Month: May 2013

Categories
Domestic Policies

Guns in Bars, Restaurants and Colleges? It’s a Possibility

At a time in which you would think people would be up in arms (No Pun Intended) about guns, it appears to be the exact opposite. The NRA appears to be winning the debate as it has rallied the battle charge to its members and nonmembers alike, to buy, buy, buy.

All across America, gun shows are producing record numbers of not only visitors but purchasers as well. You would think that after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut where 26 were killed – 20 of them children – slaughtered by a deranged killer, sensible folks would say emphatically and with one voice, “NO TO GUNS”.

It seems that sensibility has left the building.

House Bill 937 in Cumberland County, North Carolina allows handgun owners with concealed permits to store weapons in locked cars on public college campuses and carry weapons at some sporting events. It also would allow them on bike and walking trails, and patrons could carry a handgun where alcohol is served.

And now, more idiotic behavior is about to continue. A proposal that would allow concealed weapon permit holders to take up arms in bars and restaurants is one step closer to becoming law. The bill also would allow people to pack heat on college campuses. Yes, that’s right, Bars and on College Campuses. Let’s begin with the latter first, shall we?

Have we all forgotten about the Virginia Tech massacre? On April 16, 2007, a 23-year old student went on a shooting spree where thirty-two victims were killed. And what about the 1999 high school shooting at Columbine in Littleton, Colorado where two students systematically and strategically planned and executed 12-students and 1-teacher? This, on the surface, seems like a no-brainer right? Wrong!

The Second Amendment is thrust into the mix yet again. No one has a problem with the right to bear arms, but come on people, Schools? Not everyone carrying their gun permit is mentally stable. I have to believe that at some point, in everyone’s lifetime, a bad day occurs. The problem is Columbine, Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook are examples of bad days going terribly, terribly wrong. Guns + Schools = Catastrophic Results.

Lastly, Cumberland County is considering concealed weapons to be carried into bars and restaurants. If this were not so stupid, it would be funny. In Aurora, Co., a gunman opened fire upon a crowded theater, killing 12 and injuring 58. The key here is a ‘crowded’ area. How any “smart” person could think guns and bars is a match made in heaven is beyond my menial comprehension. Guns + Bars = Disasters Waiting to Happen.

This is just one more example of how this country is not in a Good Place. Our rationale has been distorted. The Big Picture should be on reduction, not addition. I don’t have a problem with the Second Amendment. The Constitution has given us the right, but let’s use Common Sense when we’re considering this amendment.

Ahhh…Common Sense…The missing piece to the ‘Smoking Gun’.

Categories
ObamaCare Politics Repeal

Another Republican Attempt to Deny You Health Care Coverage

Republicans are so intent on making sure Americans lose their health care and that heath insurance companies make as much profit as possible, that they are willing to anything to accomplish their goal.

Besides wasting taxpayers money with fruitlessly attempting to repeal the law over 37 times and counting, Republicans have now come up with another plan – stop the implementation of the law by refusing to provide a committee necessary for the full implementation of the law.

In a letter to President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) noted their original opposition to Obamacare, reiterated their intent to repeal it entirely, and declared that they would not make any appointments to the Independent Payment Advisory Board.

The IPAB is a 15-member panel whose members must be confirmed by the Senate. The President selects three members himself and is required by law to seek three recommendations each from the top Democrat and Republican in each chamber. With Thursday’s letter, Boehner and McConnell refused to make any recommendations.

The IPAB will be stood up in 2014 by Obamacare and tasked with making cuts to Medicare provider payments (it may not touch benefits) if costs exceed economic growth plus an additional percentage point in any given year. Congress can override it by passing equally large cuts with a simple majority or waiving the cuts entirely with a three-fifths majority.

“Because the law will give IPAB’s 15 unelected, unaccountable individuals the ability to deny seniors access to innovative care, we respectfully decline to recommend appointments,” Boehner and McConnell wrote in the letter.

But there is a catch: if IPAB fails to do its work for any reason, the Health and Human Services secretary must order the cuts herself. So in a way, Boehner and McConnell are surrendering some of their power in order to appear as though they’re thwarting Obamacare — when in reality they’re merely turning over more control to the executive branch.

Categories
Featured News

Chicago Teen Says Classmates Lit Her Hair on Fire

NBC Chicago – A suburban family was expressing outrage Thursday over how middle school officials were handling a bullying incident that had a seventh grader’s hair set aflame by her classmates.

Tatyana Butler said the bullying began almost immediately when she started Waukegan’s Thomas Jefferson Middle School this year. But the shy, standout student and her mother say the taunting and teasing went too far earlier this week.

It was Tuesday when two eighth grade girls were flicking a lighter behind the 14-year-old as she walked into class.

“I tried to walk faster but then my head got on fire,” the teen recalled. “My friends was like, ‘Tatyana, you hair’s on fire! Your hair’s on fire! and I was like, ‘Are you for real?’ and they just started taking it out.”

Three inch clumps of burned hair began falling out by the handful. Butler asked to go home.

“They was like, ‘You have to wait. Just write down what happened. I waited … and that’s when [a school official] called my mom,” she said.

In turn, Neysha O’Conner asked school officials to file a report with police. They declined, and O’Conner herself went to police earlier Thursday. She said officers told her that school officials should have contacted them immediately after the incident happened on Tuesday.

h/t – grio

Categories
Entertainment Music

Jay-Z is that You? Harlem Man Resembles Hov in 1930s Photo

Harlem, New York (Photo taken by Sid Grossman courtesy of the New York Public Library)

is a proud son of Brooklyn but an old photo featuring some well-dressed men has many wondering if he had a distant relative in another part of New York City.

This week, a black and white photo dating back to Harlem in 1939 surfaced online via the Schomburg Center’s Tumblr page. in honor of its Research in Black Culture exhibit with a caption asking if the man in picture remind you of anyone. The comments on the page were overwhelmingly pro Jay-Z.

While there’s no official connection between Mr. Carter and the unnamed man, it does make for interesting debate.

Jay-Z has worked with the Schomburg Center in the past. He partnered with the New York Public Library to host an online conversation with scholar Cornel West, breaking down his book Decoded in 2010.

h/t – grio

Categories
Entertainment Movie Movies

My Short Review of The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by R. Scott Fitzgerald was a required book to have read in my high school sophomore year; I enjoyed the book so much I read it three times start to finish that year. Think of my excitement when I heard they were making The Great Gatsby movie. Luckily, I was able to go see the movie last night with a group of friends. I walked in expecting to be amazed and love it. I didn’t.

With Leonardo Dicaprio as Jay Gatsby I expected an amazing performance

As the title states, this is a short review, thus I shall touch on my main “likes” and “dislikes”.

What I Liked:

  • Dicaprio as Jay Gatsby, he fits the character perfectly and plays this mysterious, nervous, but luxurious man very well.
  • The sense of how grand some scenes were such as Gatsby’s infamous parties as you could just see that every walk of New York City life came to them
  • The historical accuracy of the movie down to every small detail

What I Disliked:

  • The soundtrack was quite possibly the worst part of this movie. The parties had a band playing, but you never would hear them since their music was covered by Jay Z or Kanye. I’d prefer hearing 1920’s swing music in a movie based in that time period over Kanye West.
  • Some scenes were poorly designed as you could easily tell it was some cheap green screen or made entirely on a computer
  • The constant narrating by Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) and odd scenes were it his words being written on screen.
  • A lack of details compared to the book, granted this a movie.
  • The surrounding cast. I never felt drawn to them as they were just simple characters thrown into the movie to accompany Gatsby and very few were given any explanation as to who they were.
  • The movie as a whole just felt poorly made and had a “cheap” vibe surrounding it.

Overall, I left the theater very disappointed. I’ve always heard that books were always better than the movies based on them and never did I believe the people who told me that. This one time though, the book has the movie beat by light years.

Categories
Featured News

Cyber-Attackers Stole $45M in Worldwide Fake ATM Card Breach

$45 Million Stolen From ATM’s

Eight defendants have been charged in the largest bank heist of its kind, a $45 million worldwide theft that took just hours using fabricated ATM cards.

Federal prosecutors said the cyber-theft was as intricate as a movie plot.

“This scheme was organized for months and planned down to the minute, reminiscent of the casino heist in ‘Ocean’s Eleven,'” said Loretta Lynch, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The scheme, which started overseas, was detailed in an indictment unsealed today. Unknown hackers stole data from banks that was then encoded onto plastic cards sent to crews in two dozen countries, according to the Justice Department. The local operatives went from ATM to ATM, withdrawing millions.

Lynch said she saw photos of one defendant in New York.

“Surveillance photos show his backpack getting heavier and heavier as his efforts go on,” she said.

According to court records, the hackers targeted a credit card processor that handled prepaid debit card transactions for Rakbank in the United Arab Emirates.

 

h/t – ABCNEWS

Categories
Technology

Pebble E-Paper Watch for iPhone and Android

CUSTOMIZE YOUR PERFECT WATCH. IT’S AS EASY AS DOWNLOADING AN APP.

Pebble is the first watch built for the 21st century. It’s infinitely customizable, with beautiful downloadable watchfaces and useful internet-connected apps. Pebble connects to iPhone and Android smartphones using Bluetooth, alerting you with a silent vibration to incoming calls, emails and messages. While designing Pebble, we strove to create a minimalist yet fashionable product that seamlessly blends into everyday life.

CUSTOMIZE WITH APPS.

Apps bring Pebble to life. We’re building some amazing apps for Pebble. Cyclists can use Pebble as a bike computer, accessing the GPS on your smartphone to display speed, distance and pace data. Runners get a similar set of data displayed on their wrist. Use the music control app to play, pause or skip tracks on your phone with the touch of a button. If you’re a golfer, feel free to bring Pebble onto the course. We’re working withFreecaddie to create a great golf rangefinder app for Pebble that works on over 25,000 courses world-wide. Instead of using your phone, view your current distance to the green right on your wrist. These apps will be the first, with more in the works!

CYCLING

CONTROL YOUR MUSIC

RUNNING

GOLF RANGEFINDER

Pebble can change instantly, thanks to its brilliant, outdoor-readable electronic-paper (e-paper) display. We’ve designed tons of watchfaces already, with more coming every day. Choose your favourite watchfaces using Pebble’s iPhone or Android app. Then as the day progresses, effortlessly switch to the one that matches your mood, activity or outfit

BEAUTIFUL WATCHFACES

CUSTOMIZE WITH NOTIFICATIONS.

If you need to stay on top of things, Pebble can help with vibrating notifications, messages and alerts. Dismiss a notification with a shake of your wrist. Don’t worry, it’s easy to disable all notifications.

  • Incoming Caller ID
  • Email (Gmail or any IMAP email account)
  • SMS on both Android and iPhones
  • iMessage (iOS only)
  • Calendar Alerts
  • Facebook Messages
  • Twitter
  • Weather Alerts
  • Silent vibrating alarm and timer

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Categories
Health

15 Steps to Excellent Eyesight for Life Part 1

 

Today, the World Health Organization estimates that 75% of blindness is preventable.

Yet the number of people who will experience severe eye diseases leading to blindness- diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and glaucoma- continues to rise.

You and I don’t have to be one of the people who suffers from preventable blindness.

By incorporating proactive action steps into the daily life, we can enjoy excellent eyesight to the end of  life.

The eyes are the only muscle we have that gets weaker with more use.  Some vision loss is normal and hard to prevent.  However, severe vision loss leading to blindness does not have to be an outcome for most people living in the United States today if you follow essential actions.

This article will look at how each of us can achieve excellent eyesight for life.

Here is Part 1 of 15 Actions to enjoy good eyesight for life.

1.  Keep your appointments with the optometrist.

This is one of the most proactive steps you can take to prevent blindness.  Optometrists have diagnostic equipment that can see problems coming “down the pipes” of the eyes before the symptoms ever show.

Optometrists can see if diabetes is causing wear and tear on your retina or whether your eyes are showing signs of developing glaucoma.   Once the symptoms of these diseases show up, treatment is limited.

Early detection changes this.  Early detection allows doctors to watch, treat and prevent potential eye problems from developing into severe problems.

For people under forty, the American Optometry Association recommends a checkup every three years.  People over 40 should see their optometrist every two years unless recommended otherwise by their doctor.

2.  Eat fruits and vegetables – lots of ‘em.

Logically we know we need to eat more fruits and vegetables but we don’t do it.

It cannot be overemphasized that the benefit of a diet high in vegetables and fruits on our health is astonishing.

The more colorful the fruit or vegetable, the better it is for your eyes!  Red and yellow peppers, carrots, pumpkin, spinach and berries are full of antioxidants and nutrients that will help you feel better and see better.

3.  Avoid tired looking eyes by adding the right eye-friendly supplements. (And enjoy healthier eyes too!)

What you eat may help your eyes perk up in their appearance.  Foods rich in lutein and zeaxanthin have been shown to boost eye health by strengthening the retina.  Look for green leafy vegetables; they are naturally high in lutein and zeaxanthin.

4.  Know the signs of unhealthy eyes!

When something is not normal, such as a discoloration of the eye, check in with the optometrist.  For example, yellow eyes are not normal.  If you or a loved one has yellow-colored eyes, you need to see your optometrist or doctor right away.  The body usually gives us clues when something goes awry- when the “whites” of the eyes change to a yellow, it signals a potential problem that needs to be addressed.

5.  Indulge in unusual vegetables.

Did you know that kale is noted as a great vegetable for vision health?  Not only is it high in antioxidants (like its chard, spinach and beet green family members mentioned in the diet section), but it has one of the most concentrated amounts of vitamin A.  Just one cup of kale yields an entire day’s worth of needed Vitamin A (481mcg).  That is TWICE as vitamin A than other leafy greens, leading to kale being noted as the eye’s favorite vegetable.

6.  Don’t ignore unusual vision changes.

Vision changes need to be followed up with your optometrist.  Don’t brush off signs or appearances that seem out of place.  Your body is trying to tell you something is not right.

7.  Are your eyes twitching?

Get rid of twitching eyes!  Bothered by painless, but annoying, twitching of one or both eyes?  You may need to check your sleep routine or caffeine intake.  Too much caffeine, too little sleep or too much stress can cause involuntary twitching in the eyes.  If the twitching increases, be sure to see your optometrist- occasionally twitching can be the sign of a more significant problem- dry eyes, pink eye or blepharitis- that requires additional treatment.

8. Be aware of the detrimental effects of diabetes on the eyes.

Diabetes is potentially dangerous for eye health.  Out of control sugar levels wreak havoc on the eyes, leading to diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the leading causes of blindness in the US today.

And it is preventable.

Be proactive in keeping blood sugars under control, enjoy a healthy diet and maintain a regular relationship with the optometrist to diabetic retinopathy.  There is constant research being done to help us understand these diseases better and find cures.

Hope for diabetic eye disease cure may be on its way.  The University of Michigan Kellog Eye Center has identified a specific protein that regulates the leaky blood vessels which cause the vision impairment in diabetic eye disease.  Researchers believe they have found a way to block the damage done, preventing the vessels from leaking and stopping the vision problems.  “We still have a long way to go…but the results are very promising,” one of the lead authors stated.

Melissa AuClair worked as a RN for 8 years in acute care hospitals.  The best part of being a nurse is empowering people to care for themselves- and prevent health problems in the future.  “It’s so much easier to maintain good health than reverse lifestyle health problems.  It takes discipline, but that discipline gives people freedom to live high quality, active lives.”  Melissa can be followed on Twitter @Melissauclair  She blogs about lifestyle and freelance work at www.launchyourcreativelife.com   

Categories
Technology

Canon’s PowerShot N: A Compact Camera That Does Instagram One Better

Canon had a number of new cameras on display at CES 2013 this year, but the most noteworthy of all was the PowerShot N, a new ultracompact shooter that’s only about 3 inches by 2 and half, and only 1.2 inches deep. It’s almost square, which makes it resemble the camera depicted in the Instagram icon on the iOS and Android app, and once you use it, you realize the connection probably isn’t entirely accidental.

The PowerShot N is designed entirely around one-handed use, a Canon rep explained, with a touchscreen based interface that generally takes care of most things for you, including even selecting a filter, should you choose. Whereas with Instagram you still have to do some kind of creative input, the Canon rep explained, the Canon PowerShot N on full auto will choose the best filter for your situation. It’ll give you a different one for a sunset landscape vs. an indoor portrait, for example. The camera can also create five different filtered versions of each shot in a new creative mode to let you pick the best.

The PowerShot N still offers a lot of creative control, with shutter and zoom manual ring controls on the lens, which borrows a trick from the PowerShot S100 series of more pro-oriented compacts. It has a 12-megapixel sensor, and improved Wi-Fi connectivity with a new button that allows you to get it connected to the CameraWindow app for iOS and Android with a single click. The camera has a battery good for around 280 shots, with Canon’s new eco-drive, which should add 30 percent more battery by managing power.

Categories
Food And Recipes Health

These Top 10 Truly Healthy Snacks Will Cut Your Hunger

Three square meals a day is all well and good, but we all sometimes need a little something in between, but there is no need to buy all the 100-cal snack pack but full of ingredients we can hardly spell,

here are some real-food-snacks ideas that will boost our energy and without piling on the calories!

1. Sliced tomato with a sprinkle of feta and olive oil

2. Banana and it comes naturally prepackaged goodness you can take anywhere, with the added benefit of cramp-preventing potassium.

3. Protein-packed Edamames (measured shelled).

4. Ants on a log, Spread some peanut butter on celery and add a few raisins.

5. Hummus and Carrot/Celery Sticks, Hummus is best when you make it yourself using chickpeas.

6. Nuts: a protein nutrient filled snack.

7. Cherry Tomatoes: nature’s super-food.

8. Raspberries with 2 Tbsp Plain Yogurt and 1 tsp Honey.

9. Dark Chocolate, containing at least 70 per cent cocoa solids is a good source of antioxidants — particularly flavonoids, which are the type that are found in green tea and red wine.

10. And finally and my favorite one, a homemade smoothie, which contains the pulp of the fruit and not just the juice, and provides you with fiber plus a whole array of vitamins and minerals.

Healthy snacking improves overall health, curbs cravings, fights weight gain, regulates mood, boosts brain power and gives you the energy you need to keep going all day!!

h/t/ – Positivemed

Categories
Technology

Make Free Calls from iPhone With The Official Google Voice App

If you’re a long-time Gmail user, you no doubt know about and/or use Google Voice — a free web-based platform that provides users with an online phone number for making calls online via an Android, BlackBerry, and now the iPhone. If you don’t have a Google Voice number set up, you’re missing out on a very useful contact tool. Check out Ryan Dube’s 5 Cool Things You Can Do With Google Voice for more details.

I’ve been using my Google Voice (GV) number primarily as a second contact number for which family and friends can reach me when I’m a way from my phone and working on my computer. I also post the number on trusted website forums and registrations.
For a few months in 2009, a third-party Google Voice app was available for the iPhone, but Apple decided to remove it along with the official Google Voice app that was released a few months later. But now, the official app is back and available for free in the App Store.

 

Categories
News

My Racist Experience at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

It’s the little indignities that slowly devastate your soul,” the Huffington Post‘s Seema Jilani writes in a piece about what she says was “white privilege on display.”

… They refused to let me through. For the next half hour, they watched as I frantically called my husband but was unable to reach him.

Then something remarkable happened. I watched as they let countless other women through — all Caucasian — without even asking to see their tickets. I asked why they were allowing them to go freely when they had just told me that I needed a ticket. Their response? “Well, now we are checking tickets.” He rolled his eyes and let another woman through, this time actually checking her ticket. His smug tone, enveloped in condescension, taunted, “See? That’s what a ticket looks like.”

When I asked “Why did you lie to me, sir?” they threatened to have the Secret Service throw me out of the building — me, a 4’11” young woman who weighs 100 pounds soaking wet, who was all prettied up in elegant formal dress, who was simply trying to reach her husband. The only thing on me that could possibly inflict harm were my dainty silver stilettos, and they were too busy inflicting pain on my feet at the moment. My suspicion was confirmed when I saw the men ask a blonde woman for her ticket and she replied, “I lost it.” The snickering tough-guy responded, “I’d be happy to personally escort you down the escalators ma’am.

Like a malignancy, it had crept in when I least expected it — this repugnant, infectious bigotry we have become so accustomed to. “White privilege” was on display, palpable to passersby who consoled me.

h/t – theroot

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