The Guardian portable generator comes with many uses. It is very essential during a power outage to provide for your energy needs. You can go about your daily tasks and chores without much effort and restrictions. Your daily basic energy needs for cooking, laundry and heating needs are all sufficiently provided by Guardian generator.
The Guardian generator is heavy duty and can be used even on construction sites to power your equipment. It uses the OHVI engine with 3,000 hours of rated lifetime. It comes with aluminum, all-weather enclosure to protect it from corrosion and salt-air in coastal areas. The base fascia is meant to protect the generator from rodents and debris.
It is also very ideal for camping trips and family activities in far places where power source is not accessible. The OHVI industrial engine used for this generator is air-cooled and works quietly and efficiently. It has automatic idle control and maximum pressure lubrication for engine protection and fuel efficiency. It has a 10-hour extended run time at half load due to its 16-gallon fuel tank. Its fuel efficiency and durability will save you time and money.
A Guardian portable generator is powerful enough for a 5-ton air conditioning unit. It is easy to maintain with its spin-on oil filter just like in automotive. Its electric governor maintains a steady speed and prevents dropping of voltage while applying loads. This makes Guardian desirable for sensitive electronic devices like laptops and computers as it provides smooth electrical rate all throughout.
This energy backup system is also the easiest to install. It already includes a power cord, pre-wired circuit, transfer switch and a connection box for the outdoors. All you need to do is start the generator and plug in your appliances or equipment. There is no need to pull a rope to start your generator. It comes with an electric start so it is easier and more convenient. It meets all EPA and CARB emission requirements.
To ensure that you can bring your generator where you need it to be, it is designed with 13-inch, heavy duty, all-terrain tires. When camping or boating, a portable generator is a must to ensure that your energy needs are met and that you are comfortable and secured the whole time.
A 1,000 watt portable generator is good enough to supply your energy needs for your recreational activities. You may also use an 8,000 watt generator to power the tools in your construction site. Since you plug the appliances directly into the generator, you must ensure that the model you choose has all the outlet types that you need. If you want it to run longer without refilling fuel, choose the model with a larger fuel tank.
The smallest portable generator is as light as 50 pounds and can be carried by hand. If you choose a bigger model, consider the wheels and make sure it can withstand all terrains for easy transportation. The Guardian portable generator provides you the energy when you need it, wherever you need it.
Google is constantly trying to seamlessly blend techology and everyday life together, and now with their new application, they are getting closer and?closer to accomplishing just that.
According to the Huffington Post, Google has come out with a new application called ?Field Trip?. This ingenious application works as an automated guide to the world around you.
As you carry on with your day to day lives, ?Field Trip?, available on Android devices (with an iPhone version on the way), is designed to run in the background of your phone. The application will?ping you with notifications about nearby landmarks, surrounding restaurants and miscellaneous local trivia as your day progresses.
?When you get close to something interesting, [the app] pops up a card with details about the location,???Field Trip?s?description reads. ?No click is required. If you have a headset or bluetooth connected, it can even read the info to you.?
According to the?app?s website, ?Field Trip? has two settings. The first setting is??Feeling Lucky?, which?will send the user an occasional notification of something interesting. The second setting is ?Explore?, which will push a great deal of information to the user. The app can also be turned off to give the user a break from all of the notifications.
The types of notifications that are pushed to the user can be adjusted based on the specific user?s mood or likes. If you want to see more notifications about shopping, then you can adjust the ?Offers and Deals? notifications setting, or if you want to learn more about certain builings or landmarks, you can adjust the ?Architecture? or ?Historic Places? feeds.
In order to produce and upkeep this constant stream of information, Google has teamed up with several large companies such as?Zagat (recently purchased by Google), Eater, Inhabitat and The Daily Secret.
??The idea behind the app was to build something that would help people connect with the real, physical world around them,? a vice president of product, John Hanke,?told the New York Times.
My friend and trainer told me a story from when he was living and dating in New York.
He was working as a male model and acting in commercials. He didn?t like telling strangers this when they asked the ?what do you do?? question because he found the consequent conversation (?Have I seen you in anything??) awkward and tedious. (?Well, I was in a New York Times commercial?I was the guy reading the sports section?.?)
So when women asked him what he did, he told them, ?I?m a dentist.?
?Oh,? they would say, and drop the subject.
One night he hit it off with a French ballerina passing through town. They went back to his place. They got really, really friendly. She ripped open his shirt, saw his ripped abs, and said in her thick French accent, ?You?re no dentist!?
And he had to admit that he wasn?t.
I like this story partly because I like what it says about identity, how it?s written right into your body. We often say, in this culture of obsessive self-improvement, ?You can be anybody you want to be? ? but I don?t think that?s true.
In his book FATE AND DESTINY, Michael Meade defines ?fate? as the cross-section of genetics, environment and events that shapes our possibilities. We are born into a very particular set of limitations and gifts. If we accept our limitations (?I am scattered and disorganized?) and discover and develop our gifts (?I am highly creative?), we can come to a strongly grounded sense of who we?re meant to be and what we?re meant to do in this lifetime. But it?s not a matter of becoming anybody you want to be ? because you can only become more (or less) of what you already are.
It?s more a matter of, as Hugh MacLeod likes to say, remembering who you are. And a big part of that is remembering who you are not.
You?re no dentist.
Remembering is necessary because You can be anybody you want to be has a way of turning into You can be who you?re supposed to be. It?s the box that you?re supposed to fit into. You?re a girl ? or a boy ? so you?re supposed to be and act a certain way. You?re a member of this family or that culture so you?re supposed to behave and believe and choose your goals accordingly.
You can be anybody you want to be has a way of turning into You can be anybody that they want you to be.
And you can?t.
(Sorry.)
But when you rip open that shirt to find the ripped abs of truth ? when you remember who you are ? the question then becomes: Do you declare yourself?
Or do you keep yourself in hiding to avoid uncomfortable conversations?
Problem is when we role-play, we start to believe what we thought we were only pretending.
The truth of who we are slips away. We forget ourselves all over again.
Say it enough times and you might start to think that you are, in fact, a dentist. Until life finds some way to force you to know otherwise.
Songs in the key of seaPublic release date: 28-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jared Sagoff jsagoff@anl.gov 630-252-5549 DOE/Argonne National Laboratory
Scientists convert oceanic microbe data into music
Soft horns and a tinkling piano form the backbone of "Fifty Degrees North, Four Degrees West," a jazz number with two interesting twists: it has no composer and no actual musicians. Unless you count bacteria and other tiny microbes, that is.
The song is the brainchild of Peter Larsen, a biologist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. Larsen, it turns out, has no musical training at all; his interests run less towards the blues and more towards blue-green algae.
When faced with an avalanche of microbial data collected from samples taken from the western English Channel, Larsen recognized he needed a way to make sense of it all. "Thinking of interesting ways to highlight interactions within data is part of my daily job," he said. "I am always trying to find new ways to visualize those relationships in ways so that someone can make relevant biological conclusions."
In the case of the western English Channel data, however, Larsen decided that a visual representation of the data would not be as effective as one he could hear.
"There are certain parameters like sunlight, temperature or the concentration of phosphorus in the water that give a kind of structure to the data and determine the microbial populations," he said. "This structure provides us with an intuitive way to use music to describe a wide range of natural phenomena."
A colleague of Larsen's suggested that classical music could effectively represent the data, but Larsen wanted any patterns inherent in the information to emerge naturally and not to be imposed from without.
"For something as structured as classical music, there's an insufficient amount of structure that you can infer without having to tweak the result to fit what you perceive it should sound like," Larsen said. "We didn't want to do that."
While this is not the first attempt to "sonify" data, it is one of the more mellifluous examples of the genre. "We were astounded by just how musical it sounded," Larsen said. "A large majority of attempts to converting linear data into sound succeed, but they really don't obey the dictates of music meter, tempo, harmony. To see these things in natural phenomena and to describe them was a wonderful surprise."
According to Larsen, the musicality of the data is not limited to the organisms in the English Channel. In another set of analysis, he and his colleagues used a similar methodology to look at the relationship between a plant and a fungus.
"We expect to see the same intuitive patterns recurring in different environments," he said. "Sometimes, it can sound a little avant-garde, but it's not random because it reflects very real phenomena."
###
You can listen to several selections of "microbial bebop" at http://www.bio.anl.gov/microbialbebop.htm.
Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Songs in the key of seaPublic release date: 28-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jared Sagoff jsagoff@anl.gov 630-252-5549 DOE/Argonne National Laboratory
Scientists convert oceanic microbe data into music
Soft horns and a tinkling piano form the backbone of "Fifty Degrees North, Four Degrees West," a jazz number with two interesting twists: it has no composer and no actual musicians. Unless you count bacteria and other tiny microbes, that is.
The song is the brainchild of Peter Larsen, a biologist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. Larsen, it turns out, has no musical training at all; his interests run less towards the blues and more towards blue-green algae.
When faced with an avalanche of microbial data collected from samples taken from the western English Channel, Larsen recognized he needed a way to make sense of it all. "Thinking of interesting ways to highlight interactions within data is part of my daily job," he said. "I am always trying to find new ways to visualize those relationships in ways so that someone can make relevant biological conclusions."
In the case of the western English Channel data, however, Larsen decided that a visual representation of the data would not be as effective as one he could hear.
"There are certain parameters like sunlight, temperature or the concentration of phosphorus in the water that give a kind of structure to the data and determine the microbial populations," he said. "This structure provides us with an intuitive way to use music to describe a wide range of natural phenomena."
A colleague of Larsen's suggested that classical music could effectively represent the data, but Larsen wanted any patterns inherent in the information to emerge naturally and not to be imposed from without.
"For something as structured as classical music, there's an insufficient amount of structure that you can infer without having to tweak the result to fit what you perceive it should sound like," Larsen said. "We didn't want to do that."
While this is not the first attempt to "sonify" data, it is one of the more mellifluous examples of the genre. "We were astounded by just how musical it sounded," Larsen said. "A large majority of attempts to converting linear data into sound succeed, but they really don't obey the dictates of music meter, tempo, harmony. To see these things in natural phenomena and to describe them was a wonderful surprise."
According to Larsen, the musicality of the data is not limited to the organisms in the English Channel. In another set of analysis, he and his colleagues used a similar methodology to look at the relationship between a plant and a fungus.
"We expect to see the same intuitive patterns recurring in different environments," he said. "Sometimes, it can sound a little avant-garde, but it's not random because it reflects very real phenomena."
###
You can listen to several selections of "microbial bebop" at http://www.bio.anl.gov/microbialbebop.htm.
Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Science and Technology's Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO) on Friday appealed to hacktivists to stop attacking government websites as it admitted that there is a need to upgrade the state's internet security system.
?We understand the concerns of the public and our netizens on several controversial provisions of RA (Republic Act) 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012). However there are proper avenues for expressing their indignation rather than committing cybercrime to protest a bill that aims to prevent cybercrime,? ICTO Executive Director Louis Casambre said in a statement.?
A group of hacktivists called Anonymous Philippines has been attacking government websites in protest against the new cybercrime law.
The latest victim of the group was the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines' website. The website was also defaced by the hacktivists' message against the new cybercrime law, but it was immediately restored.
Casambre said that the latest attacks expose the existing vulnerabilities of government websites and underscores the need for a "national cybersecurity plan."
As the ICTO has yet to come up with the plan, it renewed its directive to government system administrators to review their existing internet security measures.
"In the meantime, we would like to request our government systems administrators to review their own policies and utilize industry best practices when it comes to cybersecurity,? Casambre said.
IRR to balance new law
ICTO has been designated as head of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, the main body in charge of inter-agency coordination, monitoring, policy formulation and enforcement of the Cybercrime Prevention Act as well as the development of a national cybersecurity plan.
Along with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the ICTO is also tasked with the formulation of the bill?s implementing rules and regulations (IRR).
Casambre said that they will address at least some of the controversial measures in the development of the IRR. He said they are planning to hold multi-sectoral consultations with various stakeholders to ensure that a balance is struck between protecting individual rights, freedom of expression, and national security in the rules.
Casambre insisted that the country needs a new cybercrime law.
He said that before the passage of the cybercrime bill into law, the ICTO had limited legal tools to address cybercrimes such as identity theft, computer fraud, and hacking. He added what is also need is a balanced legal regime which addresses both the potentials and perils of the Internet, and the rights of all stakeholders.
"In addressing cybersecurity challenges, our legislators have finally passed a law after a difficult process spanning several Congresses. For us in the executive, we now need to ensure that the IRR will help balance perceived shortcomings while having an implementation framework that is both legally grounded and technically sound. In achieving this balance, we also do respect the rights of netizens and other stakeholders to seek clarifications with the courts on some of the bill?s more controversial provisions,? Casambre said.
Backers willing to invest R1bn in Cape Town Grand Prix
The bid team looking to bring a Grand Prix to Cape Town's streets say they have the backers willing to invest the R1 billion needed to host the event, but cannot move ahead unless they get the national government's official seal of approval.
An artist's impression of the proposed Cape Town Grand Prix.
Cape Town Grand Prix SA is hoping to meet Sports and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula as soon as possible as the investors have indicated that their involvement depends on the government giving the green light.
The Department of Sports and Recreation said it would welcome a meeting with the bid team, adding that it would support an event guaranteed to bring foreign investment to the country.
About R1bn will be needed to stage the street race in the city.
Cape Town Grand Prix SA is aiming to host its first race by 2014 with the plan of making it an annual fixture on the international racing calendar.
One of the ideas for the event is that the track would pass through the Cape Town Stadium. This plan would see the pitch being temporary lifted and tar laid down.
Ester Henderson, communications chief officer for Cape Town Grand Prix SA, said the organisation was still trying to secure a meeting with Mbalula.
Henderson said it understood Mbalula's schedule would have been packed due to the recent Paralympics and Olympics Games.
"From what we know, the minister's office is not averse to meeting with us. We do understand he has been very busy with international events. And we are still pursuing that meeting."
She said several international investors wanted to back the event. But the event would first need the endorsement from the national government before this would go ahead.
Justin de Allende, special adviser in the sports ministry, said the department was willing to meet the Cape Town Grand Prix SA team.
"Any event planned for South Africa which would develop sport and boost tourism and foreign investment would be welcomed," said De Allende.
While the city in principle supports the idea, it said funding would be a critical factor.
Grant Pascoe, mayoral committee member for tourism, events and marketing, agreed the event would increase tourism numbers, but added there was a "huge cost attached".
Pascoe said according to a presentation from the Cape Town Grand Prix SA, the team would be raising all the funding.
"There will be need to be big infrastructural changes, huge engineering changes. We need to weigh up the costs of hosting the grand prix."
He also pointed to some countries questioning the costs of hosting a F1 race.
In Australia, the national government revealed it cost taxpayers more than R400 million to host the event this year.
Cape Argus
Posted at 07:42AM Sep 28, 2012 by Editor in Cape Town ?|?
Presidential and vice presidential candidate names are seen on a ballot at the Polk County Election Office, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012, in Des Moines, Iowa. Voting in Iowa, one of 32 states that allow early voting, begins Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Presidential and vice presidential candidate names are seen on a ballot at the Polk County Election Office, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012, in Des Moines, Iowa. Voting in Iowa, one of 32 states that allow early voting, begins Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Election clerk Karl Althaus sorts through boxes of absentee ballots at the Polk County Election Office, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012, in Des Moines, Iowa. Voting in Iowa, one of 32 states that allow early voting, begins Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? Republican Mitt Romney is struggling in swing-state Iowa at a perilous point: just as voters here start casting early ballots in the presidential race.
President Barack Obama has a clear lead in Iowa opinion polls, helped by the fact that the state's economy is far more robust than other battleground states. The president's polling edge is so wide it has prompted grumbling among Iowa Republicans who fault Romney for failing to take advantage of Obama's standing, which had been weakened in the four years since Iowa launched his bid for the White House in 2008.
"There still is time to win, but we are in the fourth quarter," said Nick Ryan, a veteran Iowa Republican strategist who was a top adviser to Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum's caucus campaign.
Iowa is hardly the largest prize in the race for 270 Electoral College votes. But the six it offers could be pivotal if the race is close.
Iowans on Thursday can begin voting in person at early voting sites and returning absentee ballots they've requested by mail or in person. Iowa Republicans are mindful that the perception of Romney in deep trouble could sway voters already casting ballots ? or dissuade volunteers from encouraging backers to turn out at the polls.
The state knows Romney and Obama well; both competed here in 2008. And Romney came close to winning its caucuses in January.
"A lot of people I know are excited about Romney," said Susan Geddes, a Republican from Indianola, just south of Des Moines. "And a lot of people I talk to are like me, and just want it over with."
Since locking up the GOP nomination in the spring, Romney has visited the state six times and has poured $8 million into television advertising here. GOP-leaning groups have tried to help, spending $20 million in TV ads criticizing Obama. But Romney hasn't been to the state since Sept. 7, when he made a trip to the Republican-heavy northwest. And he has paid scant attention to the blue-collar voters along Iowa's eastern edge, where unemployment is running higher than in the state overall and where he needs a big turnout to overtake Obama.
The Republican's team insists that he hasn't given up on the state and that he and his running mate, Paul Ryan, plan to spend more time in Iowa in the final weeks of the campaign.
"You're going to see the governor and Paul Ryan talking a lot directly to voters, having more opportunities to do that," campaign spokeswoman Sarah Pompei said.
Aides argue that Romney has built a more sophisticated voter-contact system than Republican John McCain did in 2008, when Obama carried Iowa by 9 percentage points. And although Romney has only 14 staffed state campaign offices, compared with Obama's 67, Republicans say they have made more than 1 million contacts with voters by telephone and in person.
If the polls are right, the GOP ticket has a lot of ground to make up.
A Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist Poll taken last week found Romney trailing Obama by 8 percentage points, a finding that mirrored recent internal polls from Democrats and Republicans alike. The poll also found that only 40 percent had positive feelings about Romney, down from 43 percent in May. Conversely, Obama saw his favorability rating improve to 53 percent from 48 percent over that same period.
Those figures illustrate why Obama's campaign is increasingly confident about its Iowa prospects even as aides say they expect the race to tighten somewhat as undecided voters focus on the election.
Democrats say Obama has benefited from his Iowa strategy of blanketing the state with eight presidential visits ahead of early voting. Obama hoped that his frequent visits, as well as constant appearances by Vice President Joe Biden and first lady Michelle Obama, would help him build a lead over Romney ahead of Election Day, when Republicans traditionally have had an edge.
Obama focused his attention on more populous and politically diverse eastern Iowa. The small and medium-sized cities, many with struggling manufacturing sectors, were friendly territory for Romney in the Iowa caucuses but now show him trailing Obama in internal polling. Obama's three-day, statewide trip in August touched down in less-traveled cities in north- and south-central Iowa. He also made a well-publicized visit to the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines.
The president also has run more than $20 million in ads, including many that characterize Romney and his positions as those of a wealthy, detached former business executive. Obama allies also have spent roughly $3 million in advertising.
Obama aides say Romney's criticism of Obama's handling of the economy has been less effective here than it has been in states such as harder-hit Florida and Nevada. In August, Iowa unemployment was 5.5 percent, up from July but far below the national average of 8.1 percent.
But Obama aides also say Romney hasn't made as much of an effort to build a personal connection with voters in a state where face-to-face campaigning is key, and they say his comment about 47 percent of Americans who don't pay federal income tax has been problematic.
"He doesn't think poor people are his problem," Oskaloosa Democrat Pam Douglas said. "They are his problem if he wants to be president."
___
Associated Press writer Julie Pace in Chicago contributed to this report.
Turn off your wireless mouse and keyboard manually to improve battery life
There?s a little on/off switch on the bottom of your wireless mouse that you can use to manually turn off the mice when its not in use.?This may slightly extend the battery life of your mouse in case you aren?t having one of the newer mice models that automatically switch off when left idle for a long period.
The problem is how do you remember that you have to turn off the wireless mouse (and the keyboard) when you are done for the day?
One option would be that you you use the built-in Windows Task Scheduler or the Group Policy Editor to display a reminder message on the screen every time you log off or shut down the computer. This is both geeky and requires too many steps.
Then there?s a simpler option as well. You can change the default ?System Shutdown? and ?System Logoff? sounds to a voice message that reminds you to turn off the mice before you are leave the computer. Here?s a sample sound (.wav file) created with Listen.
Open the Control Panel in Windows and search for Change System Sounds. Choose the ?Exit Windows? event and browse for your .wav file to set it as the default sound for the event. Do the same for ?Windows Logoff? event and you?ll never forget to turn off your wireless mouse and keyboard again.
Speaking of battery life, here are some additional tips courtesy Logitech?that may further push the battery life of your wireless mouse.
Get a light-colored mouse pad. While your mice may work well on your black granite table or even transparent surfaces like glass, they are best avoided as?they cause the tracking sensor in the mouse to use more power.
Your wireless mouse ships with a nano receiver that is put into the USB port of your computer. Make sure the USB receiver and the mice are close to each other else use an?USB extension cable for the receiver.
For best results, replace both batteries at the same time and avoid mixing brands.?Logitech suggests using alkaline batteries as non-alkaline batteries, such as NiMH or NiCd, operate at a lower voltage and may negatively impact the battery life of your mouse.
Turn off the mouse manually when you are travelling. While the mice may go to sleep /standby mode when not being used, they?ll wake up when they move around inside your bag and this consumes battery power.
Telia raised hackles in March when it proposed charging Swedish subscribers extra if they wanted to use voice over IP. On top of the net neutrality issues, the proposed price premium would have been a slap in the face to Skype, the country's homegrown VoIP pioneer. While Telia's Spanish subsidiary Yoigo has no problems with such a split, Telia itself must have had a change of heart: as of now, all regular plans will continue to treat internet telephony as just another set of data packets. Only a new, ultra-basic Telia Flex Bas plan excises the option. Unfortunately, most everyone will have to pay the price for equality -- new subscriptions will have their data plans "adjusted" to compensate for increasing data use, and those paying daily will see their maximum rates jump from 9 SEK ($1.40) to 19 SEK ($2.90). As painful as the price hike might sound, however, we'd still endure it to avoid carving the mobile internet into pieces.
Lauren Handel is back today with further insight into the possible legal objections to California?s Proposition 37, the popular referendum on mandatory GMO labeling of food products. Once again, she puts policy and science debates to the side and examines just how challenging it will be for Prop 37 to successfully navigate our constellation of existing food laws.?
In addition to the First Amendment challenges Prop 37 that we covered yesterday, the opponents of the measure will seek to invalidate the law on the grounds that it is preempted by federal food labeling requirements.? Preemption is the constitutional principle that federal law trumps state law.? State laws may not conflict with federal laws.? Specifically with regard to food labeling, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (?FDCA?), Federal Meat Inspection Act (?FMIA?) and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (?PPIA?) all contain provisions expressly stating that they preempt conflicting state laws.
Opponents of Prop 37 have a strong argument that the law would be preempted by FMIA and PPIA to the extent it would regulate the labeling of meat and poultry products.? That is because FMIA and PPIA prohibit state labeling requirements for meat and poultry products? ?in addition to, or different than? federal requirements.? Prop 37 would impose requirements ?in addition to [and] different? from federal requirements because it would require labeling of genetically-engineered meat or poultry products whereas no such requirement exists in federal law.? In addition, Prop 37 would impose different requirements in direct conflict with federal law in that it would prohibit ?natural? claims on minimally-processed meat and poultry products that would be permitted?and could even be pre-approved by USDA?under federal law.
In contrast, Prop 37?s requirements for labeling foods within the ambit of FDCA (nearly everything other than meat and poultry) probably are not preempted.? FDCA?s preemption language prohibits state labeling requirements that are ?not identical to? federal requirements.? In interpreting this provision, courts have held that states may impose labeling requirements addressing issues not regulated by FDA.? Because FDA has not regulated the use of ?natural? claims, many courts have held that states are free to do so.? The same analysis should apply to regulation of genetically-engineered food labels.? Because FDA policy does not require nor prohibit disclosures that foods are genetically engineered, Prop 37?s disclosure requirement (with respect to foods other than meat and poultry) should not be preempted.
Nevertheless, challengers may argue that Prop 37 is preempted because it would conflict with FDA ingredient labeling requirements.? A? recent decision of a federal court in California held that state requirements to disclose of genetically-engineered ingredients are preempted by FDA?s exhaustive regulation of ingredient listings.? That decision, however, does not apply to Prop 37 because Prop 37 would not require manufacturers to identify ingredients that were genetically engineered.? Rather, Prop 37 would require only a statement on the front or back of a package stating that a food is genetically engineered or has been produced with genetic engineering.
A somewhat better argument for preemption might be that, in requiring manufacturers to identify products as genetically engineered, Prop 37 would cause them to violate FDCA?s prohibition against making misleading claims.? The argument would be that a ?genetically-engineered? label would mislead consumers into believing that the food is materially different than (and inferior to) a comparable product containing traditional ingredients.? While this argument may have some appeal in light of FDA?s position that genetically-engineered foods are no different than their traditional counterparts, FDA has stated (albeit in a draft guidance document) that simple, factual statements of the type Prop 37 would require?that a food is genetically engineered or contains genetically-engineered ingredients?are not likely to be misleading.? Although FDA?s guidance on this issue would not be binding on a court, it is some evidence that the agency would not consider the disclosure claims required by Prop 37 to run afoul of FDCA?s prohibitions against misleading claims.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Efforts by euro zone countries to agree on how to recapitalize struggling banks appeared to be in disarray on Wednesday with conflicting interpretations of what was agreed by EU leaders at a summit barely three months ago.
The dispute between four AAA-rated euro zone countries on one hand - German, Finland, the Netherlands and Austria - and indebted states such as Ireland and Spain on the other, threatens to undo or severely set back efforts to allow banks to be directly recapitalized by the euro zone's rescue fund.
That will in turn undermine financial markets' confidence in Europe's ability to get on top of the debt crisis. Yields on Spanish 10-year government bonds moved back above 6 percent on Wednesday as developments in Spain dampened expectations that Madrid will soon ask for a bailout and secure central bank support for its debt.
Germany, Finland and the Netherlands gave rise to the confusion with a joint statement on Tuesday setting out the conditions under which they would be prepared to allow the rescue fund, called the ESM, to recapitalize banks.
But rather than sticking to the wording from the summit in June, when countries agreed that the ESM would be able to directly recapitalize banks once an "effective single supervisory mechanism is established", the three countries added an extra stipulation in their statement saying:
"The ESM can take direct responsibility of problems that occur under the new supervision, but legacy assets should be under the responsibility of national authorities."
Austria joined the three on Wednesday, saying there was no question of the ESM being allowed to assume old, bad debts.
The critical phrase is "legacy assets", which appears to imply that the debts of struggling Spanish and Irish banks - and potentially those of Greece and Cyprus too - will remain the responsibility of the respective governments, rather than being assumed by the ESM during the recapitalization process.
That is a problem because the very aim of direct recapitalization was to break the debilitating link between indebted governments and troubled banks - making sure that a government that is pursuing sound economic policies is not dragged down by its mismanaged banking sector.
If a way is not found to break the link between sovereigns and their banks, the euro zone will forever be in an uphill struggle to get on top of the crisis since government finances will always be saddled with vast amounts of bad banking debt.
The very first line of the statement agreed by EU leaders at the June summit was: "We affirm that it is imperative to break the vicious circle between banks and sovereigns."
But that same phrase was not used in the statement issued by Germany, Finland and the Netherlands, indicating perhaps some change of mind about how and when the link will be tackled.
SOWING DOUBT
Officials from the four AAA-rated countries, speaking on condition of anonymity, sought to play down the relevance of Tuesday's statement, saying there was nothing new in it and that direct bank recapitalization via the ESM remained the goal.
"We are still committed to breaking the negative feedback loop between sovereigns and banks," one official said.
Asked how, the official would not elaborate but said there would be "specific measures" for cases such as Spain and Ireland, where the government's decision to assume the debts of its bad banks drove the deficit to painfully high levels.
Another official insisted that the German-Finnish-Dutch statement did not reopen or undo what was agreed in June, going on to explain:
"Everybody understands that losses incurred some time ago will definitely not be borne by the European taxpayer in the form of a contingent liability."
The problem is, that does not appear to be how Ireland or other countries understood the June agreement.
Ireland's prime minister, Enda Kenny, expressed his surprise at the three-country statement, saying it was not up to a handful of finance ministers to rewrite an agreement drawn up by heads of state and government.
"The difficulty for Europe has always been that you follow through on the decisions that were made. The decision of June 29 was not an opinion, was not a theory," he said. "Those decisions stand, those decisions will be implemented."
While officials in Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Austria may insist nothing has changed, financial markets clearly took the June statement to mean that any direct recapitalization of Spanish or Irish banks would shift the contingent liabilities off the governments' books.
Tuesday's statement did nothing to ease risk aversion fed by a broad range of factors linked to Spain's plight that prompted sharp rises in yields on Irish, Spanish and Italian 10-year government bonds as well as weakening the euro.
"If there is any risk that the Spanish bank bailout will be carried by the sovereign rather than any of it transferred so that it is directly funded by the ESM or the EFSF, it's an additional burden on the sovereign," said Elisabeth Afseth, fixed income analyst at Investec.
The likelihood is that some of the confusion and disagreement provoked by the statement will be ironed out at a meeting of finance ministers in Luxembourg on October 8 or at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels on October 18.
"This discussion is ongoing," said Olivier Bailly, a spokesman for the European Commission, when asked what the statement meant for the ESM and bank recapitalization.
"It's part of an ongoing debate where member states will clarify in the coming weeks the different details of the final design of this ESM instrument."
But the broader issue is that EU member states often struggle to communicate with one voice or agree on how to interpret their own agreements, creating confusion in financial markets and beyond, which will always tend to exacerbate the very crisis they are trying to resolve.
(Additional reporting by Jan Strupczewski in Brussels, Michael Shields in Vienna, Padraic Halpin in Dublin and Ana Nicolaci da Costa in London; editing by Stephen Nisbet; Writing by Luke Baker)
VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran appears to be making headway in building a research reactor that could yield potential nuclear weapon material, adding to Western concerns about Tehran's atomic aims, experts and diplomats say.
The West's worries about Iran are focused largely on underground uranium enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordow, but it is also pressing ahead with construction of a heavy-water reactor near the town of Arak, which analysts say could produce plutonium for nuclear arms if the spent fuel is reprocessed.
Iran now plans to bring Arak on line in the third quarter of 2013, moving up its timetable from 2014, according to the latest U.N. information, although there is uncertainty whether it will be able to meet that target date.
Iran, rejecting Western allegations it seeks to develop a capability to assemble atomic arms, says its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and that the reactor will produce isotopes for medical and agricultural use.
"There is no reason to seriously doubt Iran's resolve to complete this project on time and begin operating the reactor," said Mark Hibbs of the Carnegie Endowment think-tank.
Most of what is needed is "dual-use, off-the-shelf equipment that Iran can buy all over the world using the procurement network it has set up" for its nuclear program, he said.
A U.N. report last month on Iran's nuclear program, which made headlines because it showed a doubling of the uranium enrichment capability at Fordow, suggested Tehran was also carrying out new work at Arak.
The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said cooling and moderator circuit piping was being installed when inspectors visited the Arak facility in early August.
"They are certainly continuing to make progress on the reactor," one Vienna-based diplomat said. "As long as we still don't trust Iran's nuclear intentions, even the elimination of its enrichment capability will not eliminate all the danger."
THREATS
Israel, believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armed state, sees Iran's nuclear program as a serious threat and has ramped up threats of attacking its arch enemy. If it does, the nuclear sites at Natanz, Fordow and Arak in central Iran are likely to be among the targets.
U.S. President Barack Obama this week warned Iran he would do what it takes to prevent it from getting nuclear weapons.
The European Union this month said it was "deeply worried" Iran had not suspended activity at the Arak facility, which like other nuclear sites is monitored by U.N. inspectors to ensure there is no diversion of nuclear materials.
In August, German prosecutors said police had arrested four men suspected of delivering valves for the heavy-water reactor, breaking an embargo on such exports to Iran.
If operated optimally, the heavy-water plant would produce about 9 kilograms of plutonium annually, or enough for about two nuclear bombs each year, said the Institute for Science and International Security, a U.S.-based think-tank.
"Before it could use any of the plutonium in a nuclear weapon, however, it would first have to separate the plutonium from the irradiated fuel," it added on its web site.
Iran has announced it has no plans to reprocess the spent fuel, the International Institute for Strategic Studies think-tank said in report last year.
But Mark Fitzpatrick, director of its non-proliferation and disarmament program, said "similarly sized reactors ostensibly built for research" have been used by India, Israel, North Korea and Pakistan to make plutonium for weapons.
Given Iran's "record of delays with other major nuclear facilities and the sanctions and export controls that have impeded access to foreign parts, it is very doubtful that the 2013 deadline will be met", he said.
There?s nothing like waking up to a delicious aroma from your crock pot cooking you breakfast overnight while you were sleeping! How about the fantastic smell of pumpkin pie for breakfast?!!! Yes, you can eat these breakfast without any guilt!
Super healthy steel cut oats combined with pumpkin puree make this a winning breakfast for any household!
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It doesn?t look like much here but wait till you stir it up!!!
This recipe has been on my mind for weeks, as soon as the fall cooler weather started here in RI I knew I wanted to adapt my Overnight Banana Steel Cut Oats to make this with pumpkin.
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Stir up up upon waking and behold the pumpkin and oats of your dreams!! You can add your sweetener during the cooking time or leave it without added sugar and everyone can add their own sweetener of choice on top. Perfect either way.
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I topped mine with a little honey and a sprinkle of nutmeg!!
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Crock Pot Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oats
Ingredients
1 cup steel cut oats
3 cups water
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
optional: 1/2 cup honey or 2 teaspoons vanilla liquid stevia*
* Sweetener can be added during cooking or cook it without and each person can add their own sweetener of choice on top after cooking.
Directions
Combine all ingredients in your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. Enjoy!
Facebook Inc. has had a rocky initial public offering of stock. There were trading glitches on its first day of trading and concerns since then about Facebook's revenue potential. Facebook also is facing dozens of lawsuits from disgruntled shareholders. In recent weeks, some early investors became eligible to sell additional shares.
All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2012 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2012 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.
Singer/songwriter suggested officers acted in a 'possibly illegal' manner when she was arrested for drug possession. By Kara Warner, with additional reporting by Gil Kaufman
There is a new trend in entrepreneurship ? starting an online business. Finding top online business ideas to suit an individual?s income needs, aspirations and personal skills is a sure-fire first step to success. Choosing an online business that is backed by personal passions, experience and a marketable skillset is a recipe for success for wannabe internet entrepreneurs. Below are three low-cost online startup ideas to kick off a profitable online business.
1. Provide a service.
Those with an interest in writing, graphic design and social media, among other skills, can transform their marketable skills into an online service business. Building a portfolio showcasing the quality and capability of work is essential in helping potential clients make an informed hiring decision. A professional website is a crucial asset in attracting clients. Marketing one?s services and steadily applying to relevant projects through online
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Finance | Loans | * Written by king barrry | Friday, 14 September 2012 19:56 | Word Count: 448
There must not be any sort of hassle in getting the last minute fund with no requirement of the collateral if the applicants take the assistance of unsecured loans. This type of fund is only possible when the applicants go for unsecured loans that are totally free from the security hassle. These loans are very much comfortable for those folks, who are living on rent and willing to borrow some amount. In order to borrow some amount, the clients need to study the terms and conditions of the loans that can sort out the entire unforeseen fiscal crises quickly.
Non-home owners and non-collateral holders only need to fill up the loan application form by banking on the quick and comfortable service of unsecured loans. as quick as the filled up loan application form is submitted and authorized, the approved amount is quickly and electronically wired into the six months old current or saving bank account of the borrowers within the next business day or before than that. The loan providers allow the clients going for the fund in the range of ?1000 to ?25000 with no requirement of the security. But the non-collateral holders must be having the eligibility. On the basis of the criteria, the lender comes to know the location of their stable job. And he or she collects the fundamental information of their permanent job. And thus, the lender is able to get the amount back on the fixed period of time. The borrowers must refund the gained amount within 1 to 10 years.
If there is some hurdle during paying back the borrowed amount, the applicants are able to get the due date of the repayment extended by having talks to the loan provider. Besides it, the amount can be paid back by making into many monthly installments if the clients fail to do the reimbursement of the gained amount at one time. But the candidates have to pay off some additional fees to the loan provider in order to have the due date of the repayment extended. The rate of interest goes slightly and comparatively colossal because the borrowers do not have to pledge the valuable collateral for getting the fund through the service of unsecured loans. The fund can be applied by the tenants, students, business men and all that. On the whole, the service of these loans is quite impeccable for the financial-hit borrowers.
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King Barry has a great identification in banking industry. In today?s time, he advises & shows the authentic way to people on financial matters. Now, he is doing on unsecured loans, unsecured loans for bad credit, instant unsecured loans & unsecured personal loans for bad credit.
We?re human beings! We?re meant to form weird tribes, wear bandanas instead of t-shirts and let Jeff Probst symbolically extinguish our flame when the group rejects us. So in the interests of forming a tribe of like-minded peeps, Pedestrian is creating a registered members section that should have launched years ago.
There are some pretty sweet perks for setting up an account. First, you?ll be able to register a username and avatar to stop your namesake from taking credit for your hilarious yet illuminating comments. Conversely, you?ll no longer be associated with their incoherent, semi-racist ramblings.
Elsewhere you?ll also have access to behind the scenes videos, extended interviews and other content we produce exclusively for members. If you like things and stuff you?ll also receive first pick of prizes like festival tickets, film premieres and fashion sales. What else? In the not too distant future you?ll have the ability to upload your own blogs, photo galleries and events listings and generally receive preferential treatment for anything we do.
Sounds like fun right? Of course it is. Register now and unlock a whole new part of Pedestrian town, increase your chances of winning shit and attribute your witty remarks to the right person. You won?t be sorry (we hope).
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Public release date: 28-Sep-2012
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An artist's impression of the proposed Cape Town Grand Prix.
