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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nbc-news/50645847/
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For the week of Jan. 14-20
1. AFC Championship: Baltimore vs. New England, CBS, 47.71 million.
2. "AFC Championship Post-Game," CBS, 25.95 million.
3. "NCIS," CBS, 22.86 million.
4. "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 17.93 million.
5. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 17.64 million.
6. "American idol" (Thursday), Fox, 16.23 million.
7. "Hawaii Five-0" (Sunday), CBS, 13.03 million.
8. "Criminal Minds," CBS, 12.64 million.
9. "2 Broke Girls," CBS, 12.45 million.
10. "The Big Bang Theory" (Monday, 8:30 p.m.), CBS, 11.7 million.
Source: http://www.today.com/id/3032450/ns/today-entertainment/
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By Drusilla Moorhouse, TODAY contributor
ABC
Yoni (Wilmer Valderrama) is confronted by George (Jeremy Sisto) on the next episode of "Suburgatory."
Yoni returns! Wilmer Valderrama is back on "Suburgatory" Wednesday, reprising his role as the zany spiritualist and former flame of Dallas (Cheryl Hines).
Does the hunky Guatemalan's reappearance threaten Dallas and George's (Jeremy Sisto) new romance? ?
"Dallas brought him in for the sake of her dog Yakult, who is depressed," Valderrama explained to The Clicker. "But Yoni is coming back with a very specific agenda -- a mischievous agenda: Through spiritual advising and subliminal (persuasion) and a strategic plan, he's hoping to eventually move in with Dallas."
But don't expect George to be rolling out the welcome wagon for the Latin lover.
"There's obviously a big flag for George," the "Awake" and "That '70s Show" alum said with a chuckle. "It makes for a really funny and ridiculous dynamic" between the two men.
The episode, titled "Yakult Leader," is actually a rematch of Yoni and George's first showdown (in season one's "Fire With Fire"), which also centered around Dallas' adorable poodle-Chihuahua mix. All signs point to Yoni going 0 for 2 against George.
"I love how bizarre he is," enthused Valderrama about Yoni, a character he "mutually created" with his friend and showrunner Emily Kapnek. "We kind of pieced him together from the wardrobe" -- white for positivity! -- ?"to the delivery to who he really is. We had a lot of fun tailoring this character to be so bizarre."
While we await Yoni's return -- "I feel like he might move on to Jill Werner next," speculated Valderrama -- fans can look forward to seeing the actor starring again on the small screen.
"I got the bug to come back to television after my stint with 'Awake,'" he said. "So I closed a deal with 20th Century Fox Television to enter development and to read some scripts this season and hopefully do a platform for me to come back and lead my own show. There's a very high probability that I'm going to return to TV this year. I'm excited because I really miss being in people's homes."
"Suburgatory" airs Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. on ABC.
Do you miss Wilmer Valderrama being in your home? Tell us on our Facebook page!
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? Sen. Robert Menendez's office said Wednesday that he traveled three times on a plane owned by a prominent Florida political donor but that the trips were paid for and reported appropriately. At the same time, Menendez's office said unsubstantiated allegations the senator engaged in sex with prostitutes in the Dominican Republic are false.
The FBI searched the West Palm Beach, Fla., office of the donor ? eye doctor Salomon Melgen ? on Tuesday night and early Wednesday, but it was unclear if the raid was related to Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat.
Records filed in Palm Beach County show an Internal Revenue Service lien against Melgen of more than $11.1 million for unpaid taxes from 2006 through 2009. Prior liens for taxes from 1998 to 2002 were subsequently withdrawn, records show.
The Daily Caller, a conservative website, reported shortly before the November election that Menendez traveled on Melgen's private plane to the Dominican Republic to engage in sex with prostitutes.
Menendez's office said that any accusations of engaging with prostitutes "are manufactured by a politically motivated right-wing blog and are false."
At FBI headquarters in Washington, spokesman Jason Pack said the bureau "cannot comment on the existence or status of an investigation." Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler also declined to comment.
On Tuesday, Menendez became chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, succeeding Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.
Menendez's office said Melgen has been a friend and political supporter of the senator for many years and that the three trips that Menendez took have been "paid for and reported appropriately."
Menendez's office did not say whether the three trips were to the Dominican Republic or elsewhere. The statement did not say whether the trips were paid by Menendez personally or by his senatorial or his campaign accounts, nor did it specify how they were reported.
If Menendez did not pay for the trips, he would have to report them on annual financial disclosure forms as gifts. If he paid for the trips from his Senate office account, he would have to report them on Senate office forms. And if he used campaign funds, he would have had to report the expense on Federal Election Commission forms.
The Associated Press searched six years of office and travel-related expenses for Menendez's U.S. Senate office and found no reports reflecting payments to Melgen or trips aboard Melgen's plane. The AP also found no apparent reimbursement to Melgen in more than six years' worth of campaign expenses on file with the Federal Election Commission.
Melgen is involved in numerous businesses, all sharing the same address in West Palm Beach, according to records filed with the Department of State in Florida.
Late Tuesday and early Wednesday, FBI agents were seen inside the West Palm Beach building, walking its halls and standing beside shelves full of files.
The Daily Caller began publishing stories on its website about Menendez and Melgen on Nov. 1, when it reported that two women from the Dominican Republic said Menendez paid them for sex earlier in 2012. Prostitution is legal in the Caribbean nation.
Melgen is listed as having an ownership interest in DRM Med Assist, which Federal Aviation Administration records show is the owner of a CL-600 Challenger plane. Flight records for the aircraft were not immediately available.
Melgen, a registered Democrat, has made $193,350 in political contributions since 1998, including $14,200 to Menendez, according to Federal Election Commission records. Menendez was chairman of the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, which raises money for Democratic Senate candidates, from 2009-2011.
Menendez, a lawyer, is a former mayor of Union City, N.J., and also served in the New Jersey state General Assembly and the New Jersey state Senate. He is divorced and has two children.
Melgen, 58, is a native of the Dominican Republic, where he earned his medical degree from the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henr?quez Ure?a in 1978. He has lived in the U.S. since at least 1980, holding an internship, residency and fellowship at hospitals in Connecticut, Missouri and Massachusetts, according to records filed with the Florida Department of Health.
Melgen has been licensed to practice in Florida since 1986 and purchased the West Palm Beach plot of land where he built his main office in 1991. Over the years, Melgen has become regarded as a top ophthalmologist, speaking at conferences and even operating on then-Gov. Lawton Chiles in 1997. The governor later appointed Melgen to a state panel on HMOs.
Calls to Melgen's offices Wednesday were forwarded to an answering service where receptionists told callers to try back Thursday. Calls to Melgen's home in North Palm Beach, which is appraised at $2.1 million, went unanswered.
On the website for his medical practice, Melgen writes: "I am always asked what sets me apart from most other doctors, and I would have to say that I do not consider myself to be a 'cookbook' physician. My patients are my number one priority, and when I am looking to treat a diagnosis I try to look at all the data at hand and extrapolate the best treatment instead of solely adhering to what the current 'standard' of treatment may be."
___
Associated Press writers Matt Sedensky in West Palm Beach, Fla., Curt Anderson in Miami and Jack Gillum and Larry Margasak in Washington contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/menendez-denies-dominican-prostitutes-202816586--politics.html
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(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Rep. Paul Ray shares a laugh with members of the Utah Sheriffs' Association, which recently sent a controversial letter to President Barack Obama saying Utah law enforcement officials would lay down their lives to protect the Constitution. At the request of Rep. Curt Oda, Millard County Sheriff Robert Dekker read the letter to the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee of the Legislature at the State Capitol Complex House Building, Tuesday January 29, 2013.
Legislature ? Democratic leader questions whether focus on gun rights eclipses other constitutional rights.
Rep. Curt Oda asked a signatory to the Utah Sheriffs? Association to read aloud that group?s letter to President Barack Obama during a committee hearing Tuesday that declared it would stop any attempts by federal agents to seize guns from Utah residents.
Millard County Sheriff Robert Dekker read the letter that said the group of 28 of 29 county sheriffs ? in defense of the Second Amendment ? were "prepared to trade our lives for the preservation of its traditional interpretation."
Oda, a Republican from Clearfield, said he expected the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee would support the "courage" of the letter that drew unabashed support from about 1,500 who gathered on the Capitol Steps Jan. 19 for Gun Appreciation Day while drawing derision from Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder.
"I can almost recite it by heart," said Oda, known for his vocal support of gun rights.
But Minority Leader Jennifer Seelig said she simply couldn?t back the letter?s message.
Seelig, a Democrat from Salt Lake City, was at Trolley Square Feb. 12, 2007, when a gunman entered the mall and killed five people while wounding four others. She was getting her nails done at a salon when she heard the gunshots and had to hide in a storage closet before a swat team killed Sulejman Talovic during the young man?s shooting spree.
Seelig made mention of her experience at Trolley Square ? making sure to thank the sheriff for doing his job and specifically thanking the police at the massacre.
But she felt the letter went too far.
"I am curious about other constitutional rights and how that would fit into your weighing of this issue ? like property rights and the supremacy clause," Seelig said.
But Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, said he was grateful for the sheriffs? stance on guns.
story continues below
"That was a risk on your part and I appreciate it," Ray said.
The issue of firearms is expected to be a hot issue this legislative session in the wake of Obama?s proposals to require tougher background checks, reduce magazine capacity on guns and ban assault weapons.
There is a measure being proposed to make Utah just one of a handful of so-called constitutional carry states where a concealed weapon permit isn?t needed to be in possession of a gun. And a freshman lawmaker, Rep. Brian Greene, R-Pleasant Grove, will introduce a bill that would grant sheriffs the ability to arrest federal authorities attempting to take guns from Utah residents.
The letter, in fact, warns that "no federal official will be permitted to descend upon our constituents and take from them what the Bill of Rights ? in particular Amendment II ? has given them."
But Dekker was less confrontational in front of the committee.
"We?re not going to be standing at the border with our rifles," he said.
Obama?s proposals, which would require congressional approval to take effect, do not call for a retroactive ban or confiscation of firearms that are currently legal.
dmontero@sltrib.com
Twitter: @davemontero
Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/55727717-90/committee-federal-gun-guns.html.csp
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SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp launched new Office software for home users on Tuesday, featuring constantly updated, online access to documents from all kinds of devices as the world's largest software company attempts to tailor its most profitable product to a mobile generation.
The new Office suite of applications - including desktop staples Outlook email, Excel, Word and PowerPoint - is aimed at home users rather than businesses, and is designed to extend Microsoft's domination of the workplace to the home office and beat back growing competition from Google Inc's free online apps.
"The notion of an always up-to-date streaming version of Office comes directly from how people are using devices today," said Kurt DelBene, head of Microsoft's Office unit, in a phone interview. "You really want all your content to roam with you. We see that as an opportunity to deliver what customers are asking for."
The version of the new software launched on Tuesday, called Office 365 Home Premium, is the first major overhaul of Office since 2010. Big companies, which generally buy Microsoft's software under multi-year contracts, already got the latest features of the new Office in December.
Tuesday was the first look for individual customers, and initial reactions were positive at Microsoft's flagship Seattle store.
"It looks badass. And that whole touch-screen thing now," said Kouichi Armga, 25, who works at Trader Joe's grocery store and studies at the University of Washington in Tacoma, after seeing the new Office run on touch-screen hardware.
"It was actually very impressive," said Jeremy Payne, 26, from Olympia, Washington, who works in retail and is studying public relations at the local Evergreen State College. "The biggest thing was the new PowerPoint. I was really excited to see the new PowerPoint."
Payne, an avowed Apple Inc enthusiast, said the new Office was "really rad," but it might be hard to drag Mac users away from their Apple-centered world.
"They have their work cut out for them pulling people from Apple," he said. "The Apple system is so integrated to my way of thought."
DOWNLOAD UPDATES
After downloading the basic programs online, users can access the latest versions of all Office applications from up to five devices on a subscription basis for $100 a year.
The software will be updated online, marking a change from the past where users had to wait years for upgrades to installed software.
It is the latest step in what Chief Executive Steve Ballmer called Microsoft's "transformation to a devices and services business," making the company more like Apple.
The new Office largely adopts the look of last year's Windows 8, with a cleaner, more modern-looking design and includes touch-screen capability.
The "ribbons" showing commands in Word and Excel are mostly unchanged. For the first time the package includes online calling and video service Skype, which Microsoft bought in 2011.
Users' work can be stored on their devices but also in remote data centers - known as the cloud - and the latest version of a document can accessed from any licensed device with a browser.
GOOGLE KILLER?
Two and a half years in the making, the new Office is designed to extend Microsoft's domination of the business market and counter the growing popularity of Google Apps, a collection of online-only, Office-style applications Google provides free for home users and sells to businesses for $50 per user per year.
Microsoft is hoping its move into online services, alongside its new Surface tablets, will push it into the forefront of mobile computing, which has been led by Google's Android software and Apple's combination of slick hardware and apps.
"Microsoft Office remains the gold standard for productivity applications," said Avi Greengart, research director at Current Analysis. "It is bringing Office fully into today's connected, cloud-based environment. But it still has more work to do to make it fully finger-friendly for use on its own Windows tablets."
The new Office will run natively on Microsoft's own Surface tablets - both the 'RT' and Pro versions running on ARM Holdings and Intel Corp chips respectively - but it will not run natively on Apple's iPad, disappointing some iPad users who are also Office fans.
"We have not said that we will do rich client software on the iPad at this point," said DelBene, although he did not rule out producing such software in the future. "We've been very logical in our approach. I'm pleased with the software we have delivered for the iPad to date," he said.
Microsoft's SkyDrive online storage system and its OneNote note-taking software are available as iPad apps, and iPad users can use limited Web versions of some Office applications.
The iPad issue has been a long-time quandary for Microsoft, which might gain more mobile users by making Office available on the iPad but would have to give Apple a cut of its subscriptions. Availability of Office on iPads would also take away a major incentive to buying its own competing Surface tablet.
Microsoft estimates that 1 billion people worldwide use some part of Office and the unit that produces Office is Microsoft's most profitable, edging out the flagship Windows division for the last few years. It now accounts for more than half of Microsoft's overall profit.
Sales dipped last quarter as consumers held off in anticipation of the new Office, but analysts expects sales to ramp up this quarter.
"In the immediate next year or two, this version of Office should help many of the core small and midsize enterprise customers stay with Office," said Al Hilwa at tech research firm IDC. "The value proposition for the consumer space has always stemmed from synergies with the enterprise. I don't think this is going to change."
(Additional reporting by Eric M. Johnson. Editing by Matt Driskill and Steve Orlofsky)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/microsoft-launches-office-consumers-140454374--sector.html
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Exciting online webinar explains no cost ways to use tools and tips to get to the top of Google and Bing for small businesses.
Dallas, TX (PRWEB) January 29, 2013
The JM Internet Group (web: jm-seo.org), a leader in providing SEO Tips for Small Business via innovative online seminars, has announced its latest small business webinar coming up February 4, 2013, on the top ten free tools for Google and SEO for small business. This popular live, online training is a favorite among small business owners looking for SEO tips, secrets and tips for Google success and to boost their company's presence on the internet via search engine optimization in Google. Students will learn how to use the top ten no cost tools to successfully optimize their website for SEO. Classes tend to fill up fast, so it is recommended that small business owners and marketers sign up as soon as possible.
"I'm very excited about 2013 as the field of SEO constantly evolves," explained Jason McDonald, SEO expert and director of the JM Internet Group. "Our February 4th class explains the tips, tools, and secrets to Google success for small businesses."
For more info and to sign up go to:
????http://www.jm-seo.org/seo-tips
SEO Small Business Tips Seminar- Summary and Agenda
Many people want a quick, online training course on SEO, and so the JM Internet Group has responded with an introductory, no obligation, fwebinar on the "Top TenTools" for SEO. Rather than deal with hundreds of questions and answers, the company has found most people get their questions answered about the course in this easy, quick online session. The class is taught by Jason McDonald, SEO / Social Media expert.
While the class is taught online, many businesses from the technology areas of Texas have shown up and participated. Dallas, Texas, for instance is a hotbed of networking and technology industries as is Austin of course. Even in cities like San Antonio or Houston, Texas businesses often struggle to find real-world training on search engine optimization. Therefore, many Texas businesses have 'gone online' and participated in these live, online seminars to help understand both local and global search engine optimizations.
It takes less than one hour, and in that hour participants will learn -
????Search Engine Optimization - what is SEO? What are the basic concepts?
????Keywords - how can you identify your BEST keywords for Google, Yahoo, and/or Bing?
????Free SEO Tools - what are the BEST FREE tools are out there on the Internet that can help quickly get to the top of the search engines?
????The Course - what will a participant learn in the entire course, if you decide to proceed?
The online SEO seminars fill quickly, so here are links to upcoming available courses. Registration is quick and easy - and no obligation.
SEO Course Syllabus
????Top Ten: Top Ten Free Tools for SEO / Search Engine Optimization
????Keywords: How to Generate Great Keywords for Great Google Rank
????Page Tags - Quick Boost - Use Page Tags to Improve your Google Rank
????Link Strategies: The Who, What, Where, When and How of Getting Good Links for SEO
????News: News You Can Use - Using News as an SEO Opportunity -
????Google Rank: Monitoring Your Google Rank, and Leveraging it for SEO and PPC
????Website Structure: Creating the Best Topology for Google Rank
????Metrics: Tools for Measuring Your Website SEO and Performance
About JM Internet Group
The JM Internet Group provides SEO, Social Media Marketing, and Google AdWords training and courses for busy marketers and businesspeople. Online search engine optimization training helps explain keywords, page tags, link building strategies and other techniques needed to climb to the top of search engine rankings for Google, Yahoo, and Bing. The teaching methodology is hands on, with live examples and discussions, taught from the convenience of each student's computer.
Contact:
JM Internet Group, Media Relations
Web. http://www.jm-seo.org/
Email. jm.internetgroup(at)gmail(dot)com
Tel. +1-510-713-2150
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebtexas/seo/prweb10373578.htm
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BEIJING (Reuters) - The New York Times said on Thursday that Chinese hackers had "persistently" attacked its computers over the past four months since the paper published a story on Premier Wen Jiabao, but sensitive material related to the report was not accessed.
The New York Times said the attacks coincided with its report last October that Wen's family had accumulated at least $2.7 billion in "hidden riches". China said at the time the report smeared its name and had ulterior motives.
"For the last four months, Chinese hackers have persistently attacked The New York Times, infiltrating its computer systems and getting passwords for its reporters and other employees," The Times said on Thursday.
"Security experts hired by The Times to detect and block the computer attacks gathered digital evidence that Chinese hackers, using methods that some consultants have associated with the Chinese military in the past, breached The Times's network."
The hackers broke into the e-mail accounts of Shanghai bureau chief, David Barboza, who wrote the story on Wen's family, and Jim Yardley, the paper's South Asia bureau chief in India who was previously the Beijing bureau chief, it added.
"Computer security experts found no evidence that sensitive e-mails or files from the reporting of our articles about the Wen family were accessed, downloaded or copied," said Jill Abramson, the paper's executive editor.
Security experts found evidence that the hackers stole the corporate passwords for every Times employee and used those to gain access to the personal computers of 53 employees, most of them outside The Times's newsroom, the paper said.
"Experts found no evidence that the intruders used the passwords to seek information that was not related to the reporting on the Wen family."
Computer security experts at Mandiant, the company hired by the newspaper, said the hackers tried to "cloak" the source of their attacks "by first penetrating computers at United States universities and routing the attacks through them".
"This matches the subterfuge used in many other attacks that Mandiant has tracked to China."
The Chinese government has repeatedly said it opposes hacking and that China too suffers frequently from these kinds of attacks.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/york-times-says-targeted-china-hackers-wen-report-040732303--finance.html
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Strong ideas are the starting point of any successful business, but if you want to take it further you?ll need to learn how to brand your business. As part of our series on ?How to Start a Business?, ?Joanne Dewberry, Sage Business Expert,?and owner of Charlie Moo?s explains how you can use branding to improve your business.?
Branding isn?t just about having a fabulous logo ? you have to consider every aspect, including yourself.? Ensure you work with colours, styles and themes which you can easily use over the various aspects of your business to provide consistence.? Branding should encompass your whole business, including your ethos, core values and mission statement. Ultimately, when a customer sees your brand, what key things do you want to spring to mind?
The name ?Charlie Moo?s? developed from my son ? Charlie. We have referred to him as ?Moo? since he was a baby. Obviously, Moo lends itself quite nicely to the cow imagery. My friend came up with the concept of the cow being the letter M and it works on so many levels:
When creating visual materials, you need to take all aspects of the design into consideration; fonts, colours, and how the logo will work alongside your existing designs or packaging.
This is an important aspect of your business so if you?re not a graphic designer then employ someone to help you. Our original logo was designed in the basic MS Paint program and was incredibly square and pixelated. We got a graphic designer on board to smooth it all out and make it more visually appealing, which instantly changed the whole appearance of my website and has since paved the way for Megan and Olive Moo. These high-quality images could then also be easily used on branded items such as wrapping paper and cake toppers.
Before you spend any money on logos, business cards, leaflets, web design, etc., it is really useful to get other people?s opinions; whether it?s via people you?ve done business with before or through social media such as Twitter. Try to avoid?just?asking family members as they will have a tendency to give a positive appraisal rather than the constructive criticism you need. Developing a brand is not an easy process, but once it is right you?ve then got to reinforce it in everything you say and do. It inevitably encompasses everything about you and what your business does.
Joanne Dewberry
Joanne is passionate about small business and writes a blog JoanneDewberry.co.uk providing small businesses training, advice & networking in areas of social media, marketing and juggling children and a business. She is also the author of small business book ?Crafting a Successful Small Business?, of which this is an extract
Source: http://www.sage.co.uk/blog/index.php/2013/01/business-branding-for-beginners/
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? The FBI says the week following the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting massacre saw the greatest number of background checks for firearms sales and permits to carry guns conducted within a one-week period since 1998.
The FBI says the second highest week was when President Barack Obama announced sweeping plans to curb gun violence.
This new data published by the FBI confirms what many gun dealers around the country have said about sales going up after the deadly shooting that left 27 dead, including 20 children, as gun enthusiasts braced for stricter controls.
The number of background checks does not represent the number of firearms purchased, but gun manufacturers use these statistics to measure the health of the gun industry in the U.S.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/background-checks-peak-week-conn-shooting-215045463.html
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Hillary Rodham Clinton has been one of the US?s most popular and peripatetic secretaries of state ? logging nearly 1 million miles in four years and becoming a household name from Panama to Pakistan.
Her successor, John Kerry, who was approved unanimously by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and confirmed by the Senate today as the new US secretary of State, might not have the same widespread clout. However, he comes with nearly 30 years of foreign policy experience and among his peers is largely considered one of the most capable US politicians for the job.
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The son of a US diplomat who grew up living and traveling across Europe and speaks fluent French, Senator Kerry lost his bid for the presidency in 2004 to George W. Bush. But he became well known across the globe for his work on the Senate?s Foreign Relations Committee, which he has chaired for four years and served on for 28.
In facing the globe?s most intractable problems, the world is hopeful that Kerry is well poised for the position. ?He is seen as the embodiment of traditional foreign policy,? says Ian Lesser, the executive director of the German Marshall Fund?s Brussels Office.
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Whether that is good or bad is subjective, but from Europe to Pakistan to China, many have voiced expectations that his vast experience and diplomatic skill will be a boon to dealing with international crises and issues.
MOVING ?THE PROCESS FORWARD? IN PAKISTAN
Among the immediate challenges that Kerry faces is the US relationship with Pakistan as NATO withdraws from Afghanistan. To ensure the stability of that process, Pakistan ? which shares a border with Afghanistan, is known for militant activity, and whose security establishment has been accused of maintaining close ties with the Afghan Taliban ? is considered a key player.
Insiders there have expressed hope that Kerry can navigate a complicated relationship.
"John Kerry, I personally feel, is more mature and positive in terms of looking at Pakistan and Afghanistan,? says a Pakistani security official who is not permitted to speak on the record. "He has a lot of goodwill among the foreign office people and the military. I think it is going to break a lot of ice, and move the process forward in terms of Pakistan and Afghanistan."
Kerry led a successful mission to Kabul in 2009, leading Hamid Karzai to agree to second-round presidential elections. Kerry has frequently spoken of the need for a more conciliatory approach to Pakistan, speaking out against cutting foreign aid to the country and saying that it has not gotten enough credit for killing Osama bin Laden.
"The biggest thing with Kerry is that he knows Pakistan. He's seen the ups and downs of policy here. So that's a huge plus,? says Raza Rumi, director of the Jinnah Institute in Pakistan. ?He's not a hardliner. In fact, he's viewed as a friend of Pakistan by many circles in the country."
?QUI EST JOHN KERRY?
Kerry is a five-term senator from Massachusetts, who attended the elite schools and universities of the East coast and is one of the country?s wealthiest politicians ? now married to Teresa Heinz Kerry.
He has French relatives and speaks the language perfectly, but that is not something that served him well during his 2004 presidential bid. Critics dismissed him as an out-of-touch Francophone, ridiculing him as ?Monsieur Kerry.?
But if that hurt him in middle America, it is a leg-up in Europe.
?What plays against him in the US plays 150 percent for him in France,? says Steven Ekovich, who teaches American foreign policy at the American University of Paris and wrote a book on John Kerry in French in 2004 called ?Qui est John Kerry?? or ?Who is John Kerry.? He says the French are delighted to have a man with an affinity for Europe, and especially for France, as the face of US diplomacy.
Kerry?s French counterpart, Laurent Fabius, congratulated him upon his appointment and acknowledged ?how personally committed he is to Franco-American friendship.?
Still, Kerry takes the position at a time when the ?pivot to Asia? has triggered anxiety in European corners. ?One of his biggest challenges will be convincing Europeans that Europe still matters politically in Washington,? says Mr. Lesser.
He says the US turns to Europe as the natural partner on key questions, most recently conflict in Mali, as well as nuclear arms in Iran, and questions about energy and climate. And despite the focus on Asia, trade between the US and Europe is still dominant in global terms, he says.
?ASIA PIVOT?
It is unclear, whether Kerry will maintain the same focus on Asia as did his predecessor. His first international crisis may surface in the region, as North Korea threatens an imminent nuclear test in yet another act of defiance of the international community.
But aside from having fought in Vietnam and made the foreign trips that are standard for all senior members of the US foreign policy establishment, Kerry has no particular Asia expertise.
?Clinton made rebalancing [US foreign policy toward Asia] her legacy,? says Bonnie Glaser, a senior analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. ?Kerry may want to choose another issue for his legacy.?
As a result, Ms. Glaser adds, despite the ?Asia Pivot,? ?many countries in the region are preparing themselves for a diminished level of US attention. There?s a fear the US won?t have the staying power to sustain the interest we have seen over the past four years.?
The new secretary of State is not likely to ignore Washington?s relationship with treaty ally Japan, especially in light of Tokyo?s dangerous dispute with Beijing over ownership of islands in the East China Sea.
As he manages that relationship, Kerry ?will have to keep a delicate balance? between ties with Japan and ties with China, warns Tao Wenzhao, a US-watcher at the Chinese Academy for Social Sciences.
And Chinese analysts say they expect smoother diplomatic relations under Kerry. ?I think Kerry may do more to ease China?s uneasiness over the pivot to Asia,? says Liu Feitao, an expert on US affairs at the China Institute for International Studies, a think tank linked to the Foreign Ministry. ?I think we will see less of the conflict and friction we saw under Hillary Clinton.?
Kerry, who cautioned in his Senate confirmation hearings that the US should be careful ?about not creating a threat when there isn?t one? and against ?overreacting? to China?s military buildup, ?is more diplomatic minded? than his predecessor, believes Shen Dingli, a foreign policy adviser to the Chinese government.
NUCLEAR IRAN?
Iran and its nuclear program will inevitably be near the top of Kerry's agenda, continuing a trajectory of growing importance and urgency over Iran that has bedeviled his predecessors.
Kerry has inherited a standoff between Iran and the US and its allies marked by ever-increasing sanctions, stalled nuclear talks, and a covert war that has included assassinations, mysterious explosions, and computer viruses.
Rarely in the past three decades has Iran been seen as such a challenge to Washington. So, for Kerry as secretary of State, critical decisions may determine an outcome of peace or war.
Kerry told Senators last week: "We will do what we must do to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and I repeat here today, our policy is not containment. It is prevention, and the clock is ticking on our efforts to secure responsible compliance."
Kerry's instinct appears to mirror Obama's own: to err on the side of diplomacy, and avoid a military conflict that strategists and Iran experts say would have uncertain chances of success and a host of negative consequences.
He said sanctions have succeeded in strangling Iran's economy, though they have caused no reevaluation in Tehran of its nuclear program, which Iran says is limited to peaceful power production.
A host of American and European measures target its lifeblood, oil exports, and central bank transactions, along with four sets of sanctions imposed on Iran by the UN.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has chastised the Obama administration for not laying down a "red line" for Iran's nuclear advances, which would trigger military strikes.
"Iranians need to understand that there's no other agenda here," Kerry said during his confirmation hearings. "If their program is peaceful, they can prove it. And that's what we are seeking."
PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST?
Kerry might face a better climate when it comes to the stalled and failing peace negotiations in the Middle East.
Kerry said in his confirmation hearing that President Obama is ?deeply committed? to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. He also warned that, ?if we can't be successful that the door ? to the possibility of a two-state solution could shut on everybody and that would be disastrous in my judgment.?
In 2012, Israel approved four times more new housing projects in East Jerusalem and the West Bank than in the previous year, raising concerns that it may soon become too difficult to piece together a viable Palestinian state. Meanwhile, the rise of Hamas in Gaza could compromise Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas?s ability to secure a peace deal that?s acceptable to his people.
Kerry is reportedly planning a trip in February to gauge the willingness of both sides to renew negotiations. It is a delicate time, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faring poorly in recent elections and the next government not expected to be firmly in place for at least a month. But once the dust settles, the situation might be riper for negotiations than when Secretary Clinton took office.
?I think he?s coming to a much more level playing field than we had in the last few years,? says Alon Liel, a veteran diplomat, citing Obama?s election victory and the Palestinian success in getting recognized as a state at the United Nations.
?We have stronger and more independent American president we have a weaker Israeli prime minister, and we have a stronger [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] after the UN vote,? says Mr. Liel.
Other key issues that Kerry is likely to face: Israeli pressure to strike Iran and working with Israel to prevent Syria?s chemical weapons from falling into the wrong hands.
ECONOMIC POLICY IN LATIN AMERICA
In Latin America, hopes are not high that the US under Kerry will pay more attention to the region than did Obama with Clinton. Some point to the scant reference to the region during Kerry?s confirmation hearing as evidence.
That?s a missed opportunity, writes Andres Oppenheimer in his column in the Miami Herald.
In response to Kerry?s comment in his opening statement at the confirmation hearing ? ?More than ever, foreign policy is economic policy? ? Mr. Oppenheimer writes: ?Nobody in his right mind will argue that Iran?s nuclear program, or al-Qaida?s cells in North Africa, should not be at the center of US foreign policy concerns.?
But, Oppenheimer writes, ?if US foreign policy is increasingly about economic policy, and if the United States needs to increase its declining share of global trade and investment, as Kerry said, it should definitely seek greater economic ties with Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, and other fast-growing Western Hemisphere neighbors.?
Overall Kerry has less appeal in the region than did Clinton, says Analicia Ruiz, an expert on US-Mexico relations at An?huac University in Mexico City.
?People don?t know who he is,? Ms. Ruiz says. ?They had an affinity for Clinton because she broke a paradigm. She was a woman, the wife of the ex-president [Bill Clinton],? Ruiz says. Kerry, on the other hand, is considered a member of the ?old boys? network of Washington.
And on the issues that matter most to Mexicans, she says, the secretary of State position is not crucial. ?Whether we actually get a comprehensive immigration reform depends on the internal politics of the US,? Ruiz says.
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
In fact, expectations are high across the globe for Obama's second term, and his new secretary of State might see his first challenge ?expectation management,? says Lesser in Brussels.
Blazer agrees, pointing to the possibility of Chinese hopes not being fulfilled. ?It?s the president who sets policy,? she says. ?The Chinese have inflated expectations of how much US policy might change.?
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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/does-world-expect-newly-confirmed-secretary-state-john-214509260.html
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Jenn Lyon plays Raylan's girlfriend, Lindsey Salazar, on FX's Justified. Read below for her thoughts on Lindsey's true feelings for Raylan and how much she loves Ellen May.Photo by Prashant Gupta/FX
Rachael Larimore: Jenn, thank you for chatting with me. It?s fitting to be discussing Justified with someone who is affectionately known around the Slate offices as "Raylan's hot bartender girlfriend," because tonight's episode might as well have been called "Ladies' Night." Lindsey and Ellen May were both in the spotlight. I have a million questions for you about Lindsey.
Jenn Lyon:??You?re welcome and thank you for having me.
Larimore: In the big story line, Lindsey has disappeared with Randall (and Raylan's money) and we catch up with them at the slimy fight promoter's house. Lindsey had a moment where she seemed to be there reluctantly. Randall gave you a big hug and you turned away, a little distracted or conflicted. What was going on with Lindsey's emotions?
Lyon: The script said: ?Lindsey smiles, allowing herself to be manhandled by way of affection. But her eyes are on the money and nowhere else.? It was clear to me that they wanted the ambiguity and the distance between these conflicted actions she?s taking. You see her at the party and just think she?s bad, but then she makes that phone call from the gas station: Is she leaving clues for Raylan to follow or just flying by the seat of her pants? The writers don?t say one way or the other.
Larimore: I definitely felt that ambiguousness. Even up to the end, when Lindsey shot Raylan with the bean bag gun but then turned and shot Randall, too. What does Lindsey get out of this adventure, besides Randall's car, which admittedly is a pretty great car? I feel like she got her freedom?Randall won't be able to bother again.
Lyon: I know! She?s pretty inscrutable and I like that. As the lady playing her, I had to make decisions as to why she is doing what she is doing, but I probably won?t tell those. It?s more fun to wonder, did she love him or is she even capable of that? Is she just a predatory creature or is it a mix of appetites within one person? I will, personally, always go with the last one because its more interesting and gives you an obstacle to play. But yeah, she escapes with her freedom for now because the money has already been turned into fowl.
Larimore: Inscrutability is a great trait for Lindsey, but geez, but I?m talking to Jenn!Can you tell us a little bit about your take on Lindsey?
Lyon: ?OK, OK! Maybe I'm being too precious about all that. For me, Lindsey was falling for Raylan and was working hard to live on the straight and narrow. She imagined being a good woman, the right woman for Raylan, but then her old life came for her and she had to do what she had to do to escape it.
Larimore: Lindsey?s escape kind of hits that note. We think she?s being sweet and good, when she tells Raylan his money was in the van, and then he makes his way over to the van and finds the chickens! That was a great comic moment, by the way.
?Lyon: Dude, the whole episode is so funny, I laughed a lot watching it: the scene where Ellen May is trying to tell Ava that she would never let it slip that she killed Delroy and people keep walking past, or when Shelby hangs up on Boyd while he?s still talking, or Randall and Raylan?s repartee, or Rachel and the chicken breeder.
Larimore: Justified's comedy is underrated. And the best moments are when the characters aren't supposed to be funny. Like Ellen May with Ava, and all the people walking by. I'm sure that nailing the comedy aspect is as hard or harder than the drama. What are some of the other challenges you?ve encountered playing Lindsey?
Lyon: One challenge was wearing so little clothing: It was my first time ever making out on camera or just standing there half naked and that?s real vulnerable and strange.Oh ?and kissing Timothy and Robert was also a hardship that I had to endure for art.
Larimore: My (cough, cough) sympathies to you on all that making out with ruggedly handsome actors.
Lyon: if my boyfriend is reading this: "It was awful. They reeked of Chipotle." (It was great!! They smelled like dreamboats!!)
Lyon:: A lot of actors and actresses mention that all that staged making out is awkward/boring/uncomfortable, but I?m sure that doesn?t stop the folks at home from thinking it must be simply dreamy. How do you prepare for those scenes?
Lyon: I prepare for those scenes by listening to hard-core rap and furiously brushing my teeth, both of which give me a false sense of confidence.
Larimore:??I'll file that advice away! What would fans of Justified be surprised to hear about from behind the scenes? What is the creative process like on set?
Lyon: The speed and virtuosity of every department is crazy. From sound to lighting to art direction to props to hair and makeup/wardrobe, everyone is so on the ball and ready to collaborate, not just tell you what to do, which I?m told is pretty rare. The writers are constantly revising: The script you have worked on and memorized the night before could be totally different by the time you get to set, or they could change it while you?re rehearsing the scene. Tim might say that it feels clunky or the director doesn?t feel the right information is getting across, so the writers take that and go into a trailer and in five minutes you have a completely new monologue or they have pared down and reversed the order of things. On Tuesday you can get a version of a scene that has an armed robbery and a hostage crisis, and by Thursday, it?s been turned into a sweet conversation and a standoff. So, everybody has to be on their toes and the speed with which the regulars on the show can adjust and memorize new material is astounding. ?
Larimore: The show comes across as so carefully done, especially the dialogue. On the one hand you can imagine it going through a lot of rewriting; on the other, it's something else to think that it has to be relearned so quickly.
Lyon:??It?s such a specific kind of dialogue, too, and these writers are brilliant at it.
Larimore: Justified loves having parallels between its story lines, I've noticed. And in this episode we saw Lindsey disappear, and in the other storyline, Ellen May disappeared at the gas station after she wised up to the fact that Colt wasn't taking her to the bus stop. Ellen May has always represented to me a kind of "innocence lost." We see Boyd with his crime-lording and Ava with her brothel, and you don't necessarily think about how their actions trickle down to the people in Harlan. But then there's sad little Ellen May, who is an addict and a prostitute, but who somehow hangs on to this sweet naivete.
Lyon: I love it when you talk about the parallels and when people appreciate the show for how layered and multifaceted it is. I?m fucking nuts for Ellen May, and the actress that plays her is so wonderful both on the show and off. She plays her with such a lack of guile but at the same time, she is a survivor and has scrapped her way to staying alive many times.
?Larimore: What do you think made Ellen May wise up to Boyd and Ava's plan to kill her? And do you think she'll be OK?
Lyon: Ellen May may not be the sharpest tool in the shed but she is sensitive and observant and when you have always been dependent on someone else for your survival, you watch them for signs of pleasure or disapproval or abandonment, not to mention she has been sober since the church stuff happened and that heightens her senses. I think she could tell by the way Ava was saying goodbye to her and the way Colt was treating her. It was all too good to be true.
Larimore:?I wasn't totally surprised to see her gone when Colt came out (He's turning into a real liability for Boyd, I think), but I was glad. I have a feeling will see her again. I wish I could say the same for Lindsey, but I suppose that is up to the writers, isn't it? They have left themselves some wiggle room
Lyon: The writers say that if you don?t take a bullet you could always come back, so maybe Lindsey could figure in later but Raylan needs to be a lone wolf, I think. I?m incredibly grateful to have gotten to work on it at all so I don?t mind disappearing into the ether.
Larimore: That is something to look forward to. In the meantime, it?s time for us to escape. Thanks for chatting, and for not taking $20,000 money from my sock drawer or shooting me with a bean-bag gun.
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=ce81efbd05f5cf403c85cb9a54dc1276
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Arizona Sen. John McCain partnered with liberal Democrat Ted Kennedy in 2005 to offer illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship, then allied with border security hardliners during a tough 2010 Republican primary. "Complete the danged fence," McCain cracked in a widely publicized television spot.
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Less well known is the equally dramatic pivot by Marco Rubio, from 2010 candidate who dismissed McCain?s proposal as ?amnesty,? to U.S. senator who on Monday championed reforms McCain said had ?very little difference? from his previous plan, which became the blueprint for failed legislation in 2006 and 2007.
During a March 28, 2010 Fox News debate against then-Gov. Charlie Crist, Rubio said: ?He would have voted for the McCain plan. I think that plan is wrong, and the reason I think it?s wrong is that if you grant amnesty, as the governor proposes that we do, in any form, whether it's back of the line or so forth, you will destroy any chance we will ever have of having a legal immigration system that works here in America.?
In a CNN debate on Oct 24, 2010, moderator Candy Crowley asked, ?So your plan is that you're going to close the borders, get the electronic system, fix the legal system, and then do what?" Rubio responded: ?And then you'll have a legal immigration system that works. And you'll have people in this country that are without documents that will be able to return to the -- will be able to leave this country, return to their homeland, and try to re-enter through our system that now functions, a system that makes sense?Earned path to citizenship is basically code for amnesty.?
The legislation Rubio backed Monday requires illegal immigrants to pass a criminal background check, hold down a job, pay fines and back taxes, learn English, and go to the back of the line ? just like previous proposals. ?It is not going to be an easy process, but it's certainly going to be a fair one and a humane one and one that speaks to our nation's legacy, both as a nation of laws, but also as a nation of immigrants,? Rubio said at the Capitol Hill press conference. As details of the new legislation are still emerging, it?s unclear what Rubio sees as the differences between it and past proposals.
What is apparent is that the turnaround by the potential presidential contender reflects a changing political calculus. Rubio went from longshot to rock star in the tea party-dominated 2010 campaign in part by running to the right of the moderate governor. Now, after two years of burnishing his conservative record in the Senate, immigration reform offers one of the nation?s most prominent Hispanic Republicans an opportunity to show leadership and substance as he positions himself for a possible White House bid.
?He took a right turn on immigration but he?s slowly coming back to where I think he?s naturally oriented,? said Marshall Fitz, direction of immigration policy at the liberal Center for American Progress. ?He understands he has to be a player on this issue.?
As Rubio's star power and skills at framing the immigration debate begin to lure conservatives to the table, the potential for a breakthrough in Washington is already overshadowing his previous policy shifts.
As a state lawmaker in 2003 and 2004, he co-sponsored bills to give college tuition breaks to illegal immigrants. As Florida House Speaker in 2008, half a dozen bills that aimed to crack down on illegal immigrants fizzled on his watch.
But during the 2010 campaign, Rubio towed the anti-amnesty line demanded by the conservative base of his party. He even argued the U.S. census should count ?only legal citizens? because including illegal immigrants would ?actually incentivize politicians to perpetuate our broken immigration system by rewarding states with large illegal immigrant populations with a louder voice in Washington.? The statement drew rebukes from fellow Republicans and led Rubio to clarify that only legal residents should be counted.
In Oct. 2011, when Texas Gov. Rick Perry?s advocacy for in-state tuition for illegal immigrants in his own state had, in part, cost him the lead in the Republican primary,?Rubio retreated from his previous support for such tuition breaks. ?As a general rule, people in the United States who are here without documentation should not benefit from programs like in-state tuition,?? Rubio said at the time.
Rubio?s approach changed again a few months later when he began touting legal status for illegal immigrants who attend college or join the military, and?he criticized members of his own party for using ?harsh and intolerable? rhetoric. ?He put his neck out there,? said Jennifer Korn, executive director of the center-right Hispanic Leadership Network. ?In watching him and seeing how he operates, I think he does things because he believes in them, not because they are politically expedient.?
But at the same time he was promoting an alternative to the DREAM Act, Rubio filed a bill that would make it harder for undocumented workers to claim a child tax credit.
?Frankly it was perplexing,? Fitz said. ?I don?t know if it was an effort to inoculate him from attacks on the right, but it didn?t make any sense to take food off the table from U.S. citizen kids in the name of trying to make life harder for their undocumented parents.?
Rubio never produced DREAM Act legislation, and his level of engagement wasn?t completely clear until two weeks ago, when he outlined his principles in?an interview with?The Wall Street Journal: tighter border security, temporary work visas for low-skilled workers, more visas for high-skilled workers and an arduous way for illegal immigrants to earn citizenship. That?s roughly the same McCain plan Rubio once said he opposed. ?Yet immigration advocates who have criticized Rubio's policy shifts in the past are holding back as his presence gives new momentum to their longtime goals.
"Politicians do change their positions, for better or worse," said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. "It happened with John McCain, who moved to the right in an election and is now back in the mix, and it's happened with Rubio. People take their journey -- what I am more concerned about is their destination."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rubio-reformed-immigration-thinking-080738098--politics.html
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VIENNA (Reuters) - Romani artist Ceija Stojka, whose work helped expose the Nazis' persecution of the Romani people, died in a Vienna hospital on Monday aged 79, her publisher told the Austria Press Agency on Tuesday.
Holocaust survivor Stojka wrote one of the first Romani autobiographical accounts of Nazi persecution, the 1988 book "We Live in Seclusion: The Memories of a Romani", and dedicated decades to telling her people's story through music and art.
The Romani people, like the Jews, were sent to concentration camps by Germany's Nazis during the Second World War. Up to 1.5 million were murdered in an attempted genocide.
Austrian-born Stojka survived internment in the Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen and Ravensbrueck concentration camps, along with just five other members of her 200-strong family.
"I reached for the pen because I had to open myself, to scream," the activist said at an exhibition in Vienna's Jewish Museum in 2004.
The Budapest-based European Roma Cultural Foundation on Tuesday described Stojka as an "outstanding Austrian Romani woman ... and a key figure for the history, art and literature of Romani culture in Europe".
The foundation's executive director, Timea Junghaus, wrote in an email to Reuters: "She was a role model for the present generation and an inspiration for the future generations of Roma in Europe."
Stojka began painting at the age of 56, often using her fingers or toothpicks instead of brushes to apply acrylic paint and ink.
Her works, many of which are recreations of her experiences in the concentrations camps, have been described as "eerie" and "childlike" by viewers of her exhibitions around the world.
Romani people are still subject to forced assimilation or segregation, cultural repression, eviction and other forms of discrimination in many countries, especially in Europe.
The European Union estimates there are between 10 and 12 million Romani people in Europe, making them the continent's largest ethnic minority, although populations are hard to count, since many choose not to register their ethnic identity.
(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Louise Ireland)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/romani-artist-holocaust-documenter-stojka-dies-185058281.html
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It was casual attire, sort of, at the Indiana Statehouse Monday, and it was all for a good cause.
Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis), along with House legislators and staff, wore sneakers at the Statehouse Monday as part of the ?Suits and Sneakers? challenge in support of the fight against cancer.
?We all have either been personally affected, or know of someone who has battled cancer,? said Speaker Bosma. ?The toll that this deadly disease has on Hoosiers is staggering. Until a cure is found, we can help raise awareness and show compassion to the families that are involved.?
According to the American Cancer Society, 35,000 Hoosiers were diagnosed with cancer last year and 13,000 died from the disease.
The American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches teamed up to sponsor ?Suits and Sneakers,? a program aimed to raise cancer awareness and support those affected by it.
Indiana State University men?s basketball coach, Greg Lansing, was in attendance at the Statehouse Monday.? He encouraged House members and staff to raise awareness on ways to reduce the risk of cancer such as eating right, exercising and making healthy lifestyle choices.
?Cancer affects thousands of families across our state,? said Speaker Bosma. ?I appreciated the efforts that our Indiana collegiate coaches took in challenging the Legislature to help raise awareness. It was a great opportunity to show our fellow Hoosiers they?re not alone in this fight.?
Photo: (Left to Right) House Speaker Brian C. Bosma (R-Indianapolis) poses with Rep. Alan Morrison (R-Terre Haute), Rep. Bob Heaton (R-Terre Haute) and Coach Greg Lansing, ISU for the American Cancer Society to help raise awareness.
Source: http://fox59.com/2013/01/28/indiana-house-speaker-legislators-wear-sneakers-for-cancer-awareness/
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Mariah Arostigue, left, and Noah Reyes, 11th graders, chat as they work on their homework in a pre-calculus class at Segerstrom High School in Santa Ana, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. A growing number of teachers are implementing what is known as "flipped learning," in which students learn lessons as homework, mostly through online videos produced by teachers, and use classroom time to practice what they learned. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Mariah Arostigue, left, and Noah Reyes, 11th graders, chat as they work on their homework in a pre-calculus class at Segerstrom High School in Santa Ana, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. A growing number of teachers are implementing what is known as "flipped learning," in which students learn lessons as homework, mostly through online videos produced by teachers, and use classroom time to practice what they learned. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Students solve problems in Crystal Kirch's pre-calculus class at Segerstrom High School in Santa Ana, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. A growing number of teachers are implementing what is known as "flipped learning," in which students learn lessons as homework, mostly through online videos produced by teachers, and use classroom time to practice what they learned. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Teacher Crystal Kirch, center, talks to her students in her pre-calculus class at Segerstrom High School in Santa Ana, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. A growing number of teachers are implementing what is known as "flipped learning," in which students learn lessons as homework, mostly through online videos produced by teachers, and use classroom time to practice what they learned. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Marisa Wilkerson, 11th grader, and her classmate use their hands to make the shape of a conic section in Crystal Kirch's pre-calculus class at Segerstrom High School in Santa Ana, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. A growing number of teachers are implementing what is known as "flipped learning," in which students learn lessons as homework, mostly through online videos produced by teachers, and use classroom time to practice what they learned. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Teacher Crystal Kirch greets her student in her pre-calculus class at Segerstrom High School in Santa Ana, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. A growing number of teachers are implementing what is known as "flipped learning," in which students learn lessons as homework, mostly through online videos produced by teachers, and use classroom time to practice what they learned. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) ? When Timmy Nguyen comes to his pre-calculus class, he's already learned the day's lesson ? he watched it on a short online video prepared by his teacher for homework.
So without a lecture to listen to, he and his classmates at Segerstrom Fundamental High School spend class time doing practice problems in small groups, taking quizzes, explaining the concept to other students, reciting equation formulas in a loud chorus, and making their own videos while teacher Crystal Kirch buzzes from desk to desk to help pupils who are having trouble.
It's a technology-driven teaching method known as "flipped learning" because it flips the time-honored model of classroom lecture and exercises for homework ? the lecture becomes homework and class time is for practice.
"It was hard to get used to," said Nguyen, an 11th-grader. "I was like 'why do I have to watch these videos, this is so dumb.' But then I stopped complaining and I learned the material quicker. My grade went from a D to an A."
Flipped learning apparently is catching on in schools across the nation as a younger, more tech-savvy generation of teachers is moving into classrooms. Although the number of "flipped" teachers is hard to ascertain, the online community Flipped Learning Network now has 10,000 members, up from 2,500 a year ago, and training workshops are being held all over the country, said executive director Kari Afstrom.
Under the model, teachers make eight- to 10-minute videos of their lessons using laptops, often simply filming the whiteboard as the teacher makes notations and recording their voice as they explain the concept. The videos are uploaded onto a teacher or school website, or even YouTube, where they can be accessed by students on computers or smartphones as homework.
For pupils lacking easy access to the Internet, teachers copy videos onto DVDs or flash drives. Kids with no home device watch the video on school computers.
Class time is then devoted to practical applications of the lesson ? often more creative exercises designed to engage students and deepen their understanding. On a recent afternoon, Kirch's students stood in pairs with one student forming a cone shape with her hands and the other angling an arm so the "cone" was cut into different sections.
"It's a huge transformation," said Kirch, who has been taking this approach for two years. "It's a student-focused classroom where the responsibility for learning has flipped from me to the students."
The concept emerged five years ago when a pair of Colorado high school teachers started videotaping their chemistry classes for absent students.
"We found it was really valuable and pushed us to ask what the students needed us for," said one of the teachers, Aaron Sams, now a consultant who is developing on online education program in Pittsburgh. "They didn't need us for content dissemination, they needed us to dig deeper."
He and colleague Jonathan Bergmann began condensing classroom lectures to short videos and assigning them as homework.
"The first year, I was able to double the number of labs my students were doing," Sams said. "That's every science teacher's dream."
In the Detroit suburb of Clinton Township, Clintondale High School Principal Greg Green converted the whole school to flipped learning in the fall of 2011 after years of frustration with high failure rates and discipline problems. Three-quarters of the school's enrollment of 600 is low-income, minority students.
Flipping yielded dramatic results after just a year, including a 33 percent drop in the freshman failure rate and a 66 percent drop in the number of disciplinary incidents from the year before, Green said. Graduation, attendance and test scores all went up. Parent complaints dropped from 200 to seven.
Green attributed the improvements to an approach that engages students more in their classes.
"Kids want to take an active part in the learning process," he said. "Now teachers are actually working with kids."
Although the method has been more popular in high schools, it's now catching on in elementary schools, said Afstrom of the Flipped Learning Network.
Fifth-grade teacher Lisa Highfill in the Pleasanton Unified School District said for a lesson about adding decimals, she made a five-minute, how-to video kids watched at home and in class, then she distributed play money and menus and had kids "ordering" food and tallying the bill and change.
A colleague who teaches kindergarten reads a storybook on video. The video contains a pop-up box that requires kids to write something that shows they understood the story.
The concept has its downside. Teachers note that making the videos and coming up with project activities to fill class time is a lot of extra work up front, while some detractors believe it smacks of teachers abandoning their primary responsibility of instructing.
"They're expecting kids to do the learning outside the classroom. There's not a lot of evidence this works," said Leonie Haimson, executive director of Class Size Matters, a New York City-based parent advocacy group. "What works is reasonably sized classes with a lot of debate, interaction and discussion."
Others question whether flipped learning would work as well with low achieving students, who may not be as motivated to watch lessons on their own, but said it was overall a positive model.
"It's forcing the notion of guided practice," said Cynthia Desrochers, director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at California State University-Northridge. "Students can get the easy stuff on their own, but the hard stuff should be under the watchful eye of a teacher."
At Michigan's Clintondale High School, some teachers show the video at the beginning of class to ensure all kids watch it and that home access is not an issue.
In Kirch's pre-calculus class, students said they liked the concept.
"You're not falling asleep in class, "said senior Monica Resendiz said. "You're constantly working."
Explaining to adults that homework was watching videos was a little harder, though.
"My grandma thought I was using it as an excuse to mess around on the Internet," Nguyen said.
___
Contact the reporter at http://twitter.com/ChristinaHoag .
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January 5th, 2013
Location: New York City
Operatives: Sector Jackel and Sector Hyde
Mission: Apprend rouge informant
Additional Notes: Keep public damage to a miniumum i.e NO EXPLOSIVES
It was a cold and wet day in New York City with a light rain starting to fall from the sky. The once busy streets of Dante Avenue were practially vacant for one single reason SLAYER operatives were currently on a mission. Said operatives were currently located inside a black van attempting to work out a plan...as well as refrain from killing each other.
"Our target is a Ferin by the name of Alexander Yente, who is currently under the guise of a human tattoo artist. Despite his status as netural he has been useful to our sector of Jackel as an informatant due to his personal relations with a servant of the Rein Crime Family, said servant is currently unidentifed by our reporters."
Glasses shined slightly for a moment as they were adjusted with a gloved hand revealing cold blue eyes staring intently at the file. The smooth voice continued reading as he turned the page of the file "Our target has been declared missing as of last week when he failed to show up for report. That is our mission to find our missing link so to speak".
"Maybe he just was out chasing some new tail. Don?t those Ferin go into heat around this time?"
A gruff new voice asked with impatience. Hiding out was not part of a Hyde's job. Hell, there was a reason he was currently even there was because the place they were staking out at was known for aggressive clients none too fond of humans unless they were a food source.
"That is beside the point; you don't seem to understand without him our Intel is as good as non-existent. Any future conflicts with the Rein family would be a grim situation even for you Hyde combatants."
"Any fight is a fight I am determined to win Suit. There is a reason I brought Gretel with me for this little mission". The rough voice spoke with a cheerful tone as the burly man gently patted the rocket launcher at his side.
Suit rolled his eyes as the large weapon. Hyde operatives were renowned in SLAYER for their combat skills; however silence was not in their skillset. As far as Suit was concerned the Hyde sector was all brawn and no brain..Tank was no exception. A loud beep broke the awkward silence as Suit nodded as the coordinator at SLAYER gave them the all clear to start the second phase of their mission. Casing the building itself and hopefully locating their target. The duo went over their plan once before stepping out into the now pouring rain.
Their destination was the vacant building in which they had been watching for the past two hours. Suit knew otherwise thanks to his glasses which allowed him to see through any type of camouflage magic or not. Adjusting the frame of his glasses with a small tap, data streamed across the glass before vanishing. Suit?s stoic demeanor broke for a moment as the building remained the same as ever aside from a bright neon sign boldly displaying ?W: Brothel and Bar?. A smirk appeared as Suit caught the wolfish smile of Tank who was gaping at the sign.
?What thought that you were the only one who knew about this place? The joys of technology my friend rendering any magical concealment worthless like a cheap trick...?
It was Tank?s turn to smirk as he slung an arm over the gangly frame of Suit, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes boldly stating
?Nah, I am just surprised you even know about this place. Everyone figured you were about as sexual as a rock.?
Tank grinned as he ruffled the man?s coal hair with a rough hand, much to the annoyance of the owner who swatted the hand away with surprising speed. His playful demeanor vanished as he was suddenly staring down the barrel of a gun. More specifically a pistol with a silencer in the right hand of an irritated Suit.
?Shut up and go around back NOW. Before I blow your damn head off and leave you to the strays to pick your corpse.?
?Morbid fellow aren?t you Suit.? Tank chuckled before heading into the alleyway for once being serious about his job, at least for now.
Suit placed the gun back into his suit with a sigh before entering the brothel with a blank face. The interior of the building smelled of alcohol and sex..an extremely nauseating combination. Suit glanced through the crowds trying to find his target. His search was interrupted by a buxom woman practically draping her scantily clad figure across Suit?s form painted lips pursed in a pout.
?Looking for someone handsome? Or perhaps just a good time?? The woman purred with lust dripping in her voice. A classic Ferin in heat still dangerous despite possibly being compromised. Suit?s cold eyes traced the woman?s form eyeing the tattoos that covered her body like a second form.
?Of course, I am darling allow me to escort you to somewhere..more private?
Gently grabbing the woman?s wrist Suit pulled her through the crowd out into the crisp air his hair rapidly becoming soaked from the rain. Slicking his hair back with a hand he shoved the woman against the wall. The woman gasped in surprise as her back collided roughly with the brick, her eyes darkening with desire.
?It?s okay sir..I like it rough?
Suit grinned at that comment before laughing coldly and stepping back with his gloved hands in his pocket. The large figure of Tank appeared behind him along with the glint of brass knuckles that lined his fingers.
?Now, lady I would hate to hit a girl..but we all know you an?t no gentlewoman? Tank grinned before gripping the slender throat of the shocked woman.
?Enough games Alexander we caught you so give up the act?
The woman hissed through her teeth as her ?tattoos? rapidly began to move before consuming her entire figure. Tank quickly removed his hand as the ink attempted to crawl onto the man?s hand like a type of parasite.
?Welcome back to the land of testosterone Alexander?I will never understand why you chose to cloak yourself in such a feminine form.? Alexander merely smirked with cocky look before brushing off his crisp white shirt.
Tank stood shocked as the man who was a she was acting so calm despite going through a complete transformation. Nothing on the Ferin?s file stated he had the power to change gender. A hand on his shoulder pulled him out of his shocked state.
? No need to look so worried Tank, Alexander was merely cloaking himself with his ink in the form a woman. He cannot not switch genders without medical procedures as far as I know. Am I correct Alex??
?Yes you are Suit. I apologize for frightening your little giant. I couldn?t help myself humans are such amusing creatures.?
Suit grinned for the first time before calling in back to SLAYER headquarters. ? Target has been found and is willing to corporate. Mission complete?. His blue eyes glanced at Alexander who was merely toying with Tank now by constantly changing his hair color from crimson to a bubblegum pink.
Taping his glasses once more this time having them act as a recording device he readied himself to interview Alexander. Alexander?s antics stopped upon seeing a the blinking red light on the lens of the glasses.
?I do have a good reason for not reporting in Suit.?
Tank merely rolled his eyes and inched toward the handle of Gretel, ready at any moment to send an explosive rocket into the Ferin before him at any sign of hostile or dishonesty.
? Oh really what would that be??
?I was nearly murdered by another Ferin in the service of a rival family. My darling little Vixen graciously allowed me to copy her form in order to hide out in her master?s house. Now those were some interesting nights??
Suit held up his hand to cut off anymore unwanted monologues of Alexander?s love life. That was one thing that he did not need to include in the report. The only thing was of any use was the fact that it seemed tensions between rival families was growing once more.
It would be up to SLAYER to stand as the barrier between the supernatural and the public. After all the human public did not need to know what truly went bump in the night.
G
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