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(We added to the top of this post at 2:08 p.m. ET.)
There was high drama Thursday on the floor of the Senate as Democrats significantly changed the way business in the chamber is done.
In what Republicans cast as a "power grab" but Democrats defended as a way to break gridlock, the Senate's rules were changed to make it much more difficult for a minority of the members to hold up action on key presidential nominees.
Voting 52-48 along almost strictly along party lines, the OK was given to new rules that mean it takes just a simple majority — 51 votes when all 100 senators are present — to cut off debate and move ahead on executive branch and judicial nominations (other than those to the Supreme Court). Previously, it took a "supermajority" — 60 or more votes — to move forward.
As NPR's Brian Naylor says, the move pushed through by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., "was called the nuclear option because it has the potential to blow up already contentious relations between Republicans and Democrats in Congress."
After the vote Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who was part of a "gang of 14" that headed off a Republican attempt at a similar change in the rules a decade ago, said Democrats have now "by changing the rules by a majority have shown there are no rules in the Senate." Reid, he said, will be known for breaking "140 years of tradition."
Reid, though, said during the day's debate that "the need for change is obvious." Republicans, he said, had turned "advise and consent" into "deny and obstruct" as they blocked Obama's nominees.
Just after 2 p.m. ET, President Obama praised the rules change. Republicans, he said, had been engaging in an "unprecedented pattern of obstruction" by holding up his judicial and executive branch nominees. "A majority of senators believe as I believe," he added, that "enough is enough."
Senators, the president added, should vote their consciences — "but they should vote ... that's what they're there to do."
An earlier update and our original post, with more background, follow.
Update at 12:36 p.m. ET: By a 52-48 vote the Senate on Thursday changed its rules to make it much more difficult for a minority party to block key presidential nominees.
Deploying the so-called nuclear option to dramatically alter the way business is done, Democrats successfully pushed through a landmark change. Going forward, they will need just a simple majority vote — 51 or more — to cut off Republican efforts to hold up President Obama's choices for executive branches and all federal benches other than the Supreme Court.
Our original post:
The debate has begun on the floor of the Senate over whether Majority Leader Harry Reid and his fellow Democrats can exercise the so-called nuclear option. That's the catchy name for a change in the Senate's rules that would make it much harder for Republicans to filibuster many of President Obama's nominees — most notably those he chooses for seats on federal courts.
Need some background on it? Check this It's All Politics post by NPR's David Welna. Basically, Democrats are proposing that judicial nominations (except those for the Supreme Court) could no longer be blocked if 40 or more senators vote to hold up action. Instead, the rules would be changed to require a majority vote before action could be blocked.
To put it another way, as The Associated Press reminds readers, under the rules Democrats want to change it takes 60 or more votes to cut off debate and move ahead on nominees. At this time, Democrats hold 53 of the chamber's seats and usually get the support of the Senate's two independents. So, if the 45 Republicans hold together, they can block action — with five votes to spare.
Already this morning, Reid has made the case for changing the rules by accusing Republicans of turning "advise and consent" into "deny and obstruct" as they block Obama's nominees.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has responded by saying that Democrats promised they would not try to change the rules involving judicial nominations.
Saying that Democrats are trying to wage a "fake fight over judges" to take attention away from problems plaguing the Affordable Care Act, McConnell said the other party misled Republicans. Democrats might just as well have said "if you like the rules of the Senate, you can keep them," McConnell quipped — a not-so-subtle reminder of President Obama's pledge to Americans that if they liked their health care plans, they could keep them.
C-SPAN is streaming the action here.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Joint Effects of Colorectal Cancer Susceptibility Loci, Circulating 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Risk of Colorectal Cancer
(Public Library of Science, 2014)
Background: Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several SNPs associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) susceptibility. Vitamin D is also inversely associated with CRC risk. Methods: We examined main and ...

subset: commoncrawl


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As a first time mother, there are a lot of things you need for a new baby. While you can certainly get plenty of stuff from your friends and family members who have already had children, there are some things that should be bought new. Your baby shower will probably set you up with a bunch of essentials and some nonessentials that you'll still get plenty of use out of. But not all baby and pregnancy products are useful. Here are 10 of the silliest, most ridiculous baby products on the market that you may want to avoid.
This is not a joke. There are actually fans on the market that are made specifically to help prevent diaper rash. Yes, extra moisture can cause diaper rash and the wipes you use on your baby's bottom are moist, but chances are you don't need a handheld fan to speed up the drying process. Just wait a few seconds for the area to dry before you put the diaper back on or use a little bit of powder to soak up any wetness. If you still like the idea and think it's valid, you could always just hold your baby's bum in front of a regular household fan for a few seconds instead of shelling out the cash for one of these.
2. Over-the-top baby shoes
Obviously, babies don't walk, so it should go without saying that they don't really need shoes, right? Then why are there so many ridiculous pairs of infant footwear on the market, from sneakers to flip-flops? Your baby will outgrow a pair of Jordans in a couple of months, so why spend the money? Trying to get your baby's feet to stay in a pair of strap-on flip-flops is going to be a pain in the butt – most babies probably won't like the feeling of a thong in between their toes. Skip the fancy footwear and stock up on socks or booties until your baby starts putting his or her feet on the ground.
3. Baby hair
They're (supposedly) meant to be jokes, but you can actually buy things like baby bangs and baby toupees. All they're really doing is making your baby look ridiculous and giving you a laugh – there's no need to buy one – stick to silly hats or sunglasses.
4. Joke pacifiers
Yeah, your baby might look funny with a pacifier in the shape of a mustache, lips, redneck teeth or vampire fangs. But do you really want him or her to be seen out and about wearing one of those things? People may question your parenting style if you make your baby the source of public ridicule on a regular basis! There are plenty of better ways to have fun with your little one.
5. Helmets
Some infants and toddlers have medical conditions that do require extra precautions like helmets, but if your baby isn't one of them, having him or her wear a helmet is a little excessive. We all want to protect our kids, but there's a difference between being watchful and being overprotective. Just keep an eye on your baby when he or she is learning to walk and baby-proof your house to remove sharp corners on furniture.
6. Outrageously expensive strollers
To get from one place to another, you don't need to put your baby into a $2,000 stroller. Some might look sleeker and have some additional features like built-in umbrellas, but do you really want to spend so much money on something so mundane? Do yourself and your child a favor and put that money into a college fund or something instead of dishing it out for a product you're only going to use for a few years.
7. The iPotty
Most people would agree that giving an iPad to a 2-year-old is an accident waiting to happen, right? So why is there such a thing as the iPotty? It's basically a training toilet with an attached holder for an iPad, presumably so children can play and have fun while they're sitting on the toilet. However, do you really think your child will fall for this? Do you actually want to put your iPad anywhere near your child's pee? Doubt it.
8. The Baby Keeper
It's sometimes a hassle to go to the bathroom when you have an infant in tow, but is it annoying enough to make you want to hang your child up on the door of the stall while you do your business? Probably not, but the Baby Keeper still exists. It's a harness that you put your baby in that has two hooks at the top that go over the stall door. No. Just don't.
9. Weeblock
Yes, it's unfortunate when your baby boy pees while he's lying on the changing table without a diaper, but this product is more unfortunate. It's just a plastic cup that you use to block any potential pee streams while you're changing your baby's diaper. Retailing for about $13, you can buy a whole lot of plastic cups at the supermarket for much less.
10. Zaky Infant Pillow
Nothing's creepier than this infant pillow. It's shaped like two disembodied hands that prop your baby up while he or she is sleeping. If it doesn't give your baby nightmares, it might give you nightmares. There are other ways to keep your baby in place.


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From Openmoko
Contents |
- There could be a description of Openmoko/Neo1973 features
- There could be a short story about what Openmoko/the Neo1973 does different:
- e.g.:
After leaving work your Neo's GPS automatically switches your Alarm Profile from Silent to Loud and guides you to the next gas station. At home, your Neo automatically deploys its WiFi functionality, retrieves your email (free of charge) and activates voice over ip capabilities (free of charge).
And so on...
- e.g.:
Neo: Hi, I'm a Neo. iPhone: And I'm an iPhone. * iPhone looks on a big map and tries to orientate himself Neo: What are you doing? iPhone: I try to locate myself by using Google Maps. Neo: Oh, that doesn't seem to be very exciting. I use GPS for that kind of stuff. Works automatically. iPhone: GPS, yeah? Neo: Yes. Oh, wait, I'm entering the cinema. I think, it's better for me, to switch to stand-by now. See you after the movie. iPhone: Oh, bye. * Neo leaves, iPhone looks on the map again. iPhone: Oh, here we are! Finally...
- e.g.:
Scene: Completely blank white background. Two people enter the frame. Moko: Hi, I'm an Openmoko iPhone: And I'm an iPhone * Openmoko looks like he's enjoying himself iPhone: What are you doing? Moko: Oh, I just downloaded this great new game I came across. Want to try it? iPhone: I, er, I can't play new games. I've got this great game of solitaire, though! Moko: That's a shame. Nothing at all? iPhone: Well, I can play games off the web. Some of them. Want a game of bejeweled? Moko: ...thanks, no. I'm fine.
- There should be some pre-composed basic information that can be copy'n'pasted into one's Myspace/Facebook/whatever/-profile.
- There should be some pre-composed advanced information for press/blogs/mobile service providers
Printed Advertisement
Adam Krikstone did some nice Openmoko video ads: (youtube)
Sound empathy / Jingle
- There should be some kind of jingle for Openmoko, just like this "Hello Moto" thing from Motorola
- Number one (suggestions/whishes? firstname.lastname@example.com Topic: sth. with Openmoko)
- Number two (firstname.lastname@example.com)
Thoughts, Notions
General Ideas
- What is advertised?
- If we advertise a phone by claiming it can do everything maybe no one will buy it.
- Question: Who is supposed to buy this phone?
- Average Phone User probably only wants a phone to make calls. Why would he buy an opensource linux phone with additional command line? We need reasons for him to buy a phone running Openmoko:
- Easy to use (not implemented though ;-)
- Rich and powerfull text input methods
- MS Outlook/whatever Sync
- Music and video playing capabilities (not fully implemented?)
- (please add)
- Advanced Phone User: won't be hard to persuade him. As we likely are all advanced phone users it will be easy to find reasons/features for him to buy this phone:
- GPS-based profiles
- Seamless GPS-based GSM/WiFi/VoIP-switching
- NFS file sync (maybe possible)
- (please add)
- Technophobe Phone User really needs some reasons for this phone:
- Really easy to use (really not implemented ;-)
- Flashy UI look
- (please add)
- Businesses/Government (Entities willing to roll their own code in-house to get the functionality they desire from a smart-phone)
Further Ideas
Something that came to me passing some mobile service provider's outlet today. This should be done when GTA_02 is available and software running.
A guy walks into a mobile service provider's outlet or approached by the outlet's staff. The guy asks the clerk about their phones and ends up showing him his Neo. He explains him the Neo's features that stand unrivaled to any of the mobile service provider's offered phones and eventually leaves him completly flabbergasted and pondering about the meaning of life and mobile connectivity/whatever
--Minime 16:58, 7 July 2007 (CEST)
A dude dressed in t-shirt and jeans (deja-vu?), walks through a crowded lane. Everyone except him are dressed in prison clothes and march in the opposite direction with their "closed" phones, some of the guys look at this "free" man and stare. To add to the effect we play an ambient techno music and everything is white in colour. The man walks in front of the camera, at that moment, gets a call, smiles and says "Hello World...", We then fade into the "Free your phone" and "Openmoko" thingy as seen in the rocking youtube videos.
Source: http://lists.openmoko.org/pipermail/community/2007-July/007551.html
"The Phone" for "The Matrix" tm. "The One Phone" for Mddle-earth. "The Next Generation Phone" for "Star Trek" tm conventions. "The True Phone" for religious occasions. "The Liberated Phone"
"The Phone with the only force" (wheel of time) "The diy phone" (steampunk scene) "The ZAT'NI'KATEL'PHONE" (stargate)
Unleash your phone.
"The Open Phone" "Our Phone" "The Human Phone" (ok, sounds a bit like Ubuntu) "Free your Phone" (wich obviously is not the same as "The free phone". It sounds good, and is already used in the youtube ads) "More then a Phone" "Phone++" "The Phone from people to people" "The Freedom Phone" "Teh ub3rz h4ck70r7 Ph0n3!!11oneeleven"
Everyone wants to be an individual these days. How about something like:
"The individual phone." "_Your_ phone." "Express yourself!" "Express yourphone!" "It's yours." "It's in your hands." "It's up to you." "Expand your Mind!" "Communicate yourself!"
Wordplays are very good too.
"Openmoko - If you call for more." "Openmoko and you will call attention." "Openmoko - Don't call for help." "Openmoko - With a phone jack."
Apparently stupid statements call attention too, I think.
"It's mobile" "_You_ can change the battery." "You can simply buy it."
See: Testimonials
Controversial Issues
- We need to be careful about using copyrighted material (e.g. youtube)
- Other legal issues...?
- Be aware of what we are advertising: What functions does Openmoko currently feature, what is planned and what not? Are functions advertised protected by patents?
- What is the community's goal in advertising?
- Are we advertising Openmoko?
- Are we advertising the Neo1973? And if so, is this our job? The Neo1973 is after all, a commerical product.
Word of mouth
Or: the phone so cool that you learn about it via word of mouth, as with most open software things, and not via advertising.
Of course you will still have to prove that your grandparents can use it, daily, before you promote it, advertising or not.


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Watch the Most Unbelievable 3-Point Shooting Display Ever
There are sharp shooters and then there are razor sharp shooters.
In a display of 3-point shooting accuracy that makes Stephen Curry look like Helen Keller, Laurie Koehn sank a mind-boggling 132 of 135 triples in a five-minute span.
Five minutes! That's longer than the time it took to realize the last 'Die Hard' was going to be a major disappointment.
Koehn used to play for the Kansas State women's basketball team and left school as the NCAA's all-time leader in trifectas made among women. She went on to play in the WNBA, spending last season with the Atlanta Dream.
"I've made 127 threes in a row before and I've been over 100 in a row numerous times," Kohen said. "The thing that was unique about that drill is I've never tried to do it with speed before. When I've done it before, I'd be in a rhythm. This drill takes away your rhythm and fatigues your arms a lot more than you would think."
Koehn tried nailing as many three-point shots as possible in a five-minute stretch a couple times before, but she struggled to only hit 115 and then 118 before she made like Stella and got her groove back by netting 132.
Koehn, who says she's nailed 100 three point shots in a row several times before, doesn't plan to play in the WNBA this season, although she's eyeing the possibility of playing in Australia, which is really just America's way of repaying the good people Down Under for giving us the music of Men at Work.
You're welcome.


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See How Much Sugar is in Soda, Juice, Sports Drinks, and Energy Drinks
The Nutrition Source has prepared a handy guide to the amount of sugar and calories in soda, juice, sports drinks, and other popular beverages, The front of the guide graphically depicts the number of teaspoons of sugar found in various drinks. The back of the guide has a more comprehensive list of common beverages and their sugar and calorie content. The guide includes beverages that are sweetened with added sugars, as well as beverages that are naturally high in sugar, such as juice. It does not include "diet" drinks that are partly or entirely sweetened with artificial sweeteners or stevia (a natural calorie-free sweetener). As you review the guide, keep the following in mind:
- The Nutrition Source and the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health do not endorse specific brands, and the inclusion of brand-name beverages on this list does not constitute an endorsement.
- Drinks that fall in the red category should be drunk infrequently and sparingly, if at all. These beverages have much more than 12 grams of sugar in a 12 ounce serving, and some have upwards of 40 grams of sugar—equivalent to about 10 teaspoons of sugar—and 200 or more calories in a 12-ounce serving.
- Drinks that fall in the yellow category have up to one gram of sugar per ounce, or 12 grams of sugar in 12 ounces. That's about 70 percent less sugar than a typical soft drink. If drunk in moderation, these slightly sweet drinks are much better choices than high-sugar drinks, but don't overdo it. Think of them as an occasional treat, not a daily source of hydration. There are relatively few drinks on the market that fall into the yellow category—and we believe .
- The best-choice beverages are those that fall in the green category—drinks that have little or no sugar added to them, such as water, sparkling water, coffee, or tea.
- Beverage manufacturers may have reformulated their products since we prepared this list in April 2009, or may have come out with new products. So use the beverage manufacturer's websites as the best source of information on drink nutrient content and new beverages.
*The yellow category on page 2 of this handout also includes a few beverages that have up to 14 grams of sugar per 12 ounces, because these drinks are very close to the 1 gram per ounce threshold and have much less sugar than a typical soft drink.
Learn how much sugar is in soda and other beverages:
Download How Sweet Is It? (Color
) -
Download How Sweet Is It? (Black and white
Terms of Use
The contents of this website are for educational purposes and are not intended to offer personal medical advice. You should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The Nutrition Source does not recommend or endorse any products.


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You will receive a similar trailer within a few days of your wedding in Connecticut so you can share a preview of your film with your family & friends while you're still on your honeymoon.
Are you looking for a different wedding trailer for your wedding in CT? Email us now and we'll get back to you with a trailer of your choice. With over 30 years experience, we have filmed at every major wedding venue in CT.
"Fran did a fantastic job capturing ourwedding on video! He was very low-key and easygoing, and he was extremely unobtrusive, to the point that his presence was barely noticeable a lot of the time. Somehow, though, he and his associate managed to get SO much on video! The highlight video is edited so well, and the music he chose really goes well with the footage and the general mood of the content."
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ECPI University Degree Frames
How Others Framed Their ECPI Diploma
The East Coast Polytechnic Institute University Diploma Frames
Congratulations ECPI University grads! Are you searching for a memorable gift idea this graduation or holiday season for a recent ECPI grad or a loyal alumni? Or would you like to create a professional display for your diploma in your own office or home? Our official ECPI University diploma frames and degree frames are the perfect way to preserve that hard-earned diploma and display your ECPI pride. Each of our frames is handcrafted in the USA and custom-sized specifically for the official ECPI University diploma.
Select a special diploma frame for your office or home, or choose a ECPI University gift from the selection shown above. Or, you may prefer to customize any one of our ECPI diploma frames using our easy online frame designer tool. Whether you are shopping for yourself or another ECPI University grad, we guarantee you will love our ECPI diploma frames. Need a gift now? Our eGift Cards are available for immediate delivery, so they are a perfect gift option for ECPI University Graduation.


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Ticker-Tape Sure Sounds Better Than 'Recycled Unprinted Newspaper' Parade
Ah, the ticker-tape parade.
A celebration of heroes. A welcome home for champions. An outpouring of joy.
And since the late '60s, a ticker-tapeless affair.
As the NFL champion New York Giants parade Broadway's Canyon of Heroes today in the 200th-or-so "ticker-tape parade," let's take a moment to consider just what is floating down from buildings above.
The tradition of showering such parades with confetti began in 1866, The Star-Ledger reports, at the celebration of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. It was "imps of office boys" who apparently got the idea, says The New York Times, that it would be wonderful to "unreel the spools of tape that record the fateful messages of the 'ticker.' In a moment the air was white with curling streamers."
Of course, by the end of the '60s the ticker was going the way of the buggy whip. So since then, it's been other kinds of paper that have been flittering down from above.
According to our friends at WNYC, much of it today was "recycled unprinted newspaper" donated by Atlas Materials and Packaging in Red Hook, N.J., "which often uses the paper for pet bedding."
The New Yorker adds that the city's Downtown Alliance, "makes deliveries of paper shreddings to lower Broadway, in lieu of ticker tape, which has been obsolete since the sixties."
By the time the Giants' parade is over, there could be about 50 tons of paper on the streets, says a Times Q&A from 2008 (the last time the Giants were so honored).
And it's going to take "about 300 sanitation workers and Alliance workers in total" to clean up after, says WNYC. This being the New York of green-minded Mayor Michael Bloomberg, of course, the plan is to again recycle.
But as we say above, it's still a "ticker-tape parade." And that's a title everyone seems to like.


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Papal Pardon Expected For Butler After Conviction
A painful and damaging chapter in Pope Benedict XVI's papacy closed Saturday with the conviction of his former butler on charges he stole the pontiff's private letters and leaked them to a journalist. But questions remain as to whether anyone else was involved in the plot, and when the pope will pardon his once-trusted aide.
Paolo Gabriele, until recently affectionately dubbed "Paoletto" by his intimate pontifical family, stood stone-faced as Judge Giuseppe Dalla Torre read out the conviction and sentenced him to 18-months in prison for the gravest Vatican security breach in recent memory.
The decision, reached after just two hours of deliberations, capped a remarkable weeklong trial that saw the pope's closest adviser, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, and a half dozen Vatican police officers testify about a betrayal of the pope that exposed the unseemly side of the Catholic Church's governance.
The highest-profile case to come before a court that usually handles 30 cases of petty theft a year ended none too soon: On Sunday, Benedict opens a two-week synod, or meeting of the world's bishops, summoned to Rome to chart the church's future evangelization mission and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council. By putting the embarrassing leaks scandal behind it, the Vatican has removed a major and unwelcome distraction.
Gabriele was accused of stealing the pope's private correspondence and passing it on to journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, whose book revealed the intrigue, petty infighting and allegations of corruption and homosexual liaisons that plague the Vatican's secretive universe.
Gabriele has said he leaked the documents because he felt the pope wasn't being informed of the "evil and corruption" in the Vatican, and that exposing the problems publicly would put the church back on the right track.
In his final appeal to the court Saturday morning, Gabriele insisted he never intended to hurt the church or the pope.
"The thing I feel strongly in me is the conviction that I acted out of exclusive love...I do not feel like a thief."
Paolo Gabriele
"The thing I feel strongly in me is the conviction that I acted out of exclusive love, I would say visceral love, for the church of Christ and its visible head," Gabriele told the court in a steady voice. "I do not feel like a thief."
The sentence was reduced in half to 18 months from three years because of a series of mitigating circumstances, including that Gabriele had no previous record, had acknowledged that he had betrayed the pope and was convinced, "albeit erroneously," that he was doing the right thing, Dalla Torre said.
Gabriele's attorney, Cristiana Arru, said the sentence was "good, balanced" and said she was awaiting the judges' written reasoning before deciding whether to appeal.
Arru said Gabriele would return to his Vatican City apartment to begin serving his sentence. He has been held in house arrest there since July after spending his first two months in a Vatican detention room.
Gabriele was also ordered to pay court costs.
Nuzzi's book, "His Holiness: Pope Benedict XVI's Secret Papers" convulsed the Vatican for months and prompted an unprecedented response, with the pope naming a commission of cardinals to investigate the origin of the leaks alongside Vatican magistrates.
Nevertheless, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the possibility of a papal pardon was "concrete, likely" and that the pope would now study the court file and decide. He said there was no way to know when a papal pardon might be announced.
In something of a novelty in jurisprudence, the pope was both victim and supreme judge in this case. As an absolute monarch of the tiny Vatican City state, Benedict wields full executive, legislative and judicial power. He delegates that power, though, and Lombardi said the trial showed the complete independence of the Vatican judiciary.
In reading the sentence, however, in a courtroom decorated with a photograph of Benedict on the wall opposite the man who betrayed him, Dalla Torre began: "In the name of His Holiness Benedict XVI, gloriously reigning, the tribunal invoking the Holy Trinity pronounces the following sentence ..."
In her closing arguments, Arru insisted that only photocopies, not original documents, were taken from the Apostolic Palace, disputing testimony from the pope's secretary who said he saw original letters in the evidence seized from Gabriele's home.
She admitted Gabriele's gesture was "condemnable," but said it was a misappropriation of documents, not theft, and that as a result Gabriele should serve no time for the lesser crime. She also sharply criticized the Vatican for publicly releasing the indictment, since it included elements of Gabriele's psychiatric evaluation. She said the publication violated her client's dignity.
With the trial over, several questions still remain about the leaks, most importantly whether Gabriele acted alone.
In his testimony this week, Gabriele insisted "in the most absolute way" that he had no accomplices.
But in earlier statements to prosecutors, he named a half dozen people including cardinals and monsignors with whom he spoke and said he received "suggestions" from the general environment in which he lived. He even identified one layman as the source of a segment of Nuzzi's book detailing some conflicts of interest of some Vatican police officers.
But in his closing arguments, prosecutor Nicola Picardi said the investigation turned up no proof of any complicity in Gabriele's plot. "Suggestions aren't proof of the presence of accomplices," he said.
However, Nuzzi wasn't the only one to publish leaked Vatican material this year. Italian newspapers were filled with leaked Vatican memos earlier in the year, many of them concerning the Vatican's efforts to comply with international financial transparency norms. None of those leaks were mentioned in the trial, and based on the contents, they came from sources other than the papal apartment.
There is another suspect in the case: Claudio Sciarpelletti, a 48-year-old computer expert in the Vatican secretariat of state who is charged with aiding and abetting the crime. Police say they found an envelope in his desk that said "Personal P. Gabriele" on it, with documentation inside.
Sciarpelletti has said Gabriele gave him the envelope, and later, that someone identified in court documents as "W" gave it to him to pass onto Gabriele.
Sciarpelletti's lawyer successfully got his case separated out at the start of Gabriele's trial. But attorney Gianluca Benedetti has said his client was innocent and that, regardless, there were no "reserved documents" in the envelope.
This article was originally published on October 06, 2012.
This program aired on October 6, 2012. The audio for this program is not available.


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Borehole Repairs Thembalihle | Borehole Pump Repairs Thembalihle
Welcome to Borehole Pump Repair Thembalihle where we have been providing you with the best in quality borehole pump repairs for over 30 years. Servicing customers in and around Thembalihle we do not leave your property until you are fully satisfied with our services. Our services are designed to make sure that we meet all your requirements no matter what problems you are facing with your borehole pump, we will fix it at competitive rates!
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Junior E. Lee says UGA tops on his 'BUGS' list
Published 8:30 am Friday, October 5, 2012
Junior E. Lee, general manager of the Yarbrough Worldwide Media and Pest Control Company in Greater Garfield, Georgia, just called me with what he said was an exciting development.
It either had to be that he had the latest poll numbers on the presidential race — Junior runs our polling firm, Round or Square Polling, Inc. — or that he had finally gotten the termites out of Arveen Ridley's barn — Junior is also a certified pest control professional.
It was neither. Instead, he was excited about a new ranking of colleges and universities that he had developed while awaiting a shipment of Malathion at Rooster Medlen's store. He planned to call it the Yarbrough Worldwide Media and Pest Control Company's Best Universities Going Survey, or BUGS. (Sometimes, I think Junior has a one-track mind.)
I told Junior that I appreciated his initiative, but I thought U.S. News and World Report had beaten him to the punch. They have just released their annual ranking of colleges and universities and I believed they had cornered the market on this subject. Junior countered that the magazine's rankings were very controversial and that a lot of colleges —particularly those that didn't rate well — refused to accept the numbers. Therefore, he felt this was the perfect time to strike. Junior said it is like the pest control game. You've got to spray for ticks on your schedule, not theirs. That doesn't make a lot of sense, but there is much about the exterminating business that I don't know.
Anyway, Junior said he had been crunching the numbers and thought I ought to know that the University of Georgia keeps coming out on the top of his list. Now, he had my attention. I asked him for more details.
The first criterion for being on the BUGS list is how long you have been around. The University of Georgia is the oldest state-chartered university in the nation. It was chartered in 1785 but it was 1801 before the school graduated any students. Junior said that was because it took students that long to find a place to park.
Another important factor is that even if you have around a long time, you must be in a nice place. Not some place like Massachusetts or Connecticut, where it snows all the time, or in Florida where there are too many mosquitoes. Junior thought that being located in Athens, "The Classic City of the South," was another reason to give the University of Georgia high marks. He said it was like finding a can of Raid sitting next to a bedbug. Location is very important.
I asked Junior what else he considered as other important benchmarks for BUGS. He mentioned that one key component of the survey was whether or not you got goose bumps on a Saturday afternoon in the fall walking under an arch toward a football stadium, seeing folks all excited and yelling "Go, Dawgs! Woof! Woof! Woof!" and hearing the band playing, "Glory, Glory to Ol' Georgia." I told him I thought that was an excellent point to consider in ranking universities, although I thought it a little unfair to all the other colleges and universities in the country that will never know that experience.
Academics are an important part in any ranking of colleges and universities and, of course, the University of Georgia gets an A-plus there. Junior says UGA has had 18 Rhodes Scholars, which is more than all the other schools in the state combined, so that statistic was like shooting beetles in a barrel. (Junior and his pest control jargon again.)
Junior said a university can't be all-work and no-play, and a recreation program was important in a student's development and to the BUGS list. He was impressed that the University of Georgia had gotten several scholar-athletes to give up their Saturdays in the chemistry lab each fall to compete in some friendly competition with scholar-athletes from other schools. Nothing serious he said; just a way for young people to stay out of trouble.
Junior said he had a lot more details but that the UPS truck had just arrived with the Malathion and Rooster Medlen didn't want the stuff sitting around the store. I asked him when we could expect to see his analysis of the presidential campaign. He said as soon as he can get the bugs out of his computer program. That's why he bought the Malathion. I never know when Junior E. Lee is pulling my leg.
You can reach Dick Yarbrough at firstname.lastname@example.com or P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, GA 31139.


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Few teens and preteens ever think about the rules of the road or how to drive safely until they're just about to start driving. For something as important as driving, we want your kids to get a head start. Here are a few ways to provide teens and preteens with the tools and support they need to make responsible choices before they are ready to drive or ride with other young, new drivers.
Hard Facts
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teenagers. Mile for mile, teenagers are three times more likely to be involved in a crash compared with other drivers. Compared with other age groups, teens have the lowest rate of seat belt use. Only 54% of high school students reported always wearing a seat belt when riding with someone else.
Top Tips
- Talk to your kids about passenger safety. We'll make it easy for you. Check out our Countdown2drive program, which helps you put together a passenger agreement and guidelines for pre-teens and teens that are specially tailored for your family.
- Kids are always watching, even when you think they're not. So be a good example. Try to eliminate distractions by not using a cell phone or texting while driving. Use your teen or preteen to read maps and help with finding locations.
- Teach your kids to ride with experienced drivers and never get in the car with someone who has been drinking or doing drugs. Parents must decide what "experienced" means.
- Make it a rule that kids younger than 13 ride like a VIP – in the back. This is the safest place for preteens and younger children to sit.
- When carpooling, make sure you have enough seating positions and booster seats for every child in your car and that kids enter and exit curbside.


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They don't call him Chief for nothing: Eric Church is the top nominee at this year's Academy of Country Music Awards.
The rising country music star has seven nominations for the April 7 awards show in Las Vegas. Hunter Hayes is next with six, followed by Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert at five apiece.
Swift and Lambert are up for the academy's top honor — entertainer of the year — with Lambert's husband, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan. Swift is going for her third straight win in that category.
Shelton and Bryan will co-host the broadcast, to air live on CBS from the MGM Grand.
Along with naming nominees in a series of videos online Wednesday morning, the academy also awarded trophies in the three new artist categories. Jana Kramer is the new female vocalist of the year, Brantley Gilbert is the new male vocalist winner and Florida Georgia Line took new vocal duo or group, as voted by fans. Those three acts will now compete for new artist of the year.
Fans will continue to have a say in that category and entertainer of the year. Fans can vote in those categories beginning March 25 at http://VoteACM.com.
Hayes began an incredible run on the awards show circuit with a nomination for best new artist at the ACMs last year. He didn't win, but has since has been on a streak. He won the Country Music Association's best new artist in November, was tied with Swift as the top-nominated country artist at Sunday's Grammy Awards, where he performed, and now takes center stage in Las Vegas.
"It's amazing. That puts it in perspective," a groggy Hayes said a few minutes after his manager woke him up with the news. "I'm kind of feeling like I'm part of the family now, especially now, with this. That's such an honor, such a huge compliment. This is serious. This is for real. This says that my music's been accepted by this community and it's unbelievable — and that's one of the best feelings in the world."
Church's "Chief" is up for album of the year along with Swift's "Red," Bryan's "tailgates & tanlines," Carrie Underwood's "Blown Away" and Little Big Town's "Tornado." Jay Joyce scored a rare double in the category: He produced the Church and Little Big Town albums and will take home a trophy if either wins. He's also up for producer of the year.
"Chief," released in 2011, slipped through a loophole and into the category for the second straight year. Academy rules allow an album to be nominated outside its usual qualification period if it did the bulk of its sales during the next opening. The album reached platinum last year and currently sits at more than 1.3 million copies sold.
That album's inclusion may have cost Zac Brown Band's "Uncaged" a nomination just three days after the band took home the Grammy for best country album. Another potential nominee left off the list was Brad Paisley, who had been nominated every year since 1999.
Church also is up for male vocalist of the year with 2012 winner Shelton, Bryan, Aldean and Toby Keith. Lambert will be going for her fourth straight female vocalist of the year award with Swift, Underwood, Martina McBride and Kacey Musgraves, a newcomer who earned four nominations.
Others with four nominations include Bryan and Little Big Town. That quartet is up for vocal group of the year with Lady Antebellum, which has won the award three straight times, Zac Brown Band, Eli Young Band and The Band Perry.
Surprise 2012 vocal duo winner Thompson Square is nominated in that category again along with Sugarland, Big & Rich, Florida Georgia Line, and Love and Theft.
Church also is nominated in the song and single of the year categories for "Springsteen." Lambert's "Over You," Hayes' "Wanted," Eli Young Band's "Even If It Breaks Your Heart" and Lee Brice's "A Woman Like You" round out the song of the year category.
Lambert, EYB and Hayes join Church in the single of the year category with LBT's "Pontoon."
Like Hayes, the idea of family was on Lambert's mind. She wrote "Over You" with Shelton. It's a song Shelton's late father encouraged him to write about his brother, who died young.
"What an exciting day!" Lambert wrote in an email to The Associated Press. "Country music is a family and we're gonna have a big reunion in Las Vegas for the ACM Awards. I'm blessed every day and thrilled to be nominated, and it's extra special to be nominated with Blake for song of the year."


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Deeeaaar Santa...
** Hey all! Santa's swinging by today (12/18), we've closed the comments so he can fill up his bag and be on his merry way. Thanks! **
Christmas is fast approaching, and in the spirit of the holiday, we get to play a little Elf for Santa Claus!
While it probably isn't appropriate to sit on Santa's lap at your local mall and tell him what you'd like for Christmas anymore, you can still give him a hint at the Jolly Jabber...
We little helpers are going to help him make some Christmas wishes come true!
Here's what you do...
1. Go to our website
and pick something that you want. Something you reaaaally really want. Quilt kit? Fat Quarter Bundle? Layer Cake? The only restrictions are -- it has to be something that is in stock now (no future fabrics), it cannot be a gift certificate, and it has to be something we can send to you all at once (for instance, not a club).
2. On your blog, write a short post with your letter to Santa and tell him what you would like from Fat Quarter Shop. (If you don't have a blog, you can add this info as a comment to this post.) Please include a link to the item (he checks his list twice, you know), and you may use our image for your post too! You can word your letter however you want...Santa likes to laugh ("ho ho ho!") and he sincerely appreciates creative minds!
3. Then come back to this post and add a comment with a link to your Dear Santa post. Please make sure that your profile is public so Santa can access it!
Once you post your comment, we'll make sure they zing their way up to the North Pole. Santa has promised (pinky-sworn, actually) to grant a few of these wishes. And you know he can :)


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Making up time, not days
The verdict is in. Starting Monday and running through June 4, Alexandria City Public Schools will open 10 minutes earlier and close 20 minutes later to make up for the dozens of hours missed during this winter's exceptional snowstorms, according to a School Board decision made February 25.
After a nearly 45-minute conversation on the topic that left several Board members "underwhelmed," the measure passed 8 to 1.
Elementary schools will begin the day at 7:50 a.m. and close at 2:55 p.m. the lone exception being Douglas MacArthur where an exceptional schedule was already in place while middle schools will open at 8:20 a.m. and dismiss at 3:35 p.m. T.C. Williams High School will start classes at 8:25 a.m. and dismiss at 3:35 p.m.
The decision shortens the school year to 175 days but keeps instructional time well above the state requirement. High school graduation is set for June 17.
Jefferson-Houston officially becomes a magnet school
Without a hint of dissension, the Alexandria School Board voted unanimously February 25 to approve a new focus to the Jefferson-Houston elementary school in north Old Town.
Starting next year, students throughout the city will have the opportunity to opt into Jefferson-Houston for its unique programs and ACPS will provide transportation, Superintendent Morton Sherman said, calling the decision a "proud" and "truly a celebratory moment" for those in attendance.
The school's twin focuses a kindergarten through eighth grade school model and a corresponding International Baccalaureate educational program could attract students from around the city to the under-capacity school and potentially alleviate school-crowding issues elsewhere.
"There were always problems that were interfering with students' ability to learn at that school," Board member Arthur Peabody said, lauding principal Kimberley Graves' recent work to bring stability to the school, making the Board's decision far easier.
Mt. Vernon power woes
For one day last week, there was no place to play indoors in Del Ray after a power outage at the Mt. Vernon Recreation Center and elementary school led to the cancellation of activities on Friday and relocated students to neighboring schools for the day, according to a city spokesperson.
Buses took some students to Cora Kelly elementary school and others went to George Washington Middle School, the spokesperson said. The electricity issues also closed the Duncan Branch Library for part of the day.
Turn the Page author To visit T.C. Monday
Nurtureshock co-author Ashley Merryman comes to Alexandria this Monday for a discussion of how many of modern society's popular strategies for raising children are backfiring because they overlook key points in the science of child development and behavior.
The event takes place Monday at T.C. Williams High School and the author will be available to sign books after the lecture. This free event is the final part of this year's "Turn the Page" community read.
Zpizza day to benefit T.C. drama
This Monday, the T.C. Williams High School drama department is holding a savory fundraiser for its upcoming production ofChicago, to take place in April and May.
During the event, just mention "T.C. Williams drama" when picking up or paying for your order at Zpizza on Duke Street and the restaurant will contribute a portion of the purchase to the school's drama department. Orders can be made in advance by phone (703-600-1193) or online, (zpizza.com) for dine-in or take-out only. Home delivery is not available for this event.


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The Sancoale superfamily takes a softer turn with a rounded slab serif. 90% off for a limited time!
Ready for the designs of today, the Sancoale superfamily takes a softer turn with a rounded slab serif.
Crafted from Sancoale's simple geometry, new softened slab serifs provide a lively typeface that conveniently enhances its cousins: Sancoale Softened--a sans with blunted terminals; Sancoale Slab; and, certainly, the first Sancoale. The weights of each and every member are balanced diligently to be compatible with one another. When used alongside one another, the combination makes for robust and tight design.
With weights starting with the slender thin ranging to the juicy black, Slab Soft opens the doorway to the vary of uses. Its design is legible and neutral enough for bodies of copy--both in print and on your website. The web font also stands out perfectly as a headline or a display face. Slab Soft carefully places a foot ahead, and doesn't overpower like many slabs. This font's the choice to seize the day and get the job done.
All insigne™ fonts are absolutely loaded with OpenType options. Sancoale Slab is geared up for pro typography, together with alternates with stems, compact caps and lots of alts, together with "normalized" capitals and lowercase letters. The font features many numeral sets, with fractions, old-style and lining figures with superiors and inferiors. OpenType-capable programs like Quark or the Adobe suite allow you to quickly change ligatures and alternates. You can see these options shown in the .pdf brochure. Bundled are compact caps, fractions, old-style and lining quantities, scientific superior/inferior figures, entire ordinal and inferior alphabet.
The Sancoale superfamily also features the glyphs to aid a variety of languages, together with Central, Eastern and Western European languages. In all, Sancoale Slab supports around forty languages that utilize the Latin script, earning Sancoale the pick for for multi-lingual publications and packaging.


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WASHINGTON – With scant snowfall and barren ski slopes in parts of the Midwest and Northeast the past couple of years, some scientists have pointed to global warming as the culprit.
Then when a whopper of a blizzard smacked the Northeast with more than 2 feet of snow in some places earlier this month, some of the same people again blamed global warming.
How can that be? It's been a joke among skeptics, pointing to what seems to be a brazen contradiction.
But the answer lies in atmospheric physics. A warmer atmosphere can hold, and dump, more moisture, snow experts say. And two soon-to-be-published studies demonstrate how there can be more giant blizzards yet less snow overall each year. Projections are that that's likely to continue with man-made global warming.
• The United States has been walloped by twice as many of the most extreme snowstorms in the past 50 years than in the previous 60 years, according to an upcoming study on extreme weather by leading federal and university climate scientists. This also fits with a dramatic upward trend in extreme winter precipitation — both rain and snow — in the Northeastern U.S. charted by the National Climatic Data Center.
Yet the Global Snow Lab at Rutgers University says that spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has shrunk on average by 1 million square miles in the last 45 years.
• And an upcoming study in the Journal of Climate says computer models predict annual global snowfall to shrink by more than a foot in the next 50 years. The study's author said most people live in parts of the United States that are likely to see annual snowfall drop between 30 percent and 70 percent by the end of the century.
"Shorter snow season, less snow overall, but the occasional knockout punch," Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer said. "That's the new world we live in."
Ten climate scientists say the idea of less snow and more blizzards makes sense: A warmer world is likely to decrease the overall amount of snow falling each year and shrink snow season. But when it is cold enough for a snowstorm to hit, the slightly warmer air is often carrying more moisture, producing potentially historic blizzards.
"Strong snowstorms thrive on the ragged edge of temperature — warm enough for the air to hold lots of moisture, meaning lots of precipitation, but just cold enough for it to fall as snow," said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center. "Increasingly, it seems that we're on that ragged edge."
Scientists won't blame a specific event or even a specific seasonal change on global warming without doing intricate and time-consuming studies. And they say they are just now getting a better picture of the complex intersection of man-made climate change and extreme snowfall.
But when Serreze, Oppenheimer and others look at the last few years of less snow overall, punctuated by big storms, they say this is what they are expecting in the future.
"It fits the pattern that we expect to unfold," Oppenheimer said.
The world is warming so precipitation that would normally fall as snow in the future will likely fall as rain once it gets above the freezing point, said Princeton researcher Sarah Kapnick.
Her study used new computer models to simulate the climate in 60 to 100 years as carbon dioxide levels soar. She found large reductions in snowfall throughout much of the world.
In the United States, her models predict about a 50 percent or more drop in annual snowfall amounts along a giant swath from Maine to Texas and the Pacific Northwest and California's Sierra Nevadas.
This is especially important out West where large snowcaps are natural reservoirs for a region's water supply, Kapnick said. And already in the Cascades of the Pacific Northwest and in much of California, the amount of snow still around on April 1 has been declining so that it's down about 20 percent compared to 80 years ago, said Philip Mote, who heads a climate change institute at Oregon State University.
Kapnick says it is snowing about as much as ever in the heart of winter, such as February. But the snow season is getting much shorter, especially in spring and in the northernmost areas, said Rutgers' David Robinson, a co-author of the study on extreme weather that will be published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
The Rutgers snow lab says this January saw the sixth-widest snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere; the United States had an above average snow cover for the last few months. But that's misleading, Robinson said, because even though more ground is covered by snow, it's covered by less snow.
And when those big storms finally hit, there is more than just added moisture in the air, there's extra moisture coming from the warm ocean, Robinson and Oppenheimer said. And the air is full of energy and unstable, allowing storms to lift yet more moisture up to colder levels. That generates more intense rates of snowfall, Robinson said.
"If you can tap that moisture and you have that fortuitous collision of moist air and below freezing temperatures, you can pop some big storms," Robinson said.
Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann points to the recent Northeast storm that dumped more than 30 inches in some places. He said it was the result of Arctic air colliding with unusually warm oceans that produced extra large amounts of moisture and big temperature contrasts, which drive storms. Those all meant more energy, more moisture and thus more snow, he said.
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