Insert Coin: Dash charts your car data live, with gauges and a ...

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

We've seen a few stabs at smartphone-enhanced car diagnostics as of late, but many good solutions like Automatic Link and Delphi's Vehicle Diagnostics are primarily useful after you've parked. The upcoming Dash OBD-II adapter is certainly up to that side of the job, telling a Bluetooth-connected iOS device (and eventually, Android) about your car's problems and estimating fuel costs based on the gas tank's levels. Where it stands out is its usefulness while on the road: the custom app offers custom live gauges, including a Green-Meter for ideal fuel economy that you won't usually find in a real instrument cluster. There's even a dashcam mode that overlays travel details on captured video, whether it's to support insurance claims or just to immortalize a drive through the back country.

If the Dash approach sounds intriguing, you'll be glad to hear that the contribution tiers are simple. Drivers who want their own Dash can pledge $69 if they live in the US, or $20 more if they're in Canada; adding another $51 to either pledge bundles a second model for two-car households. Both the mobile app and a web-based logging service will be free. Those who donate should get their units in October if Dash makes its $750,000 goal, although eager adopters willing to spend $150 on a beta tester's tier should get a not-quite-finished example in July. Hit the source link if you'd like your car's data to be more of a constant companion.

Previous project update: Although it's been just a few days since we looked at the Duo 3D motion sensor, it's been making solid progress: there's over $36,300 raised with more than three weeks left. It still has to meet a $110,000 target before becoming a reality, however, so please consider a pledge if you'd like to see a DIY alternative in motion control.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/31/insert-coin-dash-charts-your-car-data-live-with-gauges-and-dashcam/

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Senators caution immigration deal not final

FILE - In this March 12, 2013 file photo, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Republican Party?s search for a way back to presidential success in 2016 is drawing a striking array of personalities and policy options. It?s shaping up as a wide-open self-reassessment by the GOP. Some factions are trying to tug the party left or right. Others argue over pragmatism versus defiance. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - In this March 12, 2013 file photo, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Republican Party?s search for a way back to presidential success in 2016 is drawing a striking array of personalities and policy options. It?s shaping up as a wide-open self-reassessment by the GOP. Some factions are trying to tug the party left or right. Others argue over pragmatism versus defiance. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., makes a point as he is joined by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Sen. Michael Bennett, D-CO, during a news conference after their tour of the Mexico border with the United States on Wednesday, March 27, 2013, in Nogales, Ariz. A group of influential U.S. senators shaping and negotiating details of an immigration reform package vowed Wednesday to make the legislation public when Congress reconvenes next month. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Even with one of the largest hurdles to an immigration overhaul overcome, optimistic lawmakers on Sunday cautioned they had not finished work on a bill that would provide a path to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants.

The AFL-CIO and the pro-business U.S. Chamber of Commerce reached a deal late Friday that would allow tens of thousands of low-skill workers into the country to fill jobs in construction, restaurants and hotels. Yet despite the unusual agreement between the two powerful lobbying groups, lawmakers from both parties conceded that the negotiations were not finished.

"With the agreement between business and labor, every major policy issue has been resolved," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who brokered the labor-business deal.

But it hasn't taken the form of a bill and the eight senators searching for a compromise haven't met about the potential breakthrough.

"We haven't signed off," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

"There are a few details yet. But conceptually, we have an agreement between business and labor, between ourselves that has to be drafted," he added.

Yet just before lawmakers began appearing on Sunday shows, Sen. Marco Rubio warned he was not ready to lend his name ? and political clout ? to such a deal without hashing out the details.

"Reports that the bipartisan group of eight senators have agreed on a legislative proposal are premature," said Rubio, a Florida Republican who is among the lawmakers working on legislation.

Rubio, a Cuban-American who is weighing a presidential bid in 2016, is a leading figure inside his party. Lawmakers will be closely watching any deal for his approval and his skepticism about the process did little to encourage optimism.

Rubio, who is the group's emissary to conservatives, called the agreement "a starting point" but said 92 senators from 43 states haven't yet been involved in the process.

The detente between the nation's leading labor federation and the powerful business lobbying group still needs senators' approval, including a nod from Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican whose previous efforts came up short.

"I think we're on track. . But as Sen. Rubio correctly says, we have said we will not come to final agreement till we look at all of the legislative language and he's correctly pointing out that that language hasn't been fully drafted," Schumer said.

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., also noted the significance of the truce between labor and business but added that this wasn't yet complete.

"That doesn't mean we've crossed every 'i' or dotted every 't,' or vice versa," said Flake, who is among the eight lawmakers working on the deal.

Schumer negotiated the deal between AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka and Chamber of Commerce head Tom Donohue during a late-Friday phone call. Under the compromise, the government would create a new "W'' visa for low-skill workers who would earn wages paid to Americans or the prevailing wages for the industry they're working in, whichever is higher. The Labor Department would determine prevailing wage based on customary rates in specific localities, so that it would vary from city to city.

The proposed measure would secure the border, crack down on employers, improve legal immigration and create a 13-year pathway to citizenship for the millions of illegal immigrants already here.

It's a major second-term priority of President Barack Obama's and would usher in the most dramatic changes to the faltering U.S. immigration system in more than two decades.

"This is a legacy item for him. There is no doubt in my mind that he wants to pass comprehensive immigration reform," said David Axelrod, a longtime political confidant of Obama.

During the last week, an immigration deal seemed doomed. But the breakthrough late Friday restarted the talks.

Ultimately the new "W'' visa program would be capped at 200,000 workers a year, but the number of visas would fluctuate, depending on unemployment rates, job openings, employer demand and data collected by a new federal bureau being pushed by labor groups as an objective monitor of the market, according to an official involved with the talks who also spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement.

A "safety valve" would allow employers to exceed the cap, the official said, if they could show need and pay premium wages, but any additional workers brought in would be subtracted from the next year's cap.

The workers could move from employer to employer and would be able to petition for permanent residency and ultimately seek U.S. citizenship. Neither is possible for temporary workers now.

"As to the 11 million (illegal immigrants), they'll have a pathway to citizenship, but it will be earned, it will be long, and it will be hard, and I think it is fair," Graham said.

The new program would fill needs employers say they have that are not currently met by U.S. immigration programs. Most industries don't have a good way to hire a steady supply of foreign workers because there's one temporary visa program for low-wage nonagricultural workers but it's capped at 66,000 visas per year and is only supposed to be used for seasonal or temporary jobs.

Separately, the new immigration bill also is expected to offer many more visas for high-tech workers, new visas for agriculture workers, and provisions allowing some agriculture workers already in the U.S. a speedier path to citizenship than that provided to other illegal immigrants, in an effort to create a stable agricultural workforce.

Schumer, Flake and Axelrod appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press." Graham was interviewed on CNN's "State of the Union."

___

Associated Press writer Erica Werner contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-31-US-Immigration/id-9a61247a0ae24e93bfdaee06f464ffab

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North Korea turns up volume by silencing final military hot line

What happens now?

By Robert Marquand,?Staff writer / March 27, 2013

South Korean Army soldiers patrol along a barbed-wire fence near the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, Wednesday. North Korea said Wednesday that it had cut off a key military hot line with South Korea that allows cross-border travel to a jointly run industrial complex in the North.

Ahn Young-joon/AP

Enlarge

North Korea's edgy game of war talk continued?at ever higher volumes today with the announcement that it will cut off the last military hot line with South Korea.

Skip to next paragraph Robert Marquand

Staff writer

Over the past three decades, Robert Marquand has reported on a wide variety of subjects for?The Christian Science Monitor, including American education reform,?the wars in the Balkans, the Supreme Court, South Asian politics, and the oft-cited "rise of China." In the past 15 years he has served as the Monitor's bureau chief in Paris, Beijing, and New Delhi.?

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?Under the situation where a war may break out any moment, there is no need to keep North-South military communications,? said the regime, according to the Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang.

The severed line of communication comes as the North, under young and new President Kim Jong-un, has said it is moving into its highest military alert status and has threatened to target Hawaii and Guam with rockets, after last month conducting its third nuclear test.?

The escalating rhetoric has brought a new agreement between US and South Korean officials that would dictate military action should the North cross the border, shell islands, or harm shipping in the kind of low-level actions Pyongyang has attempted in recent years.?

US military officials called the North Korean statement ?bellicose.??Many have expressed doubt that North Korea?s rockets have the range to reach US bases in Guam and Hawaii, but a few, including the?editor of Jane?s Defense Weekly, estimated they could reach US military bases in Japan, according to USA Today.?

Yesterday the small, poor state that is anchored by devotion to the Kim family dynasty, and is now nearly entirely dependent on China for basic sustenance but has also devoted considerable resources to its military, repeated a longstanding threat to turn Seoul into a ?sea of fire,? among other similarly colorful threats.

Earlier this year, the North said it would no longer answer?a hot line at the Demilitarized Zone. The hot line that the country is now threatening to shut down linked the two Koreas at the?Kaesong industrial park, created in the North during the warming winds of unification in the 2000s. The economic complex has long been a symbol of the potential for North-South cooperation.?

The New York Times today notes the North?s threat on the hot line follows comments from?Park Geun-hye,?the newly elected president of South Korea, that North Korea needed to end its nuclear threats in order to gain better traction with the South:

?If North Korea provokes or does things that harm peace, we must make sure that it gets nothing but will pay the price, while if it keeps its promises, the South should do the same,? she said during a briefing from her government?s top diplomats and North Korea policy-makers. ?Without rushing and in the same way we would lay one brick after another, we must develop South-North relations step by step, based on trust, and create sustainable peace.?

Scott Snyder of the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, a veteran Korea-watcher once based in Seoul, tells The Christian Science Monitor that Pyongyang's main grievance appears to be recent United Nations sanctions targeted at the North.

Mr. Snyder argues that the meaning of the North?s sudden blustery behavior will only become clearer ?once the question of the consolidation of [Kim Jong-un?s] power becomes clearer.?

Agence France-Presse today said that a significant meeting among party elites and power brokers in the closed world of Pyongyang is about to take place.

"They will discuss how to handle the nuclear issue, inter-Korean relations and North Korea's longstanding demand for a peace treaty with the United States," Professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul told AFP.

Comparisons between the new Kim and his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, the patriarch of North Korea, are flowing freely, since there is a resemblance between the two. But Snyder notes that too little is yet known of the young Kim, who took over from his father Kim Jong-il last year, and that his youth is not necessarily a plus in such a high-stakes game.

?Right now the song is the same, but the volume is a lot louder. We don?t know his risk tolerance yet ? does he understand the game he is playing??

The US-South Korea military agreement follows a recent scrapping by the North of the historic legal armistice that effectively ended the Korean war in the 1950s. It came on the anniversary of the infamous sinking of the Choenan Navy vessel in 2010, which resulted in the deaths of 46 South Korean sailors, something that has had powerful emotional resonance in the South. (The Choenan was raised from the ocean floor, and forensics by the South claim the vessel was torpedoed by the North, something the North denies.)?

USA Today quotes an Asia-watcher who feels the key to dealing with Pyongyang runs through Beijing:

US diplomats should talk to their Chinese counterparts and say, "Your ally North Korea is acting in a very belligerent and destabilizing way," said [Richard] Bush, who heads the Brookings Institution Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies. "They're acting in ways that are contrary to the principles you [China] have laid out. The situation is somewhat dangerous. You need to restrain your ally."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/P8CCMVqq_nQ/North-Korea-turns-up-volume-by-silencing-final-military-hot-line

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Construction marketing through the long sales cycle | Gorilla 76

Web marketing resources and ideas for B2B companies

by Joe Sullivan

When a business hires a contractor, it?s not exactly like heading to the mall for a new pair of shoes. It?s a really big decision with a long sales cycle. And it?s a decision that often involves a lot of people, a lot of politics, a lot of money and therefore a lot of research.

New prospects come from many places ? referrals, lists, trade show introductions, advertisements, Google searches. However they find you, they still need to qualify you. What?s your reputation? What similar work have you completed for other clients? Can you meet their budget requirements? So while a buyer of construction services researches, evaluates their options and narrows down their decision to a handful of potential contractors, what can you be doing to influence their buying decision?

You can qualify your business and educate your buyer with resources designed just for them. And there is no better avenue for this content marketing approach than your company?s website.

Help your prospect research

Whether they find you on your own or through referral, prospective customers in the research stage need to qualify your business. They want to learn about you and believe that you?re potentially a good fit before they go any further. Descriptive website pages about your services as well as articles (blog posts) that demonstrate your philosophy and expertise are the perfect formula to capture their interest for the first time.

Help your prospect evaluate

After you?ve earned their attention and have established some baseline trust in your ability to serve them, they?ll require more in-depth information to further qualify you. Case studies are a great solution ? and by case studies, I don?t mean project profiles with a picture, square footage and job location. I mean descriptive overviews of your client?s problem, how you solved it and what results you delivered. Did you come in under budget? Ahead of time? What hurdles did you overcome along the way? And what did your client have to say about working with you? This is what evaluators want to learn. White papers and more technical, detailed blog posts will also help move you onto their short list.

Help your prospect make a buying decision

Sometimes it comes down to low bid. We get it. But our work with construction industry businesses (particularly those targeting the private sector) has shown us that something needs to set you apart. What can you offer that helps shift a buyer?s focus to you? If your business provides free consultations, site visits, audits or other conversation-starting services, it?s a no-brainer to represent these entry-point offers on your website. Detail them on pages equipped with lead-capure opportunities and ask your prospect to inquire.

Ideas for construction marketing content

The infographic below illustrates content ideas to offer your prospect along their journey to a buying decision.

Comments

Source: http://www.gorilla76.com/blog/construction-marketing-through-the-long-sales-cycle,4053/

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Libyan official: 3 Pakistani activists raped

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) ? Libya's deputy prime minister says pro-government militiamen are suspected of having raped three British female activists of Pakistani origin in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Awsad al-Barassi says the women were part of an overland aid convoy bound for Gaza. The women were traveling with two male companions when they were kidnapped Tuesday on their way to the Benghazi airport after deciding return to Britain.

Al-Barassi told Libya al-Hurra TV late Thursday that he has met with the women and they are in "very bad shape."

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry condemned the incident and said Islamabad is in contact with Libyan authorities.

Britain's Foreign Office said it is aware of an incident involving British nationals who were part of an aid convoy. It did not elaborate.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/libyan-official-3-pakistani-activists-raped-130540911.html

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What if: Women's coaches weigh in on 1-on-1 games

Baylor coach Kim Mulkey laughed at the idea. Then, after giving it a little thought, declared herself the winner of a mythical NCAA women's tournament in which coaches played 1-on-1 to determine the winner of each round.

Like her Lady Bears, who are four games away from winning a second straight national championship, Mulkey feels she'd be a heavy favorite to win a coach versus coach tourney as well.

She might have a tougher time than Baylor, as there would be some really stiff competition from LSU's Nikki Caldwell and South Carolina's Dawn Staley, who had stellar playing careers. For once, Geno Auriemma (UConn) and Tara VanDerveer (Stanford) might not be the favorites to make the Final Four.

In fact, it might be tough for them to even make it out of the first round.

"Bring me the biggest, slowest, tallest, whichever one you want, I'd make them have to guard me outside the paint," Mulkey said. "And then defending the biggest, tallest, strongest, I'd take charges on them all day. I wouldn't let them back me down there."

The Associated Press threw out the scenario of a 1-on-1 hoops tournament to coaches from around the country ? essentially forcing them to rate each other as players.

Many paused for a minute from their game preparations to entertain the notion. Always analytical, they tried to come up with reasons to pick their favorites. Mulkey, Staley and Caldwell were the overwhelming top choices, while Auriemma and VanDerveer didn't get much support.

"I'm going to be competitive and I'm going to do whatever I can. I was that type of player and probably still am if I was out there," Caldwell said. "Just coming from a program, where I went to Tennessee, if you're coming to the dance, let's dance. So if there's a 1-on-1 tournament, let's go."

Gender didn't even factor in coming up with favorites.

"You don't even need to mention the male coaches. None of them had any careers," Mulkey said laughing. "Name me one male coach that was any good in college basketball. Can you think of any?"

Maybe Mulkey is lucky that Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves wasn't on her side of the bracket. The 6-foot-5 Graves played college basketball at New Mexico.

"I'd figure out a way to compete," she said. "I'd be the one getting on their last nerve."

Auriemma, who played in high school and junior college, might have to employ the same strategy.

"I would really like to know what kind of player Coach A was," said former UConn star and current broadcaster Rebecca Lobo. "On occasion, he would grab the ball and demonstrate what he wanted the guards to do and he looked a bit silly when dribbling. My guess is that he wouldn't stay on the court too long. ... His mouth would get him T'd and tossed pretty quickly."

Unlike Auriemma, Mulkey had quite the playing career at Louisiana Tech, helping guide the team to the first NCAA championship in 1982.

Mulkey's own players differ on how their fiery coach would do. Brittney Griner agrees with her coach thinking she'd win the title. Point guard Odyssey Sims had a different view.

"I don't think coach Mulkey is going to make it very far," Sims said laughing. "She doesn't play any defense, so I'm going to say ? I'll give her one or two, then she's going home. If you can do all the scoring and you're playing no defense, then it defeats the purpose."

Prairie View A&M coach Toyelle Wilson liked her chances against Mulkey in the opening round. Her team lost by 42 to Baylor to start the NCAAs. It was easy for her to come up with a strategy against Mulkey, since she wouldn't have to worry about facing Griner.

"I'd be digging on her and pressuring her and hopefully forcing her to take some fadeaway shots, kind of like how Brittney (Griner) makes people take those type of shots," Wilson said.

Wilson doesn't believe Mulkey's claim that she can't "shoot a lick."

"I think that's some sort of trickery that she's putting up and making me stay off her so she can take some set shots," said Wilson who played at Manhattan College. "I would start out pressuring her, just like she teaches her players."

Staley was a star at Virginia before going on to the ABL and WNBA. She also helped the U.S. win three Olympic gold medals, including one in 1996 under VanDerveer.

VanDerveer admitted that the format wouldn't be the best for her. But always the competitor, she'd be ready if it ever did happen.

"I'm not a 1-on-1 player," she said. "Even with the piano, I like duets."

Cal Poly coach Faith Mimnaugh was a great player for Loyola of Chicago in the early '80s. She still is in the NCAA top 10 in assists for a single season.

Mimnaugh picked Caldwell to advance from her region and if Caldwell were to meet Mulkey, who beat Mimnaugh out for the point guard spot on the 1984 Olympic team, she'd pick the LSU coach.

"Kim Mulkey was a great player, but if she had to go against Nikki, Nikki would throw all of her stuff," Mimnaugh said, waving her arm like she was ready to block a shot.

Seeding the bracket would be a new challenge for the selection committee.

"We'd need footage of people playing to accurately seed," selection committee member Kathy Meehan said laughing. "It would certainly spice up the brackets. I'd like to see that.

"Some of our student-athletes would love to see it. They'll see how much the coach's demeanor as a player carries over to the way they coach."

___

AP Sports Writers Schuyler Dixon and Stephen Hawkins in Waco, Texas, Brett Martel in Baton Rouge, La. and Janie McCauley in Stanford, Calif. contributed to this report.

___

Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/womens-coaches-weigh-1-1-games-083700650--spt.html

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Proximity to coal-tar-sealed pavement raises risk of cancer, study finds

Mar. 28, 2013 ? People living near asphalt pavement sealed with coal tar have an elevated risk of cancer, according to a study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. Much of this calculated excess risk results from exposures in children, age six or younger, to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the sealant.

"The increased cancer risk associated with coal-tar-sealed asphalt (CSA) likely affects a large number of people in the U.S. Our results indicate that the presence of coal-tar-based pavement sealants is associated with significant increases in estimated excess lifetime cancer risk for nearby residents," said E. Spencer Williams, Ph.D., principal author of the study and Baylor University assistant research scientist at the Center for Reservoir and Aquatic Systems Research in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences.

Researchers from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and the in Austin, Texas, are the first to report on the potential human health effects of PAHs in settled house dust and soil in living spaces and soil adjacent to parking lots sealed with coal-tar-based products.

"Exposure to these compounds in settled house dust is a particularly important source of risk for children younger than six years of age, as they are expected to ingest this material at higher rates," Williams said. "This indicates that the use of coal-tar-based pavement sealants magnifies aggregate exposures to PAHs in children and adults in residences adjacent to where these products are used and is associated with human health risks in excess of widely accepted standards."

Data on PAHs in settled house dust used for this analysis were published previously by the same authors. In that study, settled house dust and parking lot dust were sampled for 23 ground-floor apartments in Austin, Texas. The parking lot surfaces adjacent to the apartments were coal-tar-sealed asphalt, asphalt-based sealant over asphalt pavement, or unsealed concrete. Concentrations of PAHs were 25 times higher in house dust in residences adjacent to coal-tar-sealed pavement compared to those with other pavement types. "This study was the first to find a strong association between a product or a behavior and PAHs in house dust," said Barbara Mahler, the USGS research hydrologist who oversaw the study.

For this study, doses and risk associated with residences adjacent to unsealed asphalt lots were considered relative to those adjacent to (CSA) parking lots. Benzo(a)pyrene concentrations in CSA-affected settled house dust were high relative to those reported in most parts of the U.S. where coal-tar-based sealcoat is not used (California and Arizona). Data for PAHs in coal-tar-sealed asphalt-affected soils and unsealed asphalt-affected soils are available from samples from New Hampshire and suburban Chicago.

The analysis did not consider exposure to the dust on the pavement itself, which has PAH concentrations 10s to 100s of times higher than those in house dust or soil, or inhalation of air over sealed pavement. "Over time, about half of the PAHs in the sealcoat are released into the air, and concentrations in air are extremely high, particularly in the hours to days after application," said Peter Van Metre, USGS research hydrologist and author of two papers on volatilization of PAHs from sealcoat.

Sealcoat is a black, shiny substance sprayed or painted on the asphalt pavement of parking lots, driveways, and playgrounds to improve appearance and protect the underlying asphalt. An estimated 85 million gallons of coal-tar-based sealant are applied to pavement each year, primarily east of the Continental Divide in the U.S. and parts of Canada. Coal-tar-based pavement sealants are 15 to 35 percent coal-tar pitch, which has been classified as a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Over time, the dried sealant is worn away from pavement surfaces, and the resulting mobile dust particles can be transported into nearby homes.

"Although the analysis presented here is based on a limited dataset, the results indicate that biomonitoring might be warranted to characterize the exposure of children and adults to PAHs associated with coal-tar-based pavement sealant," Williams said. "Further investigation is also needed into the impacts of coal-tar-based pavement sealants on PAH concentrations in indoor and outdoor environments."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Baylor University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. E. Spencer Williams, Barbara J. Mahler, Peter C. Van Metre. Cancer Risk from Incidental Ingestion Exposures to PAHs Associated with Coal-Tar-Sealed Pavement. Environmental Science & Technology, 2013; 47 (2): 1101 DOI: 10.1021/es303371t

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/fZe2BuEECVo/130328125236.htm

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Seth Rogen, Zoe Saldana And More To Present At Movie Awards

While the fact Rebel Wilson is hosting the 2013 MTV Movie Awards this year is enough to get us tuning in, the list of presenters that was announced today is a wonderful added bonus. Everyone from Zach Efron to the cast of "Star Trek Into Darkness" will be handing out Golden Popcorns, so it's time [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/03/29/movie-awards-presenters/

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Metacritic weighting system report ?wholly, wildly inaccurate?, site ...

Thu, Mar 28, 2013 | 00:02 GMT

A presentation at GDC 2013 gave a list of weightings purportedly used by Metacritic to determine how much a publication?s review scores affect a title?s average rating, but the site has vehemently denied the report.

The list does not come from Metacritic itself, but was produced by a team of researchers led by Adams Greenwood-Ericksen of Full Sail University. During a a talk titled ?A Scientific Assessment of the Validity and Value of Metacritic?, Greenwood-Ericksen said Metacritic has confirmed it applies different weightings to various critics.

Looking at existing averages, the team or researchers created a hypothetical model of how Metacritic applies this weighting, and than checked it against the next six months of results, finding it ?almost entirely accurate?, according to Gamasutra.

The list of weightings has been published in full and you can check it out below, but Metacritic has responded by saying the information is ?wildly, wholly inaccurate?.

?They are simply their best guesses based on research. And here?s the most important thing: their guesses are wildly, wholly inaccurate,? a representative for the site wrote on its Facebook page.

?We use far fewer tiers than listed in the article. The disparity between tiers listed in the article is far more extreme than what we actually use on Metacritic; our publication weights are much closer together and have much less of an impact on the score calculation. Our placement of publications in each tier differs from what is displayed in the article. The article overvalues some publications and undervalues others. In addition, our weights are periodically adjusted as needed if, over time, a publication demonstrates an increase or decrease in overall quality.?

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• Wired
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• ZTGames Domain

HIGH
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• Computer & Video Games
• Console Gameworld
• Da GameBoyz
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• Edge Magazine
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MEDIUM
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LOW
• 360 Gamer Magazine UK
• 3DJuegos
• Ace Gamez
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• Console Monster
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• Eurogamer Portugal
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• Gameplanet
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• Impulse gamer
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• MS Xbox World
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• PS Focus
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• VideoGamer

LOWER
• Armchair Empire
• Cheat Code Central
• Game Over Online
• Game Positive
• Gamer?s Hell
• Gamereactor Sweden
• Gamers.at
• Giant Bomb
• PS3bloggen.se
• RPGamer
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LOWEST
• 9Lives
• Boomtown
• Computer Games Online RO
• GamerNode
• GamingXP
• IC-Games
• Insidegamer.nl
• Jolt Online Gaming
• Kikizo
• LEVEL
• Meritstation
• My Gamer
• Official PlayStation 2 Magazine UK
• Play UK
• WHAM! Gaming

Source: http://www.vg247.com/2013/03/28/metacritic-weighting-system-report-wholly-wildly-inaccurate-site-says/

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D-Link Wireless N300 Range Extender DAP-1320

D-Link has a new wireless range extender that's not only one of the smallest you'll find on the market, but is incredibly easy to set up and delivers terrific coverage. In fact, the D-Link Wireless N300 Range Extender (DAP-1320) was able to sustain the most throughput at long distance of any wireless range extender I've tested. Even better, I tested it not with a D-Link router, but with a competing vendor's router, and the device still worked without a hitch.

Design
The DAP-1320 looks like a power adapter?it's only 2.11 by 1.65 by 1.89 inches (HWD)? with two prongs, and it plugs directly into an electrical outlet. This simple yet powerful piece of wireless technology has just a single WPS button on its side and one LED to show you connection status.

The extender is single-band only, so it won't extend 5GHz Wi-Fi, which is perfectly okay, because it's the 2.4GHz band that can travel longer distance.

Included in the package are a quick install guide and a card that has the extender's default SSID and password as well as the URL to the web-based GUI printed on it.

Setup
The installation guide suggests that best placement for the extender is mid-way between the router and the Wi-Fi clients you are connecting to the router. In my testing environment, that placement proved to be too far from the router for set up. No problem: I performed setup with the extender about 5 feet from the router and then, once the extender was connected, moved it to a more central location.

You can set up the DAP-1320 using WPS or by connecting to the web GUI. I plugged it in and the LED blinked red, turned green, and then blinked amber. According to the device's instructions, when it blinks amber, you should use WPS to pair the extender with a router.

I used WPS and it worked fine connecting to my router. I did not pair D-Link's extender with a D-Link router. I used another vendor's router, the Western Digital My Net N900; I did this purposely, to see if there would be connection issues with another vendor's equipment. There weren't.

Once the LED turned from amber to solid green I had the extender connected. I reset it back to factory settings to see how the manual setup fared. With the manual method, I plugged in the extender, waited for it to turn amber, and then could connect to the extender's Wi-Fi. After connecting, launching a browser automatically opened the extender's web-based connection setup wizard.

The wizard asks if you want to connect the extender to a router via WPS or Manually.? With a manual connection you can select the network you want to extend and can opt to use the extender's default SSID or set the SSID name and credentials to the Wi-Fi network with which you've connected the extender.

That's the setup process?a few scant minutes, and very easy. I do caution that you may have to connect the extender close to your router and then position it where you want. Also, I made a change to my router's settings that disconnected the extender at one point. I had to reset the extender back to factory settings and set it up again. However I did not mind, since setting up the device is so quick.

Performance
Not only can I sing the praises of the device's incredibly easy setup, but it also delivered praiseworthy performance. It extended my router's signal to an area throughput never reaches, a real dead spot that my testing software, IxChariot, typically registers as 0 Mbps. From 150 feet away from the extender, in an environment saturated with access points, D-Link's little extender still managed .4 Mbps of throughput. Yes, that's not even 1 Mbps of speed, but it was enough to browse the Internet?slowly, but reasonably. While the BearExtender PC Long Range 802.11n USB WiFi Booster gave faster speed at a distance of 100 feet, it dropped the signal at 150 feet. Below is a chart comparing the DAP-1320's performance to other wireless range extenders:

Extended Excellence
The DAP-1320 is one of the best wireless networking devices I've tested from D-Link, and among all of the extenders I've tested, it provided the best coverage. I was also impressed with how well it worked with another vendor's equipment. I'm confident that this little device, which did an impressive job of extending my test Wi-Fi network deployed in a high-rise office building with hundreds of access points all around, will work extremely well for the average home user. D-Link Wireless Range Extender gets a 4.5 out of 5 star rating, and is PCMag's Editors' Choice for wireless range extenders.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/4WXMNrI4KHg/0,2817,2417178,00.asp

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Michael S. Broder, Ph.D.: Discover Ingredients for a Fulfilling ...

Whether you are in a long-term relationship or you're looking for one, you've probably noticed something rather obvious: that not all of us are looking for the exact same things in love relationships. Most of us have unique priorities when it comes to what we value most in this as well as every major aspect of our lives. But certain ingredients that stand the test of time usually characterize the most fulfilling marriages and love relationships. So whether yours is in a difficult period right now, or you simply want to make a good relationship even better, remember the acronym TOUCH:

T stands for tenderness and talking. Tenderness can be expressed both physically and emotionally. Think of this as how you express kindness and caring toward one another. This sounds simple and quite obvious, but isn't always easy when you're in the middle of life's challenges. Communication is also a key. Talk about the issues that concern you; and make it a priority to resolve conflicts before they grow larger.

O is for openness and objectivity. Expressing your thoughts and feelings when they occur can increase intimacy and closeness. Allow yourself to be vulnerable at times. True intimacy is about letting your partner know about parts of you that are most difficult to share. During conflict, being objective can often save the day. It may be easier to stand with your own perspective, but the bigger challenge is taking a step back and looking at your problem almost as if you were a third party. Then, it's much easier to go into problem solving mode. When neither of you are willing or able to do this, you're likely to hit an impasse resulting in more accumulated "baggage" when there's a disagreement.

U is for understanding. This is also known as empathy -- not necessarily agreeing with what your partner is feeling, but knowing and understanding it. Asking questions and showing genuine compassion for what your partner needs can help you know what kind of comfort and support to offer each other.

C is for chemistry and comfort. Who knows how chemistry develops, but it's an ingredient that can lead to great sexual, sensual, emotional, intellectual and spiritual connection. While passion in your relationship is important, so is the ability to be together during the ordinary and mundane moments of daily life. So strive for a healthy mix of chemistry and comfort as one more way to keep your romance alive.

H stands for honesty. This is another prerequisite for intimacy. But be careful about being so brutally honest that your message is lost in anger. The goal here is never to build resentment, but trust!

So together, take an inventory of your relationship; and commit to adopting or reigniting these ingredients as a roadmap to fulfillment for both of you!

More specific tips for improving your relationship can be found in my new book, Stage Climbing: The Shortest Path to Your Highest Potential.

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Follow Michael S. Broder, Ph.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DrMichaelBroder

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-s-broder-phd/discover-ingredients-for-_b_2852370.html

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Could cousin sway high court? (CNN)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/294569559?client_source=feed&format=rss

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I Digress...: A Writer's Advice: Tips for Beginners

I've been approached a lot lately by friends and strangers alike about my writing. People who, like me, love to write, but don't know how to get started. So if it's writing that fuels you, here are my top 10 tips for getting there.

1. Look for Local Clubs or Organizations. ?When I started out, I found the St. Louis Writers Guild. ?Here was an entire group dedicated to the craft I loved. I was intimidated, but I pushed through that fear and went to a meeting. It was here that I met some amazingly talented people who helped me take my writing to the next level.


2. Take Advantage of the Internet. Believe it or not there are people out there looking for someone like you. If you want to write, google "writers submissions" and the year. You'll get multiple hits for anthologies, publications and writing contests to which you can submit your work.

3. Just Ask.? When I began freelancing, I picked up the phone and called established freelance writers and asked for their advice. What should I charge? How do I find clients? Believe it or not, most creative people love helping each other out. Everyone started somewhere, and we all love to pay it forward. My last year of college, there were several agency presidents and principles who came to speak to our classes. ?I would take their business cards and then invite them to lunch so that I could pick their brain. People love to talk about themselves! I would offer to write something for them - free of charge. It certainly fit their budget, and it beefed up my portfolio - a win-win! Nine years later, I'm in a position to help those just starting out. ?Hey, take me to lunch... I'll talk!

4. Start Small. ?Don't be afraid to write an article for a local newsletter, a sales letter for a local non-profit, or a blog post for a friend. ?Anything that gets your name out there, your words read and confidence up is worth your time. ?You'll be flexing those writing muscles in preparation for larger publications.

5. Set Goals.?My original goal was just to get published. ?Just once...somewhere, anywhere! I sent dozens of query letters and submissions and collected an entire file folder of rejection letters. And then, one day, I got an email from an online magazine accepting my submission. ?I could not have been more excited. That acceptance led to two more. ?So I made a new goal. ?I wanted to publish a story in an anthology. And I did. Again and again. Then, I wanted to be published in a regional magazine. ?Done. Six times. My latest goal is to be published in a national publication or newsmagazine like WSJ, the NewYorker or The Atlantic. Now, that would be cool. ?Oh, and then there's that book I'm working on...The point is to always set new goals.

6. Speaking of Rejection... Remember that a rejection letter is a reminder that you are working at your craft. ?Everyone gets them (hell, Stephen King wallpapered his entire bedroom in them). ?Don't let one rejection letter stop you. In fact, let it drive you to send out two more submissions. I still get them, and I've kept every one of them in a file folder. ?They remind me to keep trying.

7. Market Yourself. ?Take advantage of the $0 price tag of social media. Share links to blog posts on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, pin published articles on Pinterest. Become a resource, share knowledge, and talk about what you do to anyone who'll listen.

8. Gather Your Peers.??I could not write this blog post without mentioning my amazing WWWPs - Linda, Tammy, Lynn and Sioux.?This is a group of talented, kind, smart writers who have helped me immeasurably. ?If you can find yourself (or put together) a critique group of peers who can help each other reach their goals, you're one lucky writer. ?I know I am.

9. Act Like A Writer. ?If writers have one thing in common, it's that we have a hard time admitting that we are, in fact, writers. ?We feel unworthy of the title until we reach a certain goal, a certain status. Bullshit. You write. You are a writer. Act like it. Get yourself an annual subscription to industry pubs like Writer's Digest (I really like this one - lots of helpful articles). Go to the bookstore and invest in the latest issue of Writer's Market. This is your bible. A big book chock full of every magazine, trade publication and publisher, with information on how to submit your work. ?And when someone asks you, "What do you do?" Answer: "I'm a writer!"

10. Just Do It.?Listen, the hardest part is just to sit down and get started. You must make time, even if it's just a few minutes a day, to work on your writing (drawing/painting/whatever). The more you do it, the easier it will become. ?I can't speak for those other passions, but writers must not only write, but READ. ?Read the type of books/magazine articles/short stories you want to write. And then find a quite, comfortable place and get writing. Or if you are as bold and fearless as my friend Jean, grab your dog, jump in the car and get moving!

There are my top 10. ?Your turn writers - what's your best advice to those starting out? What's worked for you?

Source: http://bethmwood.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-writers-advice-tips-for-beginners.html

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The job of a religious news journalist consists of talking to Christians ...

By Deacon Nick Donnelly, on March 26th, 2013

Andrew Brown, a religion correspondent of The Guardian, has made ?cynical self-revealing ?comments ?about his attitude to religious journalism in response to alleged?comments?attribute to Cardinal Bergoglio about journalists. These comments by the Holy Father may well be another made up ?urban legend? but what is interesting is what this story reveals about a leading UK religion correspondent?s cynical attitude to his work:

?Pope Francis gives his first press conference today but he will not give interviews. He does not like the press. ?Journalists?,?he said?once ?risk becoming ill from coprophilia and thus fomenting coprophagia?. In case your Greek is deficient, this means that we love shit and encourage others to consume it. So are we really bluebottles ? noisy carriers of filth who get everywhere, and rest only to preen their glittering bodies, convinced their blue-green and metallic sheen is the most fashionable colour in the world? Of course, many religious people would extend this analogy to point out that flies serve their lord, Beelzebub, and they swarm around the world.?

A religious journalist might respond that the world we cover serves up plenty to sate the coprophiliac appetite. If you?re a religious news journalist most of your job consists of talking to Christians so that they can tell you lies about each other. If you cover the Vatican, this is certainly true. I don?t know anyone who has been converted by the people they cover.

I also know a hell of a lot of bluebottles. There is something profoundly phony about journalism, and the more it pretends to offer personal insights, the phonier it gets. Reading almost any interview bears the same relationship to taking part in a conversation with the subject as watching porn does to making love. In both cases it?s actors faking it for the money that strangers will give them because they enjoy the spectacle. Anyone who becomes famous for their opinions will find that the audience wants them to become a karaoke act miming to the hit that made them famous.?

Protect the Pope comment: It?s the global nature of Andrew Brown?s condemnation of Christians and the Vatican as liars that shows that this is more about his mental state than about reality. ?He proposes as evidence of the truth of his assertion the fact that he doesn?t know anyone who has been converted by the people they cover?. Maybe that tells us more about him and the people he mixes with than the truth of the matter.

The German journalist Peter Seewald admits that he approached his ?first interview with Cardinal Ratzinger with a similar degree of cynicism and?prejudice, but his encounters with the cardinal eventually led to his conversion from secular atheism to Catholicism.??Maybe Andrew Brown would benefit from having a conversation with Peter Seewald.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2013/mar/16/pope-francis-bluebottles-humanity

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Source: http://protectthepope.com/?p=7049

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C. African Republic president flees to Cameroon

In this photo taken on Friday March 22, 2013 and provided on Monday March 25, 2013 by the French Army Communications Audio visual office, French soldiers arrive at Bangui airport, Central Africa Republic. Rebels overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade on Sunday, seizing the presidential palace and declaring that the desperately poor country has "opened a new page in its history." The country's president fled the capital, while extra French troops moved to secure the airport, officials said. (AP Photo/Elise Foucaud, ECPAD)

In this photo taken on Friday March 22, 2013 and provided on Monday March 25, 2013 by the French Army Communications Audio visual office, French soldiers arrive at Bangui airport, Central Africa Republic. Rebels overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade on Sunday, seizing the presidential palace and declaring that the desperately poor country has "opened a new page in its history." The country's president fled the capital, while extra French troops moved to secure the airport, officials said. (AP Photo/Elise Foucaud, ECPAD)

In this photo taken on Friday March 22, 2013 and provided on Monday March 25, 2013 by the French Army Communications Audio visual office, French soldiers arrive at Bangui airport, Central Africa Republic. Rebels overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade on Sunday, seizing the presidential palace and declaring that the desperately poor country has "opened a new page in its history." The country's president fled the capital, while extra French troops moved to secure the airport, officials said. (AP Photo/Elises Foucaud, ECPAD)

FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2013 file photo, Central African Republic rebel leader Michel Djotodia arrives ahead of planned peace talks with Central African Republic's government, in Libreville, Gabon. Rebels overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade on Sunday, March 24, after invading the capital. Seleka rebel group leader Djotodia told French radio station RFI Monday, March 25, that he is the de facto head of state and should be addressed as the president. (AP Photo/Joel Bouopda Tatou, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2013 file photo, Central African Republic rebel leader Michel Djotodia arrives ahead of planned peace talks with Central African Republic's government, in Libreville, Gabon. Rebels overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade on Sunday, March 24, after invading the capital. Seleka rebel group leader Djotodia told French radio station RFI Monday, March 25, that he is the de facto head of state and should be addressed as the president. (AP Photo/Joel Bouopda Tatou, File)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? The president of the Central African Republic fled the country for Cameroon after rebels overran the capital of the impoverished nation long wracked by rebellions.

South Africa said Monday that 13 of its soldiers were killed in fighting with rebels, prompting criticism about why its forces had intervened in such a volatile conflict.

Ousted President Francois Bozize sought "'temporary" refuge on its territory, the Cameroonian government confirmed Monday.

Central African Republic's new leadership appeared fragmented, with a split emerging in the rebel coalition that seized the capital.

The African Union on Monday imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on seven leaders of the rebel coalition, known as Seleka, and said their advance had undermined prospects for a lasting solution to the crisis in the landlocked country. It urged African states to deny "any sanctuary and cooperation" to the rebel chiefs.

The United States is "deeply concerned about a serious deterioration in the security situation" in Central African Republic, said U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement Sunday.

"We urgently call on the Seleka leadership which has taken control of Bangui to establish law and order in the city and to restore basic services of electricity and water," the statement said.

The rebel groups making up the Seleka alliance agreed they wanted Bozize out. Some of the rebels complained of broken promises of government jobs and other benefits. Others cited the deep impoverishment of the country's distant north despite the Central African Republic's considerable wealth of gold, diamonds, timber and uranium.

Africa has a fraught history of foreign military missions, whether for humanitarian or political purposes, or some combination of the two, in times of conflict. The central part of the continent, repeatedly buffeted by interlocking rebellions, is particularly treacherous for countries with an activist foreign policy.

In addition to the South African troop deaths, another 27 soldiers were wounded in the country's worst loss in combat since nine soldiers died in Lesotho in 1998.

"I think South Africa realized right from the beginning that there will be casualties," said Johan Potgieter, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, in Pretoria, the South African capital. "If you want to be in peacekeeping, and you don't want body bags, you should get out of there."

South Africa's losses point to the challenges that the country faces as it tries to project continental leadership amid questions about the adequacy of its resources and the clarity of political direction from Pretoria. It has participated in peacekeeping in regions including Burundi and Darfur in Sudan.

South African troops served as trainers for the national army in the Central African Republic. But more troops were sent to protect those trainers as security deteriorated, and critics questioned the collaboration with Bozize, who came to power in a rebellion a decade ago and whose commitment to the terms of past peace deals was in doubt.

This week was meant to be triumphant for South Africa, which will host Brazil, Russia, India and China at the "BRICS" summit. South African President Jacob Zuma gave a speech on Monday that was supposed to celebrate the summit, but he devoted his first remarks to mourning for those killed in the battle in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic.

Some 200 South African soldiers were deployed at the Bangui base. Estimates of the size of the rebel force that attacked them ranged from at least five to 15 times bigger, raising questions about the security precautions and reconnaissance abilities of the South African contingent.

South African troops "fought a high-tempo battle for nine hours defending the South African military base, until the bandits raised a white flag and asked for a cease-fire," Zuma said. "Our soldiers inflicted heavy casualties among the attacking bandit forces."

Gen. Solly Shoke, South Africa's military chief, said 3,000 rebels armed with mortars and heavy machine guns took part in the fighting. The bulk of the fighting occurred Saturday, though rebels contacted South African forces early Sunday to arrange and "uneasy truce," the military chief said.

South African authorities were working to identify a body, raising the possibility that the death toll would increase to 14 if it is determined the body is that of the missing serviceman.

The rebels' invasion of the capital came two months after they signed a peace agreement that would have let Bozize serve until 2016. That deal unraveled in recent days, prompting the insurgents' advance into Bangui, where French troops moved to secure the airport.

Defense analyst Helmoed Heitman said on South Africa's Radio 702 that the South African force in the Central African Republic was lightly equipped and had no aerial support. In the past, he said, South Africa turned down a deal for military transport helicopters because it could not afford them.

The Democratic Alliance, an opposition party in South Africa, said the government should explain why South African forces were deployed "in the middle of what amounted to a civil war, with so little military support."

The government of Cameroon said Bozize would be leaving for another unspecified country. There were reports of looting in Bangui amid the specter of continuing unrest.

Michel Djotodia, one of the leaders of the rebel coalition, said he considers himself to be the new head of state. Another rebel leader, Nelson N'Djadder, said he does not recognize Djotodia as president.

"We had agreed that we would push to Bangui in order to arrest Bozize and that we would then announce an 18-month transition, a transition that would be as fast as possible ? and not one that would last three years," N'Djadder told The Associated Press by telephone from Paris. "I have enough soldiers loyal to me to attack Djotodia. I am planning to take the Wednesday flight to Bangui."

N'Djadder said rebels ?not those under his command ? had pillaged homes in Bangui, including those of French expatriates.

The U.S. State Department said it was concerned about the security situation and urged the Seleka leadership to establish order and restore electricity and water.

The rebel success in the nation of 4.5 million suggests the possible backing of neighboring nations. There has been speculation that either Chad or Sudan or Gabon had provided the rebels with arms and logistical support. Djotodia rejected that claim.

The overthrow of Bozize could affect the hunt for Joseph Kony, said the commander of African troops tracking the fugitive warlord. Bozize was a strong supporter of African efforts to dismantle Kony's Lord's Resistance Army.

Ugandan Brig. Dick Olum, speaking from his South Sudanese military base in Nzara, said Monday he is concerned by past rebel statements that all foreign troops must leave the country. Some 3,350 African troops are currently deployed against the LRA in South Sudan and the Central African Republic. The U.S. also has anti-Kony military advisers in the Central African Republic.

Central African Republic has suffered instability since obtaining independence from France in 1960, including at least three coup plots in 2012, according to a December analysis by Alex Vines of the London-based Royal Institute for International Affairs. He said the European Union had spent more than 100 million euros on peace missions there since 2004.

___

Callimachi contributed to this report from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writers Krista Larson in Dakar, Emmanuel Tumanjong in Yaounde, Cameroon and Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda also contributed.

___

Rukmini Callimachi can be reached at www.twitter.com/rcallimachi

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-25-Central%20African%20Republic-Rebels/id-93838664d6ab4859b2549014445a1011

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Where can I find this??? - DIY Home Improvement, Remodeling ...

Well, that's true with me, you, everyone...isn't it?
We're all pretty much going to do what we want to do, which is fine as long as it's not dangerous as to not hurt someone or damage property, right?

Have electrical plugs in bathrooms been made illegal?

If I install this, is SWAT gonna raid my place? I hope not, although
they might if I had a large tank on me toilet
(which I'm thinking about doing anyway...)

I think my plan is doable and it can be done safely.
All I gotta do when something is plugged in is to make
sure it doesn't get in the sink whilst the water is running.

I'll just not run the water anytime I have something
plugged in to the outlet, and when I move out I'll put
a plate over the outlet so it's not accessible.

On this issue, I don't see why I shouldn't... do you
have a reason why I shouldn't?

Source: http://www.houserepairtalk.com/f9/where-can-i-find-15743/

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Same-sex marriage's big day in court: What's at stake?

J. David Ake / AP

Bundled against the cold in Washington, people wait in line Friday so they can get into the Supreme Court for oral arguments next week on challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8.

By Miranda Leitsinger, Staff Writer, NBC News

It's going to be a big week for the Supreme Court as justices hear two landmark same-sex marriage cases on consecutive days.

One is a challenge to the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (more commonly known as DOMA), which bars federal?recognition of same-sex marriages. The other is a challenge of California's Proposition 8, a ban on same-sex marriage that was approved by voters in 2008.

Here are answers to some of the key questions being asked about these cases -- which could have huge implications for hundreds of thousands of gay families, dozens of state laws and even the national political landscape.

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Why is the Supreme Court hearing these cases now?

The Prop. 8 case and several different challenges to DOMA have slowly wound through lower courts over the years. Observers predicted justices would take one of the DOMA challenges but they didn't expect them to grab the Prop. 8 case, too. The thinking is that the justices feel it?s time to address the question of same-sex marriage, so they now have a state and a federal challenge (interestingly, the DOMA case they selected, United States v. Windsor, was the newest of the bunch).

Why are they being heard so close together?

The cases are related because they both address whether gays and lesbians have the right to wed. The federal case is more focused on the benefits that same-sex couples are denied under the Defense of Marriage Act, while Prop. 8 centers around the right to marry. Ultimately, though, gay marriage supporters say they are both about whether gays and lesbians are treated differently because of their sexual orientation.

Could the Supreme Court legalize gay marriage everywhere?

Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, one of two gay couples fighting to strike down California's ban on gay marriage will have their case heard Tuesday at the Supreme Court.

The court can go many ways in its ruling in the California case. It could maintain the narrow focus that a federal court had in overturning Prop. 8, when it ruled that a fundamental right like marriage can't be granted and then taken away (couples were briefly allowed to wed in 2008 in the Golden State before voters approved Prop. 8, ending the practice).

Alternatively, the high court could say state prohibitions of same-sex marriage are unconstitutional,?opening the door for gays and lesbians to wed in states where that's banned. Another possibility is that the justices could overturn the lower court's decision and reinstate the ban on gay marriage. They could also say the group bringing the challenge doesn?t have standing. Yeah, that?s a lot of possibilities.

In the DOMA case, the justices also could address the constitutionality of gay marriage or they could find that the federal government should not be in the marriage business at all and instead leave that up to states to regulate.

If I?m a married gay couple, should I be worried that one of these rulings could affect my marriage?

Edie Windsor describes her 44-year relationship with same-sex spouse Thea Spyer, and how Spyer's death inspired her to fight for gay marriage rights in a case that will be heard in the Supreme Court Wednesday.

No. It's highly unlikely the Supreme Court would make any ruling that negatively affects laws permitting same-sex marriage in the nine states plus the District of Columbia that allow gays and lesbians to wed. There?s mostly just upsides for already-wed couples.

For example, if the court decides DOMA is unconstitutional, couples would then receive all of the benefits that have been denied to them under that federal law, such as the right to file joint taxes, the protections of the Family Medical and Leave Act, and the ability of surviving spouses to access veterans? benefits. Edie Windsor, the DOMA plaintiff, said she had to pay some $363,000 in federal estate taxes after her wife died, a bill that she wouldn't have had if they were a heterosexual couple.

Could ministers be forced to preside over gay weddings?

It does not seem so. At this point, most of the laws allowing same-sex marriages or civil unions provide exceptions for religious institutions that object to the ceremonies (New Jersey's civil unions bill does not have such a provision but the state's attorney general has given a clear opinion that such groups would be). This is a key area of concern often expressed by opponents of same-sex marriage laws.?

What about civil unions? Why can't states just have those instead of same-sex marriages?

Well, six states do, and other states, like California, allow for domestic partnerships (these often guarantee the same rights and responsibilities as marriage). The Obama administration, in a legal argument it submitted calling for the end of Prop. 8, said creating such a parallel system was only meant to deny the ?marriage? label and was therefore discriminatory against gays and lesbians. Opponents say these kinds of legal arrangements help preserve traditional marriage while giving gays and lesbians a path to be legally recognized as a couple.

I'm confused: civil unions, domestic partnerships, same-sex marriages?

Yes, a patchwork of state laws and constitutional amendments govern marriage across the country.?

What does the anti-gay marriage camp argue?

They say the tradition of marriage is thousands of years old and defines a male-female union. They also argue that the state has an interest in promoting traditional families, and that procreation can only happen between a man and a woman. Finally, they say decisions about who can marry should be left up to the voters, not judges or lawmakers.

When are we going to hear from the justices?

In June, stay tuned.

I feel like a lot has been going on around these issues the last month or so. Is that right?

Yes, with the Supreme Court deadlines to file legal briefs in the cases, dozens of businesses, scholars, health experts, religious groups, gay and lesbian advocacy organizations, NFL players and the Obama administration have weighed in.

More than 131 Republicans, almost all out of office and some who once opposed same-sex marriage, submitted their argument on why gays and lesbians should be allowed to wed. Former President Bill Clinton recently penned an op-ed saying DOMA, which he signed into law, was unconstitutional and should be repealed. Days later, Hillary Clinton publicly announced her support for gay marriage, with some observers suggesting this may signal her presidential ambitions for the 2016 campaign.

Any idea how the justices will go?

Nothing is for sure (look at last year's health care decision), though pundits believe Justice Anthony Kennedy could be the swing vote. Some observers think DOMA's days as federal law could be over, but what the justices decide to do with Proposition 8 -- the California gay marriage ban -- is impossible to predict.

Related:

Rush to the altar: Public figures proclaim support for gay marriage before Supreme Court arguments

Once 'inconceivable,' Republican leaders sign pro-gay marriage brief

Even before Supreme Court rules, gay marriage battles rage in the states

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/29e646f4/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C230C174188170Esame0Esex0Emarriages0Ebig0Eday0Ein0Ecourt0Ewhats0Eat0Estake0Dlite/story01.htm

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