Fiscal Cliff Chaos as Lawmakers Leave for Christmas

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

NOTABLES:

BOEHNER PULLS 'PLAN B': ABC'S John Parkinson, Devin Dwyer, and Sunlen Miller report that House Speaker John Boehner tried and failed to win enough votes to pass his fiscal cliff "Plan B" option, and in a surprise development late last night, he pulled it from the House floor. "Plan B" called for extending current tax rates for Americans making up to $1 million a year, but Boehner acknowledged that it did not have the support necessary to pass, leaving a resolution to the fiscal cliff in doubt. "The House did not take up the tax measure today because it did not have sufficient support from our members to pass. Now it is up to the president to work with [Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid on legislation to avert the fiscal cliff," Boehner, R-Ohio, wrote in a statement. "The House has already passed legislation to stop all of the Jan. 1 tax rate increases and replace the sequester with responsible spending cuts that will begin to address our nation's crippling debt. The Senate must now act." http://abcn.ws/ZWwpsE

REID RESPONDS: "It is now clear that to protect the middle class from the fiscal cliff, Speaker Boehner must allow a bill to pass with a combination of Democratic and Republican votes," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a statement. "Speaker Boehner's partisan approach wasted an entire week and pushed middle-class families closer to the edge. The only way to avoid the cliff altogether is for Speaker Boehner to return to negotiations, and work with President Obama and the Senate to forge a bipartisan deal."

NRA PROMISES 'MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTIONS' TO GUN DEBATE TODAY: The National Rifle Association has been noticeably silent since the shooting in Newtown, Conn., but ABC's Sarah Parnass reports that this morning the group may weigh in on how to keep a deadly shooting massacre like last week's at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school from happening again. The NRA will hold a news conference in Washington, D.C., just before 11 a.m. "Out of respect for the families, and as a matter of common decency, we have given time for mourning, prayer and a full investigation of the facts before commenting," the group said in a press release Tuesday. "The NRA is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again." http://abcn.ws/ZnXAh1

THIS WEEK ON 'THIS WEEK': This Sunday, "This Week" covers the latest setback in the fiscal cliff stalemate, and the search for solutions to reduce gun violence in the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook. The powerhouse roundtable debates those topics and all the week's politics, featuring Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Americans for Tax Reform President and NRA board member Grover Norquist. Check the "This Week" page for full guest listings. Tune in Sunday: http://abcnews.go.com/thisweek

THE NOTE:

House Speaker John Boehner woke up this morning a defeated man.

As ABC's Chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl reported on "Good Moring America", his failure to muster enough votes to pass the so-called "Plan B" measure last night represented a "crushing" blow to the speaker - and to the prospects for a fiscal cliff deal by the end of the year.

"It demonstrated definitively that he doesn't even have the Republican votes to pass a Republican plan let alone a compromise with the president," Karl noted.

In an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" today, Obama senior adviser David Axelrod called last night's development an "embarrassment" for the House Speaker.

Boehner said he would now leave it up to President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to hammer out a proposal that could draw bi-partisan support.

But as Karl reported this morning, his talks with senior Democrats in the White House and on Capitol Hill indicate that they think the ball is still in Boehner's court.

"The Speaker talked to Republicans last night closing with a prayer, saying 'God grant me the serenity to accept things I cannot change,'" according to Karl. "He is greatly weakened and that is not necessarily a good thing for the White House because they will need him to be able to pass whatever deal is finally reached - if one is reached."

And now, with time running out, lawmakers are poised to leave Washington for the holidays, with no plans to return until about two days after Christmas.

WORD FROM THE WHITE HOUSE. The White House released this statement from Press Secretary Jay Carney, ABC's Devin Dwyer reports: "The President's main priority is to ensure that taxes don't go up on 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses in just a few short days. The President will work with Congress to get this done and we are hopeful that we will be able to find a bipartisan solution quickly that protects the middle class and our economy."

HOW CLOSE TO A DEAL? DEPENDS WHO YOU ASK. More from ABC's Jonathan Karl on the fiscal cliff: The differences are more significant than just tax rates. Republicans say the Democratic offer is really $800 billion in spending cuts and $1.3 trillion in tax increases. That is because the inflation adjustment applies to tax rates as well as Social Security-resulting in less than $100 billion in added tax revenues. Democrats count that as a spending cut. Republicans say that is a tax hike. So the real difference, from their perspective, is $450 billion. The $400,000 vs. $1 million threshold for tax rates hikes is just one part of this. Republicans want more spending cuts and fewer tax increases. http://abcn.ws/ZnRtJH

TODAY ON THE HILL: At 10 a.m., Speaker Boehner holds a news conference to discuss the fiscal cliff crisis, ABC's John Parkinson notes. This afternoon, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has her own news conference to react to the drama last night.

NOTE IT!

ABC's RICK KLEIN: Last night's debacle in the House was a powerful example of the splits between the parties and even inside the parties, a stunning failure by House Speaker John Boehner to corral even his own members. But there's a not-implausible scenario that actually makes it easier now for a semi-large deal between Boehner and President Obama. The speaker was never going to need all of his members - or even most of his members - to pass a compromise measure. The failed vote clarifies matters for both sides, and injects some urgency into what's left of the talks. And Boehner has a bigger incentive than ever to reach a meaningful deal; last night doesn't need to be his legacy of 2012.

ABC's AMY WALTER: Will the markets be able to do what Boehner couldn't: Scare the living daylights out of members about the consequences of a cliff dive? At this point, that may be the only leverage for a deal.

GEORGE'S BOTTOM LINE: WOULD STRICT GUN CONTROL WORK IN THE U.S.? In the latest installment of his ABC/Yahoo! Power Players series, "Bottom Line, ABC's George Stephanopoulos says tight restrictions and fewer guns can lead to fewer gun deaths, as it has in Australia, Japan and the U.K. WATCH: http://yhoo.it/RIAazW

THE BUZZ:

with ABC's Chris Good ( @c_good)

OBAMA RESPONDS TO GUN PETITION, ASKS FOR HELP. ABC's Mary Bruce and Jeanette Torres report that President Obama recorded a video response to a gun-control petition posted to the White House's "We the People" website telling viewers he's pushing for a renewed ban on "military-style assault weapons" and high-capacity magazines, and a new look at school safety and mental health. In his YouTube response, the president says: "I will do everything in my power as president to advance these efforts, because if there's even one thing we can do as a country to protect our children, we have a responsibility to try. As I said earlier this week, I can't do it alone. I need your help. If we're gonna succeed, it's gonna take a sustained effort from mothers, fathers, daughters and son, law enforcement and responsible gun owners, organizing, speaking up, calling their members of Congress as many times as it takes, standing up and saying 'enough' on behalf of all our kids." WATCH: http://bit.ly/VVS91n

HARTFORD COURANT: LETTER FROM MICHELLE. The Connecticut newspaper publishes a letter from first lady Michelle Obama, one week after the Newtown shooting. Michelle Obama writes: "I want you to know that this is just the beginning. As my husband has said, in the coming weeks, he will use all the powers of his office to engage citizens from across this country to find ways to prevent tragedies like this one. And please know that every minute of every day, we are thinking of you, and praying for you, and holding you and your families in our hearts as you begin the slow and wrenching work of healing and moving forward." http://cour.at/TbR9sH

BIDEN WANTS COPS' HELP ON GUN CONTROL. ABC's Jake Tapper reports: "We have to have a comprehensive way in which to respond to the mass murder of our children that we saw in Connecticut," said Vice President Joe Biden today, meeting with the leaders of law enforcement organizations whom he said had been his "friends and allies for over 35 years." The vice president convened the first meeting of his interagency commission to examine possible actions to prevent the next gun violence tragedy like the one that befell Sandy Hill Elementary School. "We're going to need your help," he said to the group, suggesting he wants them to help push for a reinstatement of the 1994 ban on some types of semiautomatic assault rifles, more colloquially known as the "assault weapons ban," which expired in 2004. That ban was part of the larger Crime Bill, which Biden, then chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, helped draft. http://abcn.ws/ZnSKQV

MORE ON THE GUN PETITION. ABC's Mary Bruce reports on the gun-control petition at "We the People": The petition calls for the White House to "immediately address the issue of gun control through the introduction of legislation in Congress," gathering over 150,000 signatures by 5 p.m. yesterday. "The goal of this petition is to force the Obama Administration to produce legislation that limits access to guns. While a national dialogue is critical, laws are the only means in which we can reduce the number of people murdered in gun related deaths," the petition reads.

FIXING THE GOP: PARTY LIKE IT'S 1949. ABC's Gary Langer writes: Americans by a 15-point margin in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say the Republican Party needs less conservative policies that are more focused on middle- and lower-income Americans, rather than better leaders to sell its existing positions. And 63 years ago, Americans by an 11-point margin said precisely the same thing. Mark it up to the swinging pendulum of American politics: Six decades after Republican presidential nominee Thomas Dewey's unexpected loss to incumbent Democrat Harry S. Truman, the GOP is back in the same doghouse. The question last was asked in 1949, months after Truman's victory in what's widely considered to be the greatest upset in presidential election history. http://abcn.ws/XTIl9f

U.S. AMBASSADOR SHOWS MUSCLE IN HOLIDAY CARD. ABC's Devin Dwyer reports: U.S. Ambassador to Finland Bruce Oreck is offering Helskini "a different take on the elder statesman" for the holidays. Oreck posted a special edition of the embassy's 2012 holiday card, featuring his bulging bicep, to his official Facebook account Tuesday and reportedly also mailed copies of it to friends. The image comes from a photo shoot Oreck did last month for the Finnish fitness magazine "ProBody." A similar shot donned the cover of the Dec. 4 issue, which included an interview with the ambassador. "I say 60 is the new 40. My wife says, in my case, 60 is the new 58," Oreck said of the shoot in a Facebook post. "One way or the other, fitness is important." http://abcn.ws/WzUk0q

BOOKER FOR SENATE? ABC's Sarah Parnass reports: Popular Newark Mayor Cory Booker is "exploring the possibility" of running for the U.S. Senate rather than governor, the social-media-savvy Democrat posted on his website today. His letter said he will finish out his term as mayor and consider running for the Senate in 2014. ? "I look forward to consulting with Senator Lautenberg," Booker, who's African-American, writes. "During my lifetime, he has been one of New Jersey's most important leaders. It would be a privilege to continue his great legacy of http://abcn.ws/U1Qw29

BUT BOOKER VS. CHRISTIE IS A NO-GO. More from ABC's Sarah Parnass: Many observers considered Booker, 43, a potential challenger to Chris Christie in New Jersey's 2013 governor race. Such an election would have pitted the brash, tough-talking, union-challenging Republican governor with sky-high approval ratings in a blue state against the vegetarian do-gooder mayor who shoveled snow on request from Twitter, undertook a "food stamp challenge" to raise awareness about hunger and once entered a burning building to save a neighbor. http://abcn.ws/U1Qw29

STORM CHASERS: SENATE ADDS ANOTHER HURRICANE TO SANDY BILL. To win support in the Senate, funding for Hurricane Isaac (Aug. 2012) has been added to the Hurricane Sandy relief bill, ABC's Jonathan Karl and Sunlen Miller report: Without mentioning them by name, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., singled out today specific Republican senators, calling on them to help pass the supplemental aid package for victims of Hurricane Sandy. The call was also backed up quietly with some money. Late Wednesday night the Senate Appropriations Committee made some hasty edits in the emergency spending bill for Sandy victims, adding money for states that had been hit - by a different hurricane. The move no doubt sweetened the pot a bit for some senators who might otherwise complain about excessive government spending. http://abcn.ws/VaigVu

HILLARY GROUNDED. ABC's Dana Hughes reports: Secretary Clinton's concussion has already forced her to cancel last week's trip to North Africa and the Middle East and postpone testifying before Congress. Now it appears it the most traveled Secretary of State in history may have taken her last foreign trip as America's top diplomat when she went to Europe two weeks ago. State Spokesperson Philippe Reines confirms the Secretary is not planning any further trips in January for now. "Given her condition, the Secretary's doctors have advised that she may not fly for any significant duration in the coming weeks. So as things stand we are not planning any travel through mid-January," said Reines.

MARK SANFORD RETURNS. The disgraced former South Carolina governor will run for Congress, CNN's Peter Hamby reports: "'He's looking all but certain to do it,' said a former top aide to Sanford, who did not want to be identified while prematurely revealing the plans. A formal announcement will come soon, the source said. Sanford intends to seek the Republican nomination in South Carolina's 1st Congressional District, a seat being vacated by Rep. Tim Scott, who was appointed to the United States Senate earlier this week by Gov. Nikki Haley." http://bit.ly/R8LqUs

PARTISANSHIP AT BENGHAZI HEARING. The Wall Street Journal's Jay Solomon and Siobhan Gorman report: "Congressional hearings to help unravel details behind the September consulate attack in Benghazi, Libya, morphed into a political face-off Thursday as Democrats and Republicans sought to position themselves and their parties for the months and years ahead-possibly including 2016, the next presidential election year. Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, used his hearing Thursday to articulate views on American foreign policy that went well beyond the Benghazi assault ? Republicans, meanwhile, took the opportunity during the hearings to hone criticism of Mrs. Clinton, a possible future presidential candidate, over her State Department record as she prepares to leave that post in the coming weeks." http://on.wsj.com/UVwZ4z

IN THE NOTE'S INBOX:

-GOP REP.-ELECT, IRAQ VETERAN BLASTS HAGEL. Opponents of former Nebraska GOP senator, Vietnam vet, and noted Iraq war critic Chuck Hagel's likely nomination as secretary of Defense have continued to criticize him publicly, and today the Wall Street Journal runs an op-ed from Tom Cotton, a former infantry officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and who is now a Republican congressman-elect from Arkansas. Cotton writes: "Over Thanksgiving weekend in 2006, two years before his retirement as the Republican senator from Nebraska, Mr. Hagel penned a column for the Washington Post entitled 'Leaving Iraq, Honorably.' He asserted that 'there will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq,' and 'the time for more U.S. troops in Iraq has passed.' Rather, Mr. Hagel argued, we "must begin planning for a phased troop withdrawal.' ? No one had told us during our time in Baghdad that we would achieve "no victory." ? My soldiers had fought bravely to stabilize that city, protect innocent civilians and defeat al Qaeda. Those soldiers were proud of their accomplishments. The troops recognized the folly of Mr. Hagel's proposed withdrawal." http://on.wsj.com/Ud9m99

- LIBERALS RESPOND TO 'PLAN B' FAILURE. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee emails a statement from co-founder Stephanie Taylor: "Speaker Boehner's failure to pass his so-called 'Plan B' shows that any deal will need many Democratic votes to pass. House Democrats have major leverage and must insist to the White House and Republicans that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits are off the table." And another from the House Progressive Caucus: "Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) are standing up against a proposal to cut Social Security benefits by changing the way we calculate inflation ? Tying Social Security to chained CPI is a benefit cut and members of the CPC will not vote for a deal that cuts the benefits that millions of Americans rely on."

WHO'S TWEETING?

@ItsDavidFord: CONGRATS to @JonKarl who moves to the other end of Pennsylvania Ave. as ABC News Chief WH Correspondent http://abcn.ws/Ug9pSh (cc: @PressSec)

@clairecmc: We can avoid cliff with a balanced approach that will get Ds and Rs but there are a bunch of extreme Rs that are making it really hard.

@JWGOP: The future of the GOP clearly rests outside Washington, with leaders who understand responsibility. Jeb Bush, Christie, Jindal, Snyder, etc.

@JECarter4: 151 Victims of Mass Shootings in 2012: Here Are Their Stories http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/mass-shootings-victims-2012 ? via @motherjones

@ArletteSaenz: The Mayan apocalypse may not happen today, but Dec. 21 still marks Rick Perry's 12 year anniversary of becoming governor of Texas

@JebBush: #FF @BarbaraBushFdt. Advocating for and establishing literacy as a value in every home.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/just-time-christmas-fiscal-cliff-chaos-note-140612860--abc-news-politics.html

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Housing Starts, Building Permits Rising Into 2013 - Hawaii Real Estate

Housing Starts November 2011Single-family housing starts took a small step back in November.

According to the monthly Housing Starts report from the U.S. Department of Commerce, single-family housing starts tallied 565,000 in November 2012 on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis. This marks a 4 percent decline from October, but is more than 100,000 higher than the count from 12 months ago.

Clearly, the nation?s new home construction market is expanding.

[Hawaii homes built in 2012]

On a regional basis, single-family housing starts have been strongest in the Midwest; and Hurricane Sandy appears to have affected the number of starts across the Northeast.

As compared to one year ago:

  • Northeast Region : Housing starts down 19% on an annual basis
  • Midwest Region : Housing starts up 40% on an annual basis
  • South Region : Housing starts up 24% on an annual basis
  • West Region : Housing starts up 33% on an annual basis

It?s expected that new construction growth will continue into 2013, too. This is because the Department of Commerce report also showed Building Permits mostly unchanged for November at 565,000 units on a seasonally-adjusted annualized basis.

As compared to November 2011, this marks a 25% increase. Permits for multi-family homes are up 17%, too.

There are more building permits being issued today that at any time in the last 4 years.

For home buyers, this may be good news. Rising permits and housing starts suggests a more healthy U.S. economy, but it also means that home supplies may not be as tight throughout the next few months.

Overly-tight home supplies in some U.S. markets have contributed to rapidly rising home values. With more construction and larger home inventories, home prices may rise in 2013 less slowly.

The good news, though, is the mortgage rates remain near all-time lows and low- and no-downpayment mortgage programs are abundant. For today?s home buyer, there are plenty of affordable ways to purchase a home.

Talk with your real estate agent and your loan officer to see which plan works best for you.

Source: http://blog.hawaiimoves.com/2012/12/housing-starts-november-2012/

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What was the profession of Steve Jobs? - Computers, Math, Science ...


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 20, 2012 4:38 pm?? ?Post subject: Re: What was the profession of Steve Jobs? Reply with quote

the Woz was more into the technology and the Jobs was more into the business and capital raising function.

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PostPosted: Thu Dec 20, 2012 5:53 pm?? ?Post subject: Reply with quote

compiledkernel wrote:
Steve jobs was an organizer of efforts, and a fairly epic salesman.

That put with the fact that he was a technological visionary (not necessarily technically minded, but probably had a fairly good idea in his head what things should have looked like), complete the triumvarte of what his job was.

Proving both promoters and tech whizzes are necessary.

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Different Facts About Testosterone Replacement Therapy TRT ...

Testosterone replacement therapies are very helpful in living a youthful and more vigorous life, as one gets old. However, if you are planning to use these treatments to prevent symptoms of aging, do consult your doctor before making any final decision. There are many benefits of testosterone therapies like enhanced libido, augmented muscle mass and improved physical and mental performance. All these benefits are quite accentuating to entice you to go for this particular treatment. Nonetheless, you must know more about testosterones before finally choosing the testosterone treatments.

What actually are Testosterones?

Testosterone is a sub kind of human growth hormones HGH and is often referred to as sex or male hormone. They are produced by pituitary gland in the testes of males and small amounts are secreted in ovaries of females too. The main functions of testosterones are given below.

  • Help in weight reduction
  • Increase bone density and strengthen bones
  • Increase muscle mass and power
  • Increase the production of red blood cells
  • Enhance sex drive and increases the production of sperms
  • Help in combating different diseases

Testosterones and Hypogonadism:

Hypogonadism is a disease in which human body fails to produce sufficient quantities of testosterone. The disease can happen due to abnormalities in testicles or pituitary glands. In this case, testosterone replacement therapy TRT is very useful and assists in restoring the adequate production of this vital hormone. Testosterone therapy might take the shape of pallets, patches, injections, oral tablets, skin ointments, and tropical creams.

Ageing and Testosterone Levels:

Normal production of testosterone continues till 30 years of age but after that starts to decline dramatically but that reduction is quite natural. It is here a doctor comes into play because only he can determine whether testosterone reserves are depleting naturally due to age or due to any disease like Hypogonadism.

Symptoms of Testosterone Deficiency:

Some of the symptoms do naturally appear with the passage of time but others are directly related to the deficiency of testosterones. Some of these disorders are:

Dearth of testosterone can lead to reduced libido, decreased number of erections during sleep and complete impotency.

Lack of testosterones can cause various disturbed sleep patterns like insomnia.

Lack of testosterone brings a myriad of physical problems with it. These disorders include obesity, lean muscles devoid of any power and decreased bones density leading to osteoporosis. Occasionally enlargement of breast (gynecomestia) and hair loss are also observed.

Lack of testosterone is also very deleterious for mental health as it can cause stress, anxiety, and depression. In extreme cases, deficiency of testosterone can result in complete brain failure as well.

Scarcity of testosterone can also be a harbinger of many diseases like heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and other cardio vascular diseases and in some cases prostate cancers.

It is due to these devastating health effects of shortage of testosterone that people desperately chose to go for testosterone treatments and human growth hormone replacement therapies (HRT). These treatments promise to prevent all these diseases and to control symptoms of aging.

Other Reasons:

As discussed earlier, if anyone experiences any of the above-mentioned symptoms, he should discuss these problems with his doctor before blindly undergoing testosterone treatments. Some of these problems are a result of natural process of aging and other reasons could be thyroid problems and excessive alcoholism apart from testosterone deficiency.

Is Testosterone Replacement Therapy actually Helpful?

A testosterone replacement is an excellent method to cure different ailments caused due to shortage of testosterones because of any reason like Hypogonadism. However, it is also important to adopt natural means to enhance the natural production of testosterone like regular exercise and taking balanced diet. Furthermore, refraining from activities that can damage testosterone reserves for example excessive alcoholism and frequent sexual intercourse will also help.

Conclusion:

Testosterones are a vital hormone necessary to maintain good health because they perform many important functions. It is also necessary to adopt healthy lifestyle conducive for the adequate secretion of testosterones because their shortage can lead to many health problems that can blight a person?s life.

Related posts:

  1. Some Interesting Facts About Testosterones
  2. Hormone Replacement Therapy; Amazing Benefits For Women
  3. Key Facts About HGH Therapy And Anti-Aging

Source: http://www.nationwidesi.com/blog/testosterone/different-facts-about-testosterone-replacement-therapy-trt/

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Biden to meet with law enforcement leaders in post-Newtown push on guns

Vice President Joe Biden, left, listens as President Barack Obama announces Biden will lead an administrationwide??Wasting no time, Vice President Joe Biden meets on Thursday with ?law enforcement leaders? from across the country to launch work on a series of recommendations to battle gun violence in the wake of the school massacre in Newtown, Conn.

The 1 p.m. meeting is to include White House officials, as well as Attorney General Eric Holder, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the White House said.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday tasked Biden with leading an administrationwide effort to craft concrete proposals for tackling what Obama called an ?epidemic? of gun violence. The vice president will report back no later than January.

Obama pushed Congress to pass a series of traditional gun control measures quickly.??A majority of Americans support banning the sale of military-style assault weapons," he said on Wednesday. "A majority of Americans support banning the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips. A majority of Americans support laws requiring background checks before all gun purchases, so that criminals can?t take advantage of legal loopholes to buy a gun from somebody who won?t take the responsibility of doing a background check at all."

He added, ?I urge the new Congress to hold votes on these measures next year in a timely manner."

But he also embraced a broader approach, stressing that ?there?s no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence in our society."

?We?re going to need to work on making access to mental health care at least as easy as access to a gun,? he said.??We?re going to need to look more closely at a culture that all too often glorifies guns and violence.?And any actions we must take must begin inside the home and inside our hearts.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/biden-launches-post-newtown-push-guns-143333502--politics.html

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China's Xi gives backing to embattled Hong Kong leader

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese Communist Party chief Xi Jinping gave his backing on Thursday to Hong Kong's embattled leader, Leung Chun-ying, who is under heavy criticism in the territory over unauthorized building works at his home.

Leung narrowly survived a motion of no-confidence this month over the structures at his home that have undermined his integrity and triggered calls for a mass protest on January 1 to lobby for his resignation.

At a meeting in Beijing, Xi appeared to throw his support behind Leung, who was anointed for Hong Kong's top job after being selected by a small body of mostly pro-Beijing elites earlier this year.

"The (Hong Kong) government has done concrete work, it has been proactive and its responsibilities are heavy. The central government endorses the work of the (Hong Kong) government," Xi said in remarks carried on Hong Kong's Cable TV.

Xi added that China's new leadership will not change broad policy directions for Hong Kong and Macau and would uphold the "one country, two systems" principle under which the two territories are allowed to run its own affairs.

Hong Kong and Macau returned to Chinese rule in 1997 and 1999 and promised a high level of autonomy.

Beijing-backed Leung was criticized by pro-democracy lawmakers this month for failing to give a clear account of building works in his hilltop mansion - something he seized upon to oust his rival Henry Tang, when both ran for Hong Kong's chief executive post this year.

In space-starved Hong Kong, embellishments to homes are common to maximize living space, but similar violations have ensnared several prominent officials over the past year.

Leung has endured a difficult half year, wrestling with issues ranging from high property prices and perceived interference from China over education, to grassroots resentment caused by a tide of Chinese visitors and pregnant mainland women cramming maternity wards to gain local citizenship.

(Reporting by Tan Ee Lyn; Editing by Ron Popeski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chinas-xi-gives-backing-embattled-hong-kong-leader-121437821.html

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The Defense of Marriage Requires Honesty About Homosexuality ...

Gay-marriage

When the battle over marriage began, a decision was made not to talk about the problems associated with homosexuality, but focus on marriage between one man and one woman as they way things have always been and on benefits for society of traditional marriage. This strategy was initially very successful. The defenders of marriage won referendum after referendum, but in this election cycle things changed and marriage lost.

Public opinion has changed. One reason may be that in the years since this battle began, those pushing the redefinition of marriage to include same-sex couples have been free to push their deceptive propaganda about the nature of same-sex relationships with no rebuttal from the defenders of marriage. As a result, the younger generation has been taught to believe that persons with same-sex attraction (SSA) are?expect for one small difference?the same as those with other sex attraction, that they were born that way and can?t change, that same-sex relationships and same-sex parenting are no different than husband/wife marriages and father/mother families, and therefore it is only fair to let same-sex couples enjoy the benefits of legal marriage.

It is long past time to educate the public and particularly the younger generation as to what we know about SSA. First of all, there is no evidence that persons with SSA are born that way?no evidence of a genetic or hormonal cause. If there were such a cause then identical twins would virtually always have the same pattern of sexual attraction, but this is not the case. In a large study of male identical twins, in only 11% of the cases where one twin had SSA so did the other. If SSA is not genetic, what is the cause? There is no reason to believe that there is a single cause, but many persons with SSA experienced gender identity disorders (GID) as young children. They felt different than their same-sex parent or peers and identified with their other sex parent or peers. This has been linked to failures to securely attach in early childhood. If these problems are identified early and the parents are willing to make changes, GID can be healed, and subsequent SSA avoided.

There are those who argue that SSA is normal for some people and therefore GID, which often precedes SSA, is normal and children should be allowed to dress as the opposite sex and their classmates told to accept this change. Other therapists, who have treated children with GID, are convinced that these children have numerous problems in addition to GID and need help.

Change of SSA is possible. It is more common among women, who may be involved in same-sex relationships at one point in their lives and later marry a man. It may be more difficult for men, because men with SSA are more likely to become addicted to certain sexual practices, in particular masturbation with fantasy. This behavior sets up patterns in the brain which are extremely difficult to overcome, but it is not impossible.

Untreated GID can be the precursor of SSA and other problems. Numerous large, well designed studies have found that persons with SSA are significantly more likely to have psychological disorders, substance abuse problems, suicidal ideation, and to have been victims of childhood sexual abuse and violence. The relationships of men with SSA are more likely to be short-lived and are almost never faithful over time. The HIV/AIDS epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM) continues unabated and has been linked to substance abuse and sexual addiction. MSM are also 44 times more likely to be HIV positive, and far more likely to be inflected with other sexually transmitted diseases.

While mentioning such things may seem harsh and judgmental, those who are friends with persons with SSA are not blind to their problems. They see the troubled childhoods, narcissistic attitudes, and the other problems. The gay activists are not unaware of these difficulties either, but blame them on ?homophobia? and ?heterosexism??society?s negative attitudes toward homosexuality and preference for heterosexuality. They want to believe that if society would only accept homosexuality as normal?including redefining marriage?everything would be okay. There is no reason to think this is so. In places where homosexuality is normalized, the problems persist. Normalizing disorder does not create order, but abandons the troubled.

Redefining marriage encourages same-sex couples to acquire children, which will by definition place children in a sub-optimal situation. Study after study has found that children do best when they spend their entire childhood living with their married, biological parents. Everything else is sub-optimal. This doesn?t mean that children in such situations cannot overcome obstacles, but they are at greater risk.

Every child separated from one or both biological parents experiences that separation as loss. Every child acquired by a same-sex couple has been separated from one or both biological parents. Every child acquired by a same-sex couple is denied the experience of living with a parent of both sexes, but what is worse, these inevitable losses are not the result of tragic circumstances, but the conscious, premeditated decisions of the very people on whom the child depends. Rather than understanding their child?s sense of loss, same-sex couples in defending their decision to acquire children may deny their child?s legitimate desire for a parent of the other sex. The child can come to feel that his or her natural desire is a betrayal of their custodial parents.

Given that persons with SSA are far more likely to have psychological disorders, substance abuse problems, suicidal ideation, sexually transmitted diseases, and disrupted relationships, children acquired by a SSA, who have already experienced losses intrinsic to their situation, face the very real risk of subsequent losses and traumas.

Persons with SSA have been deeply wounded. They feel rejected and alienated. Often they cover their pain with cynicism, brittle humor, and rebellion against the moral law. They are convinced that if society would only accept SSA as normal and allow them to legally marry a person of the same sex they would feel better. Unfortunately, our defense of marriage only makes them feel worse and more convinced that changing the laws on marriage is necessary for them to achieve peace.

When the psalmist wrote, ?Mercy and truth are met, righteousness and peace have kissed,? he was recognizing that the reconciliation of mercy with truth and righteousness with peace is difficult and can only come about with God?s intervention. To persons with SSA our proclamation of truth and call for righteous behavior are taken as condemnation. Our defense of marriage resurrects all their past rejections. They want mercy and peace, but without truth and righteousness. However, too often we proclaim truth and righteousness without mercy and the promise of peace.

Allowing persons with SSA to call their relationships marriages would be an easy mercy and a false peace, we cannot sacrifice truth or righteousness, but we must find a way to reconcile them with true mercy and real peace.

How? First by prayer. How often have our churches engaged in public prayer for those tempted by SSA? I have heard prayers for the defense of marriage, but never for the healing of people with SSA. We must work to make sure that therapists, teachers and pastors are trained in the counseling of those tempted with SSA. We must welcome the strugglers into fellowship. Such a change will be difficult, but nowhere near as difficult as the one we expect of them.

Source: http://www.crisismagazine.com/2012/the-defense-of-marriage-requires-honesty-about-homosexuality

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Elixirs Made To Fight Malaria Still Shine On The Modern Bar

Shaken with splash of malaria drug, please. The original James Bond martini is made with gin, vodka and Kina Lillet, a French aperitif wine flavored with a smidge of the anti-malaria drug quinine.

Karen Castillo Farfan/NPR

Shaken with splash of malaria drug, please. The original James Bond martini is made with gin, vodka and Kina Lillet, a French aperitif wine flavored with a smidge of the anti-malaria drug quinine.

Karen Castillo Farfan/NPR

This week, our colleagues over at the Shots blog have been talking a lot about malaria. And, here at The Salt, that got us thinking about one thing: gin and tonics.

As you probably know, tonic is simply carbonated water mixed with quinine, a bitter compound that just happens to cure a malaria infection, albeit not so well.

Turns out, gin and tonics aren't the only drinks with ties to the feverish disease. If you're sipping an absinthe cocktail or an Italian aperitif this holiday season, chances are you're also imbibing a bit of malaria's history.

Many modern day liqueurs like Campari and Pimm's contain quinine. And absinthe ?- that anise-flavored spirit with a nasty reputation ?- also has a history with malaria.

Absinthe gets its bitter flavor and alleged psychedelic properties from wormwood, a shrub that's been around since the dinosaurs. Coincidentally, the most powerful malaria drug we have today also comes from a type of wormwood found in China. More on that later.

Dubonnet is a French liqueur made wine, herbs and quinine. Joseph Dubonnet concocted the beverage as way to make troops take their malaria medication.

Jules Ch?ret /Wikimedia Commons

So how in the heck did all these malaria drugs get mixed in with our mixology?

Let's start with the classic: quinine. The bitter compound comes from the bark of the cinchona tree (pronounced sin-KO-neh) in the Andes Mountains of South America.

It's unknown who discovered the fever-curing properties of the cinchona bark, but according to the Kew Royalty Botanical Gardens, Jesuit missionaries figured it out by about 1650, and soon it became the front-line defense for malaria in Europe (which at the time was treated with all kinds of barbaric approaches, like limb amputations and bloodletting).

By the late 1800s, the Dutch were growing the cinchona tree on the island of Java in Indonesia to meet the high-demand for quinine back in Europe, where monks and pharmacists were using the bark to make medicinal tonics.

"Herb liqueurs all started this way," says Amy Stewart, the author of a forthcoming book, The Drunken Botanist, and a specialist in horticulture.

"Apothecaries would soak the herbs and wood in alcohol to extract out the active ingredients and preserve them," she tells The Salt. "Then you add a little bit of sugar to make it taste better, and you have a liqueur."

Stewart says pharmacist and chemists were making concoctions like this for just about every ailment: stomach aches, constipation, kidney stones and even alcohol-induced liver failure.

For malaria, they'd simply add cinchona to the elixirs.

Some of these quinine-spiked liqueurs are still around today, and the malaria drug gives them a characteristic bitter flavor.

There's Lillet, a French aperitif that goes into James Bond's famous martini: "Three parts of Gordon's gin to one part vodka and a half measure of Kina Lillet," he says in Casino Royale.

There's the Italian Cocchi Americano, which is an essential component of the Corpse Reviver, one of the first cocktails designed to cure a hangover.

And, then there's Dubonnet ? a sweet, quinine-flavored aperitif beloved by both the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth II. And, in the movie The Way We Were, Barbara Streisand drank Dubonnet over ice as Katie Morosky.

Often mistaken as an ad for absinthe, this 1906 poster actually promotes Maruin Quina, a French aperitif made with white wine infused with cherries, citrus and quinine.

Painting by Leonetto Cappiello/Wikimedia Commons

Dubonnet also shares historical roots with the gin and tonic. They were both concocted as a way to get soldiers to take their malaria medication. Dubonnet helped French troops in North Africa get their quinine while British officers in India cut its bitter taste with gin, carbonated water and twist of lime.

So what about absinthe?

While Europeans and South Americans were messing around with cinchona and quinine, the Chinese had an even more powerful malaria drug up their sleeve ?or should we say, in their tea cup.

According to a commentary in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, traditional Chinese doctors have been treating malaria with a tea made from sweet wormwood, or qinghao, for thousands of years. They'd soak the shrub in water and then wring it out to extract the active ingredients.

The New York Times explained earlier this year how this herbal remedy become a modern-day malaria drug.

In the 1960s, Chairman Mao wanted a magic bullet to stop malaria among his troops in North Vietnam. So he enlisted top scientists to find a new malaria drug from herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine.

It took 14 years and over 50 scientists, McNeil says, but finally the scientists isolated a potent anti-malarial compound from sweet wormwood. It's called artemisinin, and we still use it today.

But a note of caution ? artemisinin isn't found in the European wormwood used in absinthe, so a drink of that liqueur wouldn't help with a malaria infection.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/12/17/167488498/elixirs-made-to-fight-malaria-still-shine-on-the-modern-bar?ft=1&f=1007

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James Gandolfini stars in 'Not Fade Away'

'Not Fade Away' tries a little too hard, but Gandolfini as a 1960s father is a standout.

By Peter Rainer,?Film critic / December 21, 2012

James Gandolfini stars in 'Not Fade Away.'

Paramount Vantage/AP

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David Chase, the creator ?The Sopranos? and one of the seminal figures in television history, makes his feature film directing debut with ?Not Fade Away,? a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama set in New Jersey in the '60s. It?s a ?personal? movie that, in some ways, seems impersonal. Everything seems a bit too varnished and staged and overly familiar.

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Doug (John Magaro), who lives with his little sister (Meg Guzulescu) and blustery parents (Molly Price and James Gandolfini), has dropped out of college to make it big with the rock band he started in high school. He also has a work-in-progress relationship with well-to-do girlfriend Grace (Bella Heathcote), which is emblematic of the class consciousness that suffuses this story. Chase works in a lot of pop references ? Doug?s group covers the Rolling Stones and the Kinks ? and some of his cultural remembrances have a lovely glow. (Doug admires the music of Leadbelly, too.) But everybody tries too strenuously to summon up the past while giving it the immediacy of the present. Gandolfini, though, is a standout as the old-school father who can?t abide his new-style son (but loves him anyway). Grade: C+ (Rated R for pervasive language, some drug use and sexual content.)

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/boVJuyl_I5o/James-Gandolfini-stars-in-Not-Fade-Away

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Low pH levels can eliminate harmful blooms of golden algae, one cause of massive fish kills

Dec. 20, 2012 ? Baylor University researchers are one step closer to understanding the algae that causes a substantial number of fish deaths in more than 18 states.

Golden algae, Texas Tide or Prymnesium parvum, as it is known by its scientific name, produces toxins that can severely impact aquatic organisms. Over the past decade, golden algae blooms have been responsible for the death of tens of millions of fish in Texas reservoirs.

The study was published in the December issue of Harmful Algae.

Bryan W. Brooks, Ph.D., professor of environmental science and biomedical studies at Baylor and director of the environmental science graduate program and the environmental health science program, and his research team found that neutral pH levels prevented the algae's bloom development and the toxicity of the algae was greatly diminished.

"Our novel findings identify that surface water pH is a very important factor influencing whether harmful algal blooms of Prymnesium parvum will even occur in a lake or reservoir," Brooks said. "In addition to better understanding the ecology and toxicology of this invasive species, this new information promises to support more sustainable environmental management of fisheries and drinking water supplies."

Brooks and his research team conducted two experiments -- one during pre-bloom period and another during bloom development -- over 21 days to gauge the effect of pH 7 and 7.5 on toxicity of golden algae. The study -- in Lake Granbury, Texas, a common site of destructive golden algae blooms -- also included untreated lake water with pH of 8.5.

"In the bloom development experiment, acute toxicity to fish was observed in the untreated lake water (pH 8.5) and in the pH 7.5 treatment level as early as Day 7. However, the pH 7 treatment levels remained free from acute toxicity throughout the 21-day study," said Krista N. Prosser, Baylor environmental science graduate student and lead author of the study.

Researchers can now better identify when and where harmful blooms may occur and develop solutions to minimize the impact of golden algae.

"Because golden algae blooms appears to originate in coves that experience lower inflows than the main reservoir stems, coves may represent more reasonable management units to create refuge habitats and potentially preempt bloom formation," Brooks said.

Golden algae can be found in the following states: Ala., Ariz., Ark., Calif., Fla., Hawaii, La., Maine, Miss., N.C., N.M., Okla., Pa., S.C., Texas, Wash., W.Va. and Wyo.

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

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Krista N. Prosser, Theodore W. Valenti, Natanya J. Hayden, Michael T. Neisch, Natalie C. Hewitt, George D. Umphres, George M. Gable, James P. Grover, Daniel L. Roelke, Bryan W. Brooks. Low pH preempts bloom development of a toxic haptophyte. Harmful Algae, 2012; 20: 156 DOI: 10.1016/j.hal.2012.10.002

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

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/jsjntWbNRNE/121220161753.htm

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