Saturday, December 31, 2011

Global 'Happiness Index' Ranks Canada 23rd

An annual "happiness barometer" ranks Canada the 23rd happiest nation out of 58 in the lead-up to the new year.

Leger Marketing surveyed nearly 53,000 people in 58 countries, asking participants to state whether they perceived themselves as "happy" or "unhappy" in 2011.

Fiji was the happiest, according to the Global Barometer of Happiness. And, in a surprise to the pollsters, Afghanistan recorded higher happiness numbers than the United States.

About 60 per cent of the 1,003 Canadians who responded described themselves as happy, and 13 per cent said they were feeling down.

A large proportion ? about 26 per cent ? of the Canadians surveyed couldn't say how they felt, said David Scholz, executive vice-president of Leger Marketing in Toronto.

That Canada didn't rank among the top five happiest countries may surprise some people, but Scholz said the results may have something to do with how much Canadians want out of their lives.


Expect 'spectacular' happiness

"I think in Canada, we have a lot of high expectations," he said. "We expect happiness to be something spectacular.

"But what we define as 'happiness' is very different from what others around the world define as happiness. It's a bit of 'What are you used to, and what are you expecting?' We want more."

The survey assigned each country a "net happiness" score, calculated by subtracting the percentage of unhappy respondents from the percentage of happy ones.

Differences in cultural perspectives about happiness yielded some unexpected results for the pollsters.

Canada's net happiness score of 47 per cent, for example, tied with Japan's ? a nation that was crippled this year by a series of deadly disasters, including an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis.

Afghanistan, which had a net happiness score of 35 per cent, beat the United States, at 33 per cent.

"That was one [result] that stood out for us as the most impressive result," Scholz said. "And it's only by a few points, but people in Afghanistan are happier than people in the United States right now. And a big part of it is what's changed in Afghanistan."

An overall positive outlook in the war-scarred Islamic republic might reflect the de-escalation of aggression and violence there.


Fiji ranked happiest country

"In the United States, not much has changed over the past year or little while," Scholz said. "And yes, the troops are coming home and that?s positive. But the de-escalation of the Afghanistan conflict doesn?t affect the U.S. the way it does Afghanistan."

While Canada may not be home to the happiest people ? that honour goes to the residents of the South Pacific island of Fiji, who scored an 85 per cent on "net happiness" ? Canadians still consider themselves to be part of a "happy nation," the survey suggests.

Particularly those living in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

"The happiest place in Canada would be the Prairies," Scholz said, suggesting the return of the Winnipeg Jets and some unseasonably warm weather helped to buoy spirits in 2011. "Look at the year they've had. It's been a very positive year."


Alberta least happy place in Canada

As for the unhappiest place in Canada, Scholz points to Alberta.

Although he said Alberta has low unemployment and crime rates, he speculated that feelings of dissatisfaction there may have to do with expectations. Albertans have apparently set theirs high.

"Do you want more? A big part of wanting more is when Alberta wants to grow and grow and grow," Scholz said.

Rounding out the top five countries for happiness, aside from Fiji, are Nigeria (84 per cent net happiness), the Netherlands (77 per cent), Switzerland (76 per cent) and Ghana (72 per cent).

The least happy place in the world, according to the survey, is Romania, which scored a negative 10 per cent on the net happiness chart.

Despite Canada's so-so spot on the happiness scale, Scholz said there's much to be grateful for, with the country enjoying a relatively stable economy compared to other places.

"We've seen what's happened in the U.S., so hope for an economic prosperity is diminished," he said. "We see next year as a tough year, but we're still going into it with a smile on our face."

The Global Barometer of Happiness study has been conducted annually since 1977 and has a margin of error of plus or minus three to five per cent. People were surveyed face-to-face and over the phone.


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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/12/30/canada-global-happiness-index_n_1177241.html

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Tablet War: ASUS Transformer Prime vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

GameStop expects pre-order devices to be shipped by next Friday. The reports suggest the Transformer Prime has become the most pre-ordered tablet (with the Honeycomb Android OS) in history.

However, the tablet has to deal with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which is available in both Wi-Fi and 3G versions. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 was introduced by Samsung on Feb. 13.

The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime features a 10.1-inch Super IPS + LCD Gorilla Glass display with 1280x800 screen resolution. It is powered by an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A9 CPU, ULP GeForce GPU and offers 1GB RAM and 32/64 GB internal storage, which can be further expanded by another 32GB via microSD card.

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It sports a rear-facing 8 megapixel Flash camera with 1080p video playback and a secondary 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera. The Eee Pad Transformer Prime optimizes Google Inc.'s Android 3.2 Honeycomb OS, which could be upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

The Transformer Prime is the first tablet to have the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. The Tegra 3 brings a number of significant advancements over the dual-core Tegra 2. Technically, it has five cores and it's the fifth core that really makes the difference. This is called the companion core.

ASUS uses IPS technology in the Prime and maximum brightness is at 584cd/m2. It has a good screen on which to watch high definition movies and play games, delivering excellent blacks and viewing angles because of the Super IPS+ Panel technology packed inside.

The tablet weighs 586 grams and is 8.3 mm thick. With these dimensions, it can compete with Galaxy Tab 10.1, which weighs 560 grams and is 8.6 mm thick.

Price-wise, ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime is likely to cost $499 for the 32GB version and $599 for the 64GB version. This is lower than the Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi, which costs $499.99 for the 16GB version and $599.99 for the 32GB version.

Here is a look at how the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime's features fare when compared to Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1:

Size:?The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime has a dimension of 263 ? 180.8 ? 8.3mm, weighs 586 grams (pad only) / 263 ? 180.8 ? 8-10.4mm, weighs 537 grams (dock only), while Galaxy Tab 10.1 has 256.7 x 175.3 x 8.6 mm and weighs 560 grams.

Display:?The Transformer Prime tablet has a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 pixels Super IPS + LCD capacitive touch screen display with Corning's Gorilla glass whereas the Galaxy Tab 10.1 features 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 pixels WXGA PLS TFT capacitive touch-screen display with Corning Gorilla Glass.

Input Features:?The input features in Transformer Prime are accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate, ASUS Waveshare UI, multi-touch input method, touch-sensitive controls with rotating icons, G-Sensor, Light Sensor, Gyroscope, e-compass and GPS. However, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate, Samsung TouchWiz UX UI, multi-touch input method, touch-sensitive controls with rotating icons, Gyroscope, Compass and GPS.

Memory:?The memory found in the ASUS tablet is 1GB RAM and 32/64 GB storage capacity with a microSD card slot giving an extra 32GB support, while the Galaxy Tab has 1GB RAM with 16/32 GB internal storage support.

Operating system:?Both tablets feature the Android 3.0 version Honeycomb OS with the promise of a upgrade to the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the future. ASUS uses its latest Waveshare UI layer in Transformer Prime, while Samsung uses its TouchWiz UX UI in Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Processor:?The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime tablet has Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A9 CPU, ULP GeForce GPU, compared to Galaxy Tab's 1 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU ULP GeForce GPU Nvidia Tegra 2 T20 chipset processor.

WLAN/Bluetooth/USB:?The ASUS tablet has Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 2.1 version with EDR, and USB 2.0 version. On the other hand, the Samsung tablet has Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0 version with A2DP and USB 2.0 version.

Camera:?The camera in ASUS' tablet is an 8 megapixel 3264x2448 pixels with LED flash and autofocus features, while the Galaxy Tab has only a 3.15 megapixel LED flash camera with geo-tagging feature. There is a secondary 2 megapixel camera in the Galaxy Tab, while the ASUS tablet has 1.2 megapixel camera. The Samsung tablet is capable of video playback at 720p, while the Transformer Prime offers 1080p video playback capability.

Battery:?When it comes to battery life, the Eee Pad Transformer Prime pad (with dock) has a 22 Wh Li-polymer Battery that is expected to give 18 hours of battery life on video playback, whereas the Galaxy Tab 10.1 features a Li-Polymer 7,000 mAh battery which gives 13 hours.

Pricing:?The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime is likely to cost $499 for the 32GB version and $599 for the 64GB version. This is lower than the Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi, which costs $499.99 for the 16GB version and $599.99 for the 32GB version.

Other Features:?The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has features like E-mail, Push Mail, IM, RSS, HTML, Adobe Flash, SNS integration, TV-out, MP4/DivX/Xvid/H.264/H.263 player, MP3/WAV/eAAC+/OGG player, Quickoffice HD, Microsoft Exchange Active Sync, VPN Access, and Airline Mode.

The Transformer Prime has features like HTML, Adobe Flash, Email, Push Email, IM, Assisted-GPS support, micro HDMI port, MP3/WAV/WMA/AAC player, MP4/H.264/H.263 player, microSD card reader, 2-in-1 audio jack and Polaris Office editor. It also has special applications such as ASUS launcher, @Vibe Music, ASUS WebStorage, MyLibrary, MyNet, MyCloud, File manager, ASUS sync, SuperNote, App Locker, App Backup, and TegraZone.

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To contact the editor, e-mail:

Source: http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/274895/20111231/tablet-war-asus-transformer-prime-vs-samsung.htm

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Friday, December 30, 2011

hdkzii: amazing - Steve Jobs's long and complex relationship with Japan http://t.co/YRMwFQrz

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Video: PFT Live: Is Gruden headed back to the sideline?

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

2011's top 11 twists from the world of science

Fabrice Coffrini / AFP - Getty Images

Visitors watch an on-screen presentation at the "Universe of Particles" exhibition at CERN, where physicists are trying to track down the Higgs boson as well as faster-than-light neutrinos.

By Alan Boyle

The past year brought us the supercomputer that trounced?flesh-and-blood champions on the "Jeopardy" TV show ... genetic discoveries that showed us the tangles in humanity's family tree ... a tsunami that shouldn't have been as catastrophic as it was ... and neutrinos that shouldn't be going as fast as they seem to. Which scientific twist of 2011 do you find most intriguing? Now's the time to cast your vote for the top science story of 2011.

This year's crop of top stories is trickier than usual because they cross so many lines. I've pared them down to a list of 11, but the only reason I'm able to do that is because of the way the lines are being drawn. I've already touched on two of the biggest science stories of 2011 in our "Year in Space" roundup: the end of the space shuttle era and the avalanche of extrasolar planets.?Our "Ancient Mysteries" roundup casts a spotlight on the big stories in archaeology, anthropology and paleontology.?I'm also leaving out?some big?stories with technology angles, such as the Arab?Spring protests?and the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

So what's left? In this list, I'm stressing the twists in science and technology that go against expectations ? or set up great expectations for the year ahead. I'm also including some personal favorites that you can feel free to quibble over. Check out this chronological?list, review the details by clicking on the links, then cast your vote for the year's top science story:


Live Poll

What's the top twist of 2011?

  • 171741

    Japan's nuclear crisis.

    13%

  • 171742

    AIDS virus on the run.

    8%

  • 171743

    Climate highs and lows.

    5%

  • 171744

    Quest for the Higgs boson.

    8%

  • 171745

    Faster-than-light neutrinos.

    39%

  • 171746

    Watson wins on 'Jeopardy.'

    4%

  • 171747

    Protein puzzlies untangled.

    5%

  • 171748

    Our tangled genetic tree.

    6%

  • 171749

    Personalized medicine works

    6%

  • 171750

    Heaviest antimatter created.

    2%

  • 171751

    Prehistoric fingerpainting.

    1%

  • 171752

    None of the above.

    4%

VoteTotal Votes: 1338

Japan hit by quake, tsunami, nuclear crisis: The magnitude-8.9 quake that hit Japan in March qualifies as a top story on any scale, but the safety gaps at the Fukushima nuclear facility showed scientifically how nature can confound engineers' best-laid plans. It was just this month that Japan's prime minister announced the facility was in a stable state of "cold shutdown."?Fukushima may be an albatross around the neck of the nuclear power industry for years to come.?Or maybe not. Check out "After the Wave," msnbc.com's special report about the?earthquake's aftermath.?

AIDS virus on the run? An international study finds that people who take antiretroviral drugs ? medicine that weakens the HIV virus that causes?AIDS ? not only benefit from treatment but are far less likely to?infect their sexual partners. The finding?was so remarkable that the results were made public four years early, and last week the editors of the journal Science hailed it as the year's top breakthrough.

Climate highs and lows:?This month, a U.N. climate conference?reached agreement on a new plan to control greenhouse-gas emissions, but it's not clear whether the plan will pay off. Meanwhile, a former climate skeptic says he no longer doubts the reality of global warming, the climate issue creates a controversy on the GOP campaign trail, "Climategate 2.0" fails to gain traction, and Arctic sea ice is?close to?record lows.??

Goodbye, Tevatron ... hello, Higgs boson? After 28 years of service, the Tevatron collider was shut down in Illinois in September, leaving the Large Hadron Collider as the only experiment hunting for the elusive Higgs boson. Discovery of that particle could show scientists how mass arose in the universe. Researchers at the LHC suspect that they've got the?subatomic bugger cornered, but the actual discovery (or determination that it doesn't exist after all) will have to wait until next year.

Faster-than-light neutrinos? Physicists at CERN and Italy's Gran Sasso laboratory say they've clocked bunches of neutrinos traveling between the two labs at a speed that's just a bit faster than the speed of light ? something that relativity theory contends should be impossible. Most observers are confident that the claim will be proven wrong in 2012, due to some sort of experimental error. But a rerun of the test in November, under somewhat different conditions, came up with the same result. Stay tuned...

Watson wins on 'Jeopardy': IBM programmed a supercomputer named Watson?to dominate the "Jeopardy" TV trivia game, and dominate it did. The point of the exercise wasn't to win the $1 million prize, which was donated to charity; rather, the technology behind Watson is being applied to medical diagnoses and other applications. We puny humans can take heart in the fact that Watson is not infallible. After all, it thought Toronto was a U.S. city, and it actually lost a game to U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (although, come to think of it, that might have been a political move on Watson's part).

Gamers untangle protein puzzles: Game-playing humans struck back this year by figuring out the molecular structure of a key enzyme in an AIDS-like virus that afflicts rhesus monkeys. The protein-folding?achievement, accomplished by the players of an online game called Foldit,?served as further evidence that non-scientists can help conduct valuable scientific research through collaborative software. Foldit's game-playing teams even came up with new mathematical algorithms for solving?biochemical puzzles more efficiently.

Genetic family tree gets tangled: Late last year, researchers announced that they found genetic twists in our DNA that pointed to a previously unknown branch of our ancient family tree. Some of our ancestors interbred?with?creatures in Siberia that were not like modern humans or Neanderthals, but were of a distinct strain now known as the Denisovans. This year, geneticists reported that interbreeding with Denisovans and Neanderthals gave a big boost to our ancestors' immune systems. There's also evidence that our ancestors swapped genes with other now-extinct populations even before they left Africa. "Everywhere you look now, we find a little bit of interbreeding," said University of Arizona geneticist Michael Hammer.

Personalized medicine really works: Scientists have been saying for years that someday we'll all have our entire genomes sequenced, and that genomic analysis will open up a brave new world of personalized medicine. This year, it really happened. Physicians found a flaw in a California teen's genetic code that guided them to prescribe new medication for her bouts of sudden breathlessness. The success story serves as "the leading edge of what will become, pretty soon, a deluge of such reports," said Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.

Heaviest antimatter created: Researchers at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider reported seeing traces of antihelium-4 nuclei, made up of two antiprotons and two antineutrons. These are the heaviest bits of antimatter ever detected on Earth, and that record's likely to stand for a long, long time. Sorry, Dan Brown: The antimatter bomb you wrote about in "Angels?& Demons" will have to remain firmly in the realm of fiction.

Fingerpainting at prehistoric preschool: Here's something completely different: Researchers measured the widths of finger marks? to figure out that kids as young as?2 years old?exercised their artistry?on prehistoric cave walls, with an occasional boost from the grown-ups. It's amazing how archaeology can bring a 13,000-year-old culture to life.

So what am I forgetting? Space-time cloaking devices? New York's new bee species? Remember that I have a whole 'nother list of top stories?for space exploration as well as for ancient mysteries, and that I'm putting the Arab?Spring and Steve Jobs' death in a different category.?Let me know what else is?missing by leaving a comment below, and get ready to take a walk on the wild side later this week when it's time to judge the 2012 Weird Science Awards.

More year-end reviews:


Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/27/9748604-11-scientific-twists-from-2011

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Gameloft Offering All Android Titles For Just $0.99 Starting December 29 Through January 5

Starting this Thursday, Android gaming fanatics will be able to score all of Gameloft?s Android applications for just 99 cents a title. ?Woot! ?The deal ends next year on the 5th of January, so don?t miss out. ?Down below is a short list of a few games that will be available:

If you don?t want to take the chance on missing out on any of the deals, then you can follow Gameloft on Twitter.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DroidLife/~3/SWJxzPANgmA/

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

MobileHuman Audio Converter is Easy Enough for Your Non-Tech Friends to Use [Windows Downloads]

MobileHuman Audio Converter is Easy Enough for Your Non-Tech Friends to UseWindows/Mac: Sure there are a plethora of audio converters out there, why do we need any new ones? Well, some programs have a steep learning curve and many of the easy to use ones aren't free. With MobileHuman's Audio Converter you can click and drag tracks to and from eight popular formats without having to know anything about digital audio.

Once the program is installed all you need do is add audio files to the program's interface, choose what format and bitrate you want to convert the files to, and click ?Start Converting'. The only part you'd have to think about anything is when choosing a bitrate and that defaults to the highest rating automatically so you really don't have to bother with it.

The audio converter can process to and from files in AAC, AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, MP3, OGG, WAV, and WMA file formats. If you need to convert files and want something easy to use, give this a try. It's a free download for Windows and Mac OS X from the source link below.

Audio Converter 1.4.4 | via Addictive Tips

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/ZzF1JLZWNfk/mobilehuman-audio-converter-is-easy-enough-for-your-non+tech-friends-to-use

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Pitino: Plans to quit when contract ends in 2017 (AP)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. ? Rick Pitino said Tuesday that he won't coach past the 2016-2017 season when his current contract ends at Louisville.

"When you're 59, you're realistic that you don't have a whole lot of years left," Pitino said at a news conference before the No. 4 Cardinals play Georgetown on Wednesday. "My contract's going to run out in 2017. I'm not coaching any more after that."

The former Providence and Kentucky coach has guided the Cardinals to a 12-0 record so far this season.

Louisville's Athletic Association granted Pitino, the only men's coach to lead three different programs to the Final Four, a four-year contract extension in August. He'll make $3 million in base salary until the end of the 2013 season, followed by $3.9 million a year.

Pitino didn't use the word `retire,' but has said in the past that Louisville would be his last coaching stop. He's 253-96 in his 11th season at Louisville, which reached the Final Four in 2005.

The Cardinals will host the Hoyas in their Big East Conference opener before traveling to face rival and No. 3 Kentucky on Saturday.

Pitino said Louisville hasn't started preparing for Kentucky.

"One thing I've learned to do with my age, I really don't look ahead," said Pitino, who went 219-50 in eight seasons at Kentucky and won the 1996 national championship. "For years, I've been preaching the precious present and having to always subscribe to it."

Senior guard Chris Smith echoed his coach.

"We haven't talked about Kentucky one time yet, and we're going to keep it like that until we come out with a W tomorrow," he said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_sp_co_ne/bkc_louisville_pitino

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

University-level Chemistry tutor at Toronto Elite Tutorial Services, ON

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smx: Want to revamp your 2012 marketing strategy? Kick off the new year with us at SMX Israel! http://t.co/SzcRpaaV

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Monday, December 26, 2011

Ron Paul Is a Dangerous Tin Man Who Has No Heart (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Less than two weeks remain before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses. On Wednesday an Iowa State University/Gazette/KCRG poll showed Texas Rep. Ron Paul leading the GOP presidential race with 27.5 percent. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich placed second with 25.3 percent followed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 17.5 percent.

Like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz, Ron Paul is seen by many as a quirky but well-meaning fellow who -- aside from having a few odd-ball ideas -- poses no real threat to the world. However, where a Tin Man in search of a heart may be seen as endearing, when a man who is vacant of heart and the capacity to feel compassion for his fellow man is determined to be the leader of the free world it becomes nothing less than dangerous.

It is said that we are known by the company we keep. Paul's 30-year friendship and frequent guest interviews by radio talk show host and rabid fellow conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his comfort in feeding the suspicious minds of the youthful Student Scholars for 9/11 Truth that Americans are responsible for 9-11 are already a matter of record. Still, where Paul's long-term preference to associate himself with people of irrational mind demonstrates a connate history of obsessive paranoia and loathing for his country, more disturbing is his utter lack of compassion for the suffering of others in the world.

As quoted by Real Clear Politics, Ron Paul believes that "all foreign aid is worthless."

Ambassador Eric Goosby, M.D., who oversees implementation of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), believes otherwise.

In his remarks during his Dec. 13 speech, in honor of Dr. David Barmes before "fellow laborers in the fight against AIDS," the United States Global AIDS Coordinator said "a Stanford University study demonstrated that over a million deaths were averted in the first 4 years of PEPFAR alone, a number we expect has at least doubled since that time."

As stated in his profile of the official PEPFAR website Goosby has "longstanding working relationships with leading multilateral organizations" like the Global Fund.

"As of December," Global Fund states on their website, their efforts "save an estimated 100,000 lives every month."

Were it left to Ron Paul, rather than funding the "worthless" efforts that save thousands of lives, America would hoard its money and simply "export maybe some principles about free markets and sound money and maybe they can produce some of their own wealth."

Paul also appears to have a cowardly closeted racist streak and, when pressed during an interview on Wednesday with CNN Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger regarding some controversial newsletters printed in the 1980s and 1990s under his name, Paul became irritated to a point of removing his mic and walking out on the interview.

Among the many racially charged comments attributed to Paul in the publications was a 1992 statement that: "Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks."

"I never read that stuff," Paul told Borger, oddly reminiscent of Obama's excuse reported by CNN in 2008 that - while sitting in the pew of Jeremiah Wright's church for 20 years -- he never heard the rancid litany of anti America remarks escaping the pastor's mouth.

Still, the most unsettling evidence regarding the warped mind of Ron Paul was revealed -- yet widely overlooked -- by Paul himself during November's Thanksgiving Forum Debate in Des Moines, Iowa.

When the candidates were asked by pollster-moderator Frank Luntz to identify a "failure" in their life from which they learned lessons that would make them a "better president," Paul had a profoundly alarming answer.

"To find one thing where I really goofed it or I had to suffer through it," Paul explained, "it's almost arrogant to think I can't find any one thing."

In other words -- aside from such "incidental" things as hating to watch himself on T.V. because all he can see are his "imperfections" and his lament in losing what he believed was his potential during his teenaged years in having "pretty darn good career in athletics, particularly in track and maybe football and maybe even baseball," were it not for "some severe injuries" - Paul truly believes that he is otherwise perfect.

When someone who has lived for nearly 70 years can say with absolute conviction that they've not made a single mistake it is safe for others to label them as certifiably delusional. For others to place someone with that level of specious conceit in the White House is nothing less than dangerous.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111224/pl_ac/10739311_ron_paul_is_a_dangerous_tin_man_who_has_no_heart

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Forbes Magazine lists LSU Football among the Most Valuable NCAA Football Program...

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Sunday, December 25, 2011

Motorola MOTOACTV firmware bump gives you marathon-battery life (video)

Fitness people love to make us feel guilty as they jog past the car, sneering as they watch us eat six double downs in one go. It's those people who will be happy that Motorola's Motoactv is getting a firmware update promising better battery life and power-saving settings -- including a marathon mode that'll give you eight hours of accompanied running. You'll also find additional clock faces and the ability to measure your heart rate even when stationary. You know, with their clear skin and no body fat, maybe they've got the right idea and we should give some serious consideration to changing our ways -- you know, in January.

Continue reading Motorola MOTOACTV firmware bump gives you marathon-battery life (video)

Motorola MOTOACTV firmware bump gives you marathon-battery life (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Dec 2011 01:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Answer: Earthquake Weather in San Francisco [Search Research]

Answer: Earthquake Weather in San FranciscoGoogler Daniel Russell knows how to find the answers to questions you can't get to with a simple Google query. In his weekly Search Research column, Russell issues a search challenge, then follows up later in the week with his solution?using whatever search technology and methodology fits the bill. This week's challenge: Earthquake Weather in San Francisco

The Short Answer

Wednesday, April 18?unseasonably warm (around 80F according to some reports) and clear, but windy. (But other reports say it only got up to 62.)
Thursday, April 19?same as the day before, unseasonably warm and clear, but windy. No temperature data.
Friday, April 20?the usual northwesterly winds returned, cooling off the city and returning to normal San Francisco weather. No temperature data.
Saturday, April 21?temperature data lost. (But probably warm and clear.)
Sunday, April 22? warm; high: high of 72F, no low temperature data.
Monday, April 23?0.51 inches of rain; high of 60F (SF Chronicle, April 24, 1906; NOAA records)
Tuesday, April 24- 0.14 inches of rain; high of 60F (NOAA records)

While some of our readers found this pretty straightforward, I actually spent around 2 hours trying to get the answer. This was difficult for many reasons. First, it's San Francisco?land of many micro-climates (the weather can vary 20 degrees F across the city; it can be raining in the western part of the city, but sunny in the eastern. Second, because of the disaster, local newspapers stopped publishing and the weather stations in San Francisco were destroyed. (And, as noted, with such wildly varying microclimates, you can't just extrapolate the weather nearby, in Oakland for example, to what was going on in San Francisco.) Third, there was general chaos in the city, and noting down the weather was not first among the priorities when there were so many homeless and the city was burning.

This all made for a great search challenge as it quickly became clear that the normal tricks-of-the-trade (such as reading archival newspapers) wasn't going to work as easily.

I began my search with the obvious [ San Francisco weather 1906 ] and ended up reading lots of commentary that told me about April 18th and 19th. Those days were unusually warm and clear, which meant that the immediate aftermath for the survivors wasn't miserable, their town might be burning down, but people could camp in Golden Gate Park without the cold and misery of fog.

But getting the next couple of days data was harder.

One of the best resources I found (after much reading through search results) was the book The Great Earthquake and Firestorms of 1906: How San Francisco Nearly Destroyed Itself. If you search within this book for "weather" you'll find a good piece of the book describing the weather of the week on pages 51 and 52:

p. 51. "The weather that early morning was unusually "clear and pleasant," according to the weather bureau. The usual damp early morning fog was missing. There had been no measureable rainfall for more than two weeks. A ridge of high pressure extended over eastern Washington and Idaho with a low pressure are ot the south, forcing desert winds to flow from the northeast toward the central California coast-the reverse of the usual pattern of cool northwesterlies that blow from the ocean toward the land."

P 52. "The the first three days after the earthquake, the city was buffeted by wildly gyrating winds generated by the changing patterns of weather and the internal workings of the firestorm. On the first day, the prevailing northwesterly wind and the unusual easterlies dueled for dominance, speaking the flames to the east and the west. The easterlies increased in tempo on the second day; the fires were driven westward. By late Friday, a strong northwesterly wind from off the ocean had reasserted it dominance, cooling the city and forcing the fire back toward the waterfront and across fresh combustibles. On Saturday there was rain, which ended the fires, but discomforted the many refugees sleeping in the open or temporary shelters."
"The temperatures were ideal for a conflagration. On the second day the thermometer jumped a dozen degress to an unseasonable high of eighty-one, as measure in Berkeley and Oakland, since San Francisco no longer had a functioning weather bureau. Friday was also unseasonably hot.

That tells us the weather from April 18-21. What about the rest of the week? And would it be possible to be more precise?

This gets tougher. Since many weather stations were destroyed, most of the records were lost. Luckily, the weather service is full of remarkable and pretty persistent people. Alexander George McAdie ( Born 4 Aug 1863, died 1 Nov 1943) was at his post in the Mills Building in the 3400 block of Clay Street and kept meticulous records. (He was also vice president of the Sierra Club from 1904-1913, and was responsible for the naming of Mount Muir.)

His records show (see the actual scans of his log books for April 1906). This is a fascinating document as it's the official temps and precipitation.

You can find the official compilation of all this data by searching for [California "climatological" data 1906] which leads you to Climatological Data California (compiled by the California State Agricultural Society).

But this question started with what the human experience of the weather was. And it sounds from reports as starting out fine, but growing increasingly unpleasant with the cold, the fog and the wind returning after a few days. There's no question that San Francisco can be a chilly, windy place with "the northernly tradewinds adding to the inhabitants misery" on April 20th. (per NYtimes, April 21, 1906)

Search Lessons

A big takeaway from this challenge has been how much data can be found in online Books. Finding the Climatological data book was a surprise, although I ended up there because I saw a reference to it somewhere in my reading. I jotted down a note, and then searched for [California "climatological" data 1906] (the word is in quotes to prevent synonyms from being search?I knew this was in the title of the book).

Another technique I tried, although it was slow going, was searching for diaries and letters written at the time. Again, there's no shortage of such material, but it's slow going to extract weather information from such texts. People weren't especially worried about the weather until it started to rain, so they didn't write much about it. (By the way, most of the letters are absolutely fascinating when you start to see the discrepancies between the official reports of what happened vs. individual's eye witness reports. I'm often skeptical about eye witness testimony, but the variance between the number of dead officially reported and the number of dead bodies observed is pretty striking. The city seems to have massively underreported the casualty rate.)

Additional Reading

There's really a huge amount of stuff out there about the earthquake and fire. Many of the stories are tragic, some heroic, and some are just unbelievable. (Some authors believe that the majority of damage to the city was caused by ill-advised attempts to create firebreaks by dynamiting barriers. This worked, except when they blew up a distillery, which caused massive explosions and sent firebrands all over the place.) Here are three that I found especially interesting.

SF Chronicle article about our hero, Alexander McAdie

SF Virtual Museum articles (they have a great wealth of diary and oral histories about the disaster).

Letter from President Theodore Roosevelt to Congress asked for the Department of War to assist in supplying San Francisco with much needed relief. (And, interestingly, a reply from Wm. H. Taft, who became president following Roosevelt, and a few quick notes from General Funston, for whom Fort Funston in San Francisco is named.)

Postscript

The images below are from a set of stereoscopic images I found while stopping in a library in Point Arena, CA, a fairly small and rural town about 100 miles north of San Francisco. I had an hour or so to hang out in the downtown area, so I wandered into the library and discovered a pile of old stereoscope images just sitting out on a display case. So far as I know, these have never been published online before. (Sorry about the relatively low-res, but these were captured with my cellphone camera, which was the only device I had available at the time!)

This was taken on California St in downtown. The car might have been staged, but the background buildings are clearly completely destroyed.

This scene is from Fort Mason, one of the major refugee sites for survivors. The Army supplied tents and a thriving mini-city lasted for months afterwards.

Search On!

Wednesday Search Challenge (December 21, 2011) Answer: Earthquake Weather in San Francisco | SearchReSearch


Daniel M. Russell studies the way people search and research?an anthropologist of search, if you will. You can read more from Russell on his SearchReSearch blog, and stay tuned for his weekly challenges (and answers) here on Lifehacker.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/h4ov_m4EVug/answer-earthquake-weather-in-san-francisco

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

Rambus, Broadcom sign licensing deal, agree to share toys

It never hurts to stop arguing, hug it out and agree on a patent licensing deal. Today, Rambus -- which has a history of litigating against chip makers it feels are have violated its intellectual property rights and filed a complaint against Broadcom to the International Trade Commission in 2010 -- signed a licensing deal that resolved previous claims for Broadcom's technology. In the statement, Rambus said it will license its patent for integrated circuits used in chips made by Broadcom. The company did not disclose any financial details related to the deal, or which technology would be part of the agreement, though Broadcom is typically renowned for its wireless networking chips which are often found in WiFi, Bluetooth and cellular-capable devices. In other news, Rambus and Broadcom have added each other as Xbox Live friends and gotten to level 36 in Modern Warfare 3 co-op gameplay.

Rambus, Broadcom sign licensing deal, agree to share toys originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Dec 2011 02:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IVPNews: RT @IVNewsday: Calexico Residents, lets take a jolly look back at your Downtown Christmas Parade! http://t.co/Dz598lT9

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Movermike: Mexico Calling: Medicare Pre-Planning For Expats In Mexico http://t.co/xsiz04d1

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US natural gas supplies shrank last week (AP)

NEW YORK ? The nation's natural gas supplies fell last week, the government said Thursday.

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas in storage shrank by 100 billion cubic feet to 3.629 trillion cubic feet for the week ended Dec. 16.

Analysts expected a decline of 99 billion to 103 billion cubic feet, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

The inventory level was 11.9 percent above the five-year average of 3.242 trillion cubic feet, and 6.9 percent above last year's level of 3.394 trillion cubic feet, according to government data.

Natural gas futures fell 4 cents to $3.112 per 1,000 cubic feet in New York.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111222/ap_on_bi_ge/us_natural_gas_storage

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Monday, December 19, 2011

Rapper Slim Dunkin slain in Atlanta music studio (AP)

ATLANTA ? Atlanta police say the rapper Slim Dunkin has been gunned down in a city music studio as he prepared to record a video.

Police Maj. Keith Meadows said the performer, whose real name is Mario Hamilton, was fatally shot in the chest after getting into an argument with another individual.

"It appears the victim was scheduled to do a photo shoot," Meadows told The Associated Press. "Before the video shoot took place, it appears the victim and suspect got involved in a verbal altercation. We don't know what that altercation was about."

"The suspect produced a weapon, discharged that handgun one time, striking the victim in the chest," Meadows said.

The performer was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Meadows said police have not been able to identify the shooter. He said 13 to 20 people were in the small office-type building at the time of the shooting, which took place around 5:30 p.m., but they were in different places.

"We've questioned a number of witnesses inside the recording studio at this time." Meadows said.

Police have not recovered the handgun that was used.

"Right now we're just trying to....identify who may have seen what, really just trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together," he said. "It seems everybody witnessed something very different. We're just trying to go back and make sense of everything."

Meadows said the victim was in his early 20s and resided in the Atlanta area.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111217/ap_on_en_mu/us_rapper_shot_music_studio

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Sunday, December 18, 2011

Prohibition: India's and America's shared lessons in fight against alcohol

This week's death toll of more than 100 in the Indian state of West Bengal point to India's well-intentioned motives but mixed record in restricting the sale of alcohol.

When more than 100 Indians died after consuming illegal alcohol in the state of West Bengal, the first thing that the state governor promised to do was to crack down on the people who produce the liquor.

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"I want to take strong action against those manufacturing and selling illegal liquor," West Bengal?s chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, said, according to Press Trust of India. "But this is a social problem also, and this has to be dealt with socially also along with action."

Seven suspected bootleggers have been arrested, but in a country where such illegal businesses number in the hundreds in most urban areas, this is at best a tentative step.

It?s an understandable suggestion for India, whose founding father, Mohandas Gandhi, considered alcohol to be ?death to the soul.?

But given the history of prohibition in the United States, it?s clear that crackdowns on alcohol production and consumption can often be counterproductive. Indeed, a compelling case can be made that the same restrictive laws that India uses to control the supply and sale of alcohol almost inevitably created the conditions in which an illegal alcohol industry would thrive, and put thousands of lives at risk.

As an American reporter based in India in the early part of the last decade, I could see interesting parallels between the histories of India and the United States, at least when it came to alcohol.

As in India, the original motive for banning the sale of alcohol in the United States was humanitarian. Evangelical Christians, and a growing number of female activists like the hatchet-carrying Carrie Nation, worried ? quite rightly, it turns out ? that many families were being driven into poverty as working-class men spent their weekly paychecks at the pub and left their families to starve. Ban alcohol, the Prohibitionists argued, and you eliminate most of America?s social scourges.

But when Prohibition ruled the land, from 1920 to 1933, it didn?t stop people from drinking. It stopped them from drinking in public. Criminal syndicates smuggled alcohol into the country and sold it in speak-easy pubs, often under the winking eye of corrupt authorities. Those who lived away from cities, especially those who had access to grain, sugar, water, and a few copper kettles, simply made their own. American folk musicians wrote countless songs to deride Prohibition, but it was probably the realization of lost tax revenues that eventually caused the US Congress to repeal prohibition in 1933.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/6Vkz7n_9kgs/Prohibition-India-s-and-America-s-shared-lessons-in-fight-against-alcohol

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Movie review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo shines, thanks to unrelenting darkness (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Bahrain police crack down on highway protest (AP)

MANAMA, Bahrain ? Bahraini security forces used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse hundreds of opposition supporters attempting to protest alongside a highway leading to the island kingdom's capital Thursday.

The clashes follow 10 months of unrest between Bahrain's Sunni monarchy and an opposition movement led by the country's majority Shiites. They came during a visit by the U.S. State Department's top human rights envoy, who expressed concern about the government's use of tear gas and other tough tactics against protesters.

Thursday's clashes erupted near the town of Diraz and other opposition stronghold villages west of the capital, Manama. Riot police were seen chasing protesters away from entrances to the key highway and back into the largely Shiite communities that line the road.

Online activists have issued calls on Twitter and other social media for protesters to occupy the highway, seeking to maintain momentum for protests in the strategically important Gulf nation that hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

Hundreds of protesters, some waving red and white Bahraini flags, were seen along the side of the highway when the clashes broke out in the afternoon.

Witnesses described a heavy police presence in the area ahead of the protest, with security forces dressed in riot gear and helicopters hovering low overhead.

The highway connects a string of largely Shiite villages west of Manama. It leads to a junction that is roughly half a kilometer (a quarter of a mile) south of Manama's Pearl Square, where this year's uprising originated. Government forces evicted protesters and tore down the pearl sculpture that marked the site in March.

The now heavily guarded square holds great symbolic value for the opposition movement, and protesters have repeatedly tried to retake it.

The clashes erupted during a visit by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner, head of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.

In prepared remarks to reporters, he praised the king for taking steps to implement reforms recommended in a report last month that outlined human rights abuses carried out by the government. He called on both the government and protesters to refrain from violence.

Posner urged the government to do more.

He cited "the need for tangible action on several urgent issues," including reinstating workers unfairly dismissed from their jobs. He also raised concerns about court cases involving doctors and others that he said appear to be based at least in part on their criticism of the government, as well as proposed media laws that could stifle political debate.

Washington also remains concerned about the government's "excessive use of force, including tear gas, in response to ongoing street protests," he said.

More than 35 people have died in clashes and protest-related violence since February, inspired by other Arab Spring revolts. Bahrain's protests are the largest and most sustained to have hit the Arab monarchies and sheikdoms that line the Persian Gulf.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_bahrain

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Friday, December 16, 2011

Google donating $11.5M to fight modern slavery (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO ? Tech giant Google announced Wednesday it is donating $11.5 million to several coalitions fighting to end the modern-day slavery of some 27 million people around the world.

In what is believed to be the largest-ever corporate grant devoted to the advocacy, intervention and rescue of people being held, forced to work or provide sex against their will, Google said it chose organizations with proven records in combating slavery.

"Many people are surprised to learn there are more people trapped in slavery today than any time in history," said Jacquelline Fuller, director of charitable giving and advocacy for Google. "The good news is that there are solutions."

The Washington-based International Justice Mission, a human rights organization that works globally to rescue victims of slavery and sexual exploitation, was chosen by Google to lead the efforts.

It will partner with Polaris Project and Slavery Footprint and a handful of smaller organizations for the multi-year effort to rescue the enslaved, push for better infrastructure and resources for anti-slavery enforcement agencies overseas, as well as raise awareness here in the United States and help countries draft anti-slavery legislation.

"Each year we focus some of our annual giving on meeting direct human need," Fuller said. "Google chose to spotlight the issue of slavery this year because there is nothing more fundamental than freedom."

Gary A. Haugen, president of the International Justice Mission, said the coalition would focus on three initiatives: A $3.5 million intervention project to fight forced labor in India; a $4.5 million advocacy campaign in India to educate and protect the vulnerable; and a $1.8 million plan to mobilize Americans on behalf of the millions currently at risk of slavery or waiting for rescue around the world.

The remaining $1.7 million will go to several smaller organizations working to combat slavery.

"It's hard for most Americans to believe that slavery and human trafficking are still massive problems in our world," said Haugen. "Google's support now makes it possible for IJM to join forces with two other leading organizations so we can bring to bear our unique strengths in a united front."

Those leading the U.S. efforts will meet in Washington on Wednesday to kick off the joint initiative. The project will focus on improved legislation to protect vulnerable children and adults in the United States, as well as a push for more accountability and transparency in the U.S. supply chain by retailers and manufacturers to make sure their products are "slave-free."

The trafficking of women for the sex trade is common in big American cities. Some illegal immigrants find themselves forced to work in sweatshops, in private homes as domestic servants or on farms without pay under the threat of deportation.

The new effort will launch new initiatives that ordinary Americans can take to help abolish modern-day slavery, such as understanding how their own clothing or smartphones might contain fabrics or components manufactured by forced labor.

"Whether it's by calling the national human trafficking hotline, sending a letter to their senator, or using online advocacy tools, millions of Americans will be able to use their voices to ensure that ending this problem becomes a top priority," said Bradley Myles, executive director of Polaris Project.

Google.org ? the philanthropy arm of the Silicon Valley firm ? announced the anti-slavery effort as part of its $40 million in end-of-year giving that brings its charitable donations to more than $100 million in 2011. The grants will also support science, technology, engineering and math education; girls' education in the developing world; and the use of technology for social good.

Justin Dillon, the founder of Slavery Footprint, said the Google grant would allow the movement to move from "anecdote and emotion," to tangible action that could make a dent in history.

"Having a company like Google recognize the value of our work marks a major turning point for the anti-slavery movement," said Dillon, whose nonprofit gives consumers some tools to determine whether slaves were used in the making of their goods and teaches them to use social media to sound off about slavery and engage with corporations about their supply chains.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111214/ap_on_hi_te/us_google_anti_slavery_grant

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Full ban on driver calls could be tough to enforce (AP)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. ? A driver in the next lane is moving his lips. Is he on a hands-free cellphone? Talking to someone in the car? To himself? Singing along to the radio?

If lawmakers follow the advice of a federal board, police officers will have to start figuring that out ? somehow.

The National Transportation Safety Board said this week that drivers should not only be barred from using hand-held cellphones, as they are in several states, but also from using hands-free devices. No more "Sorry, I'm stuck in traffic" calls, or virtually any other cellphone chatter behind the wheel.

Though no state has yet implemented such restrictive rules, the NTSB's recommendations carry weight that could place such language into future laws, or motivate the federal government to cut funding to states that don't follow suit.

Many of the men and women patrolling the nation's streets and highways wonder how they would sort the criminally chatty from the legally chatty.

"It would be almost impossible to determine if someone was talking on a phone or exercising their vocal cords," said Capt. Donald Melanson of the West Hartford, Conn., police department, which took part in a national pilot program aimed at cracking down on drivers' cellphone use. "That would be much more difficult to enforce, almost to the point where it would be impossible."

Officer Tom Nichols of the Port St. Lucie, Fla., police said a law written like the NTSB suggests would be difficult to enforce because so many variables would be at play.

"If you identify someone who has a hands-free set hooked up to their ear that doesn't mean they are talking on the phone," he said. "They could be talking to a passenger. They could be talking to a child in the back. They could be singing."

Police could end up turning to technology for help. They might even end up with the cellphone equivalent of a radar speed gun.

Fred Mannering, a Purdue University civil engineering professor who is associate director of the Center for Road Safety, said that since all cellphones emit signals, a simple Bluetooth detection device could spot them.

Computers are already common in patrol cars, and Mannering said a relatively cheap add-on could fit them to track cellphone signals.

"It would be really easy for police to have a computer on board and pick up those signals," Mannering said, "but it is sort of Big Brother."

The NTSB's proposal, announced Tuesday as a unanimous recommendation of its five-member board, urges all states to impose total bans except for emergencies. It cited deadly crashes caused by distracted drivers across the country, and noted that many studies have shown that hands-free cellphones are often as unsafe as hand-held devices.

The recommendation poses an astounding number of questions. What about chauffeurs and traveling salesmen who spend their entire day on the road? And roadside Amber Alert and Silver Alert notifications that implore drivers to call in if they spot a specific vehicle? What comes of phone lines dedicated to those "How's My Driving?" signs on trucks? How will you let someone know you're stuck in traffic?

Joe Schwieterman, a DePaul University professor who studies people's use of technology while traveling, said he can't envision a law so restrictive ever hitting the books because phone use has become commonplace for drivers. He called such an approach "draconian" and said that if such a law were passed, the public would despise it as "imperial overreach," then ignore it.

"It's a little like speeding laws where it will become just culturally acceptable to violate," he said. He said a no-call law would be followed only if violations carried stiff penalties like those for drunken driving.

Lewis Katz, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University, said a nationwide ban on using cellphones while driving would be wildly unpopular, and likely the target of legal challenges. But he believed such a law, and the methods police might use to enforce it, ultimately would be deemed as constitutional as seatbelt enforcement.

"I'm sure that it would be challenged on all sorts of constitutional grounds, including free speech," he said in a phone call from his car. "But it seems to me that it doesn't in any way infringe on any constitutional rights. It's a simple safety issue."

Whether the NTSB's recommendations will motivate decision-makers remains to be seen, but they have certainly caught their attention.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who has made combating distracted driving the signature issue of his tenure, stopped short of an endorsement. His department is separate from the NTSB.

"My focus is going to be on preaching to people: Take personal responsibility. Put your cellphone and your texting device in the glove compartment when you get behind the wheel of a car," LaHood told reporters at a news conference in Chicago. "You can't drive safely when you have your hand on a cellphone and are trying to drive a 4,000- 5,000 pound vehicle."

Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon, a Republican, said he was wary. His state is among those that have resisted passing laws restricting drivers' cellphone use.

Cannon said future technological advances may prove more effective than legislation at addressing driver distraction issues. As an example, he cited his new iPhone, which can make phone calls and send text messages via voice command.

"In these attempts to try and prevent every bad thing from happening," he said, "it's all too easy to overly restrict personal freedoms and individual rights and responsibilities."

Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, the top law enforcement official in Palm Beach County, Fla., said that if lawmakers take the NTSB's suggestions to heart, they should address all manner of distracted driving.

"I see women putting makeup on. I see a guy with an electric shaver. I see one woman with a newspaper. I see a guy with a dog in his hands. All of those are worse than texting," he said.

Monique Bond, a spokeswoman for the Illinois State Police, said training would be key to enforcing any ban. Officers are already looking for unbuckled seat belts and swerving drivers; they'd have to add to their mental checklists.

"It's something that is not insurmountable," Bond said. "How you're going to spot it, or how you're going to look for it ? you have to acclimate the troops and acclimate the operations as to how to do this."

Chief Walter McNeil of Quincy, Fla., president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, said enforcement of a total ban would be difficult, but that distracted driving needs to be addressed.

"We certainly need to deal with the overall problem with distracted drivers, and getting some level of uniformity in how we enforce that would be helpful," he said.

___

Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Conn., contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_hi_te/us_drivers_cellphone_enforcement

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