IN THE NOTE'S INBOX

-HOUSE MAJORITY PAC ANNOUNCES MAJOR NEW SPENDING INITIATIVE. House Majority PAC, the super PAC supporting Democratic House candidates, is announcing a major new ad buy today in six districts nationwide. The buy- which totals $2.2 million- will span six House races Democrats are hoping to win: California 7th, Iowa 4th, North Carolina 7th, New York 18th, Ohio 6th, and Wisconsin 7th. "As voters begin tuning into the fall elections, House Majority PAC will be on TV to hold Republicans accountable and educate voters about their extreme, out of touch policies," Alixandria Lapp, Executive Director of House Majority PAC, said in the press release. The ads will launch today. Watch them here ? CA-07: http://bit.ly/UIv4ka , IA-04: http://bit.ly/RQGS41 , NC-07: http://bit.ly/PoYNyf , NY-18: http://bit.ly/OEVwrG , OH-06: http://bit.ly/Q0JBEy , WI-07: http://bit.ly/U6TaTt

- STUFF MIA LOVES: GOP House candidate Mia Love (Utah) is getting the attack-site treatment from the Democratic opposition-research super PAC American Bridge, which today launched www.stuffmialoves.com, highlighting things like "the tea party" and "raising taxes." "As a member of the Saratoga Springs City Council, Mia Love voted to raise property taxes; as a House candidate, she's proposed devastating cuts to education, Medicare, Social Security, and assistance for struggling families," Matt Thornton, senior communications adviser to American Bridge, said in a statement accompanying the release. "As Utah families will learn, there's a lot not to love about Mia Love's record." http://bit.ly/QF91u0

WHO'S TWEETING?

@JohnJHarwood : tempted to rush out statement seeking advantage from Libya violence? pause, reflect on Ambassador Stevens & others who lost lives

@jimgeraghty : Is it now official U.S. policy that the First Amendment has an exception for "denigrating" religion, specifically Islam?

@joshtpm : Romney does have some safety in #s. Priebus and Palin joined him in the attack.

@Timodc : Buzzfeed: US Embassy deletes tweets sent last night standing by their statement from yesterday AM. http://goo.gl/TjG1G

@gregmcrc : @MittRomney has 14pt lead w/Likely Indie voters, key swing vote makes up 1/3 of voters, Obama won them in '08 52-44 http://ow.ly/dEnvX?

@JimPethokoukis : I don't think O has it locked up, but @IngrahamAngle is right, response to jobs report was flaccid

POLITICAL RADAR

with ABC's Josh Haskell ( @HaskellBuzz)

- President Barack Obama is in Las Vegas, NV holding an evening campaign event.

- Mitt Romney brings his message to Florida with an event in Jacksonville and a fundraiser later in the day. Ann Romney is in Largo, FL where she'll address a "Women for Mitt" rally at the Largo Community Center.

- Vice President Biden is on the trail in Dayton, Ohio holding an event in the student union at Wright State University.

- Paul Ryan will hold two campaign events in Wisconsin and Ohio. The Ohio rally will feature a performance by Country Music Star John Michael Montgomery.

- Former President Bill Clinton is out campaigning for President Obama in Orlando.

Check out The Note's Futures Calendar : http://abcn.ws/ZI9gV

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/attacks-attack-130326810--abc-news-politics.html

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