WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday pushed his plan to tie federal student loaninterest rates to the market, and criticized a Republican plan passed by the House of Representatives that he said would cost borrowers more.
The mounting burden of student loan debt, now pegged at more than $1 trillion, with an average borrower owing $27,000, is seen as a drag on the economy and a barrier to people getting educations needed for better jobs.
Currently students pay the same fixed rate for federal student loans, set by the government at 3.4 percent, regardless of changes in other interest rates in the economy. If Congress does nothing, those rates are scheduled to rise to 6.8 percent on July 1.
"Higher education cannot be a luxury for a privileged few. It is an economic necessity that every family should be able to afford, every young person with dreams and ambitions should be able to access," Obama, flanked by college students, said at an event in the White House Rose Garden.
In Obama's plan, rates for subsidized federal student loans would be set every year based on the market plus 0.93 percent, but remain fixed for the life of the loan. His plan, for instance, would lock in rates for next year's borrowers at 2.9 percent for the life of the loan.
He also would fully fund the Pell Grant program that helps low-income students, expand work-study programs and include an income-based repayment option.
Students who take out private student loans face more stringent repayment terms, making government-backed options a more attractive alternative.
But Obama's plan eliminates a cap on interest rates, which critics say puts students at risk of paying higher rates on government student loans in the future.
The Republican plan, passed by the House last week, requires rates for subsidized and unsubsidized loans, known as Stafford loans, to be recalculated every year and pegged to 10-year Treasury notes, plus 2.5 percentage points. The plan caps interest rates for the loans at 8.5 percent.
VETO THREAT
Under that plan, a student who borrows the maximum amount of subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans over five years would pay $14,430 in interest, according to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service. If rates double on July 1, a student would pay $12,598, compared with $7,965 at current rates.
"It could actually cost a freshman starting school this fall more over the next four years than if we did nothing at all and let the interest rates double on July 1st," Obama said. "The House bill isn't smart and it's unfair," he said.
The White House last week threatened to veto the House version of the bill. Democrats who control the Senate want to extend the current lower rates for another two years while they work on a more comprehensive long-term rate system.
Republicans including as House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline of Minnesota accused the president of politicizing the student loan issue, rather than ironing out the differences between the two plans.
"With time so short and the differences between our proposals so slight, today's event was misguided and deeply disappointing," Boehner said.
The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) opposes both plans, saying such market-based options could force borrowers to pay more later or turn to riskier private student loans at time when young people still face a tight job market amid a tough economy.
"Students and families need the assurance that federal student loans will remain affordable," TICAS president Lauren Asher told Reuters.
(Reporting by Elvina Nawaguna; Editing by Susan Heavey and Vicki allen)
White House press secretary Jay Carney at his daily briefing, May 14, 2013
Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Last week President Obama announced restrictions on U.S. drone strikes. He touted the rules??written policy standards and procedures that formalize and strengthen the Administration?s rigorous process? for authorizing targeted killings?in a policy statement, a speech, and a background briefing by senior administration officials.
This week Obama went right back to business. He killed a Taliban leader with a drone strike in Pakistan, and White House press secretary Jay Carney won?t even admit that?s what happened. The strike, coupled with the administration?s evasive answers about it, exposes the loopholes in the toothless new policy. Here?s a list of them:
1. Transparency. In his speech, Obama pledged a new ?transparency? about the drone program. He framed his policy statement as a commitment to ?share? information with the public so citizens can ?make informed judgments and hold the Executive Branch accountable.? But on Wednesday, when reporters asked about the reported strike on Taliban leader Wali ur-Rehman, Carney refused to confirm it. The transparency pledge, Carney explained, applies only to the administration?s ?standards? for authorizing strikes, not to ?the details of every counterterrorism operation.? That?s like reciting your marital vows when your spouse asks where you were last night.
2. Associated forces. ?Beyond the Afghan theater, we only target al-Qaida and its associated forces,? Obama declared in his speech. The appended clause?and associated forces?covers? Rehman, other Taliban operatives, and God knows who else. We don?t believe in guilt by association. But we do believe in execution by association.
3. Punishment. ?Lethal force will not be proposed or pursued as punishment,? says the policy statement. However, targeting decisions ?will be informed by a broad analysis of an intended target?s current and past role in plots threatening U.S. persons.? That?s not much of a distinction. When reporters asked about the strike in Pakistan, Carney noted that Rehman was ?wanted in connection to the murder of seven American citizens on Dec. 30, 2009, at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost, Afghanistan.? We?ll kill you for what you did to us. We just won?t call it punishment.
4. Feasible capture. This is an old loophole, but the policy statement broadens it. ?The policy of the United States is not to use lethal force when it is feasible to capture a terrorist suspect,? says the statement. Then comes the big caveat: ?Capture operations are conducted only against suspects who may lawfully be captured or otherwise taken into custody by the United States and only when the operation can be conducted in accordance with all applicable law and consistent with our obligations to other sovereign states.? Even when we have the physical ability to capture you, doing so might violate domestic or international law. In that case we?ll have to kill you instead.
5. Preference. The policy statement asserts a ?Preference for Capture.? Obama, in his speech, reaffirmed that ?our preference is always to detain, interrogate, and prosecute.? In the background briefing, administration officials assured reporters that the U.S. has a ?preference? to administer strikes through the military rather than the CIA, as well as a ?preference for working with partners and strengthening their capacity to take action against terrorist networks.? To illustrate this point, the officials cited the administration?s collaborative approach ?in Pakistan, where the Pakistanis have taken action against extremists.? So what did we do when we found Rehman, knowing that Pakistani security forces wanted to kill him? Did we hand off the job to them? No, we did it ourselves. Deferring to local governments is just a ?preference.?
6. War theater. All the principles outlined in the policy statement and the speech?imminent threat, feasible capture, external oversight, avoiding civilian casualties?are reserved for strikes ?outside areas of active hostilities.? So when reporters asked about Rehman, Carney explained that in ?the Afghan war theater ? we will continue to take strikes against high-value al-Qaida targets but also against forces that are massing to support attacks on coalition forces.? Never mind that the Rehman strike was in Pakistan: That, too, is part of the Afghan ?theater.? But don?t worry: Obama pledged in his speech that ?by the end of 2014, we will no longer have the same need for force protection, and the progress we?ve made against core al-Qaida will reduce the need for unmanned strikes.? We?ll still use drones there. We?ll just point out that we?re doing it less.
7. Demilitarized CIA. In the background briefing, administration officials said the new policy acknowledges "that the United States military is the appropriate agency to use force outside of active warzones, given their traditional role and given the transparency [that] can be associated with actions by the United States military.? So in places where we aren?t at war, we?ll administer drone strikes through our war department. And in places where we are at war, we?ll administer drone strikes through our intelligence agency. The policy is absurd, but it allows the administration to pretend that we didn?t kill Rehman, since that would be disclosure of an intelligence operation.
8. ?Reservation of Authority.??That?s the all-purpose exception Obama inserted at the end of his policy statement. It says the rules outlined in the statement ?do not limit the President?s authority to take action in extraordinary circumstances when doing so is both lawful and necessary to protect the United States or its allies.? That last bit?or its allies?makes the rules open to suspension, at the president?s choosing, anywhere in the world. Obama and his lawyers have gotten exactly what they wanted: the appearance of constraint, without the reality.
William Saletan's latest short takes on the news, via Twitter:
CHICAGO?Dark chocolate is gaining ground on milk chocolate in the confectionery popularity race with 51% of all adult consumers choosing milk chocolate as their favorite type of plain chocolate, followed by 35% who favor dark chocolate and 8% who prefer white chocolate, according to new data from Mintel.
According to the report, "Chocolate Confectionery- US - April 2013consumers aged 55 years and older are more likely to choose dark chocolate, perhaps because of its added nutritional benefits like boosting heart health. Research shows some 46% of men age 55 and older and 48% of women over age 55 favor dark chocolate, followed by 38% of men that prefer milk chocolate and 40% of women that also prefer milk chocolate. The data indicates a trend toward dark chocolate being increasingly favored. Further, 73% of all chocolate consumers are aware that dark chocolate is healthier.
"The progressively better understood health benefits of dark chocolate may be increasing its popularity as more consumers are looking for indulgent foods that can serve multiple functions such as nutrition or convenience," said Sarah Day Levesque, food analyst at Mintel.
Despite the sluggish economy, the chocolate confectionery market grew 19% from 2007 to 2012. Growth can be attributed to consumers' demand for affordable luxuries or indulgence, as well as the foodie culture responsible for the increased interest in premium, high-quality and artisanal varieties of chocolate. However, due to countering trends, Mintel projects growth in the chocolate confectionery category to slow over the next five years with sales growing only 15% from 2012 to 2017.
Consumers' concern of obesity and related health risks serve as challenges to increasing category sales. In deciding to buy chocolate, 89% of consumers buy it as a treat or reward and 87% buy it as a snack option, while 83% of consumers look at the size of chocolate candy packages to determine the best value for the money and 72% buy chocolate to improve their mood or provide an energy boost.
Learning some new homemade crafts and creative hobbies can be both satisfying and exciting. And if you're looking for a little inspiration we have some exciting and creative ideas to choose from.
Even if you don't consider yourself the naturally creative type, with our easy to follow crafts you'll soon be expressing yourself and clearing a space for your memorabilia, no matter what your age or ability!
Many of these will make wonderful gifts for friends and family, and they'll save you a bundle as well! So get in touch with your forgotten creativity, fan the flames of inspiration, and get to work!
When Toshiba first teased the Portege Z10t business Ultrabook at IDF Beijing last month, our initial hands-on went as smoothly as things usually go at trade shows: we bum-rushed the stage to take a few photos, while company reps declined to answer any of our questions. Fortunately for all of us, the mystery is gone: Toshiba just formally unveiled the Z10t, and it's available now starting at $1,499.
As we reported earlier, this is an 11-inch laptop / tablet hybrid aimed at the enterprise. It will launch initially with Ivy Bridge vPro chips, as well as some industry-standard security features like TPM. What we didn't realize, however, is that it sports a 1080p IPS screen, along with a Wacom digitizer for pen input. In any case, if all you wanted was a firm MSRP and release date following our initial hands-on, well, there ya go. But if you were hoping for a few more details, we've got those too. Meet us past the break for a full rundown of all the features, along with some first impressions.
FILE - In this Oct. 31, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama is greeted by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie upon arrival at Atlantic City International Airport in Atlantic City, N.J., to visit areas damaged by Superstorm Sandy. Obama with Christie at his side, will visit the recovering coast on Tuesday, May 28, 2013, in an effort to reinforce a message of effective government, bipartisanship and economic opportunity. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 31, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama is greeted by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie upon arrival at Atlantic City International Airport in Atlantic City, N.J., to visit areas damaged by Superstorm Sandy. Obama with Christie at his side, will visit the recovering coast on Tuesday, May 28, 2013, in an effort to reinforce a message of effective government, bipartisanship and economic opportunity. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama and Gov. Chris Christie, the odd couple of politics, are finding common cause again.
Obama was to tour New Jersey's beach communities with Christie on Tuesday, examining the recovery from Hurricane Sandy's devastating damage last October.
The trip gives Obama a chance to showcase the widely praised Federal Emergency Management Agency at a time when attention has focused on the Internal Revenue Service and its targeting of conservative groups. The president also gets to draw attention to the kind of bipartisanship that has been harder to find in the nation's capital.
The visit occurs as Congress is away for a Memorial Day break, a weeklong recess that likely will silence the daily attention lawmakers, particularly Republicans, had been paying to the IRS political upheaval as well as the ongoing debate about the fatal attacks at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, last year and an investigation of media leaks that has stirred opposition from the media and many lawmakers.
It also comes just days after Obama started trying to change the subject in Washington with a speech defending his controversial program of strikes by unmanned drones and renewing his push to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
On Sunday, Obama traveled to Oklahoma to view damage from the recent tornado and console victims of the deadly storm.
For Christie, the president's appearance is yet another way to showcase his beloved Jersey Shore. The Republican governor has been touting it throughout the Memorial Day weekend as a destination point that is back in business, and he broke a Guinness world record Friday by cutting a 5.5-mile-long ceremonial ribbon that symbolically tied together some of the towns hardest-hit by Sandy. The state has a $25 million marketing campaign to highlight the shore's resurgence in time for the summer season.
Both men will reprise the remarkable bipartisan tableau they offered during Sandy's immediate aftermath, when Obama flew to New Jersey just days before the November election to witness the storm's wreckage. Politically, the visit plays well for both men. Christie, seeking re-election this year, will stand shoulder to shoulder with a president popular among Democrats in a Democratic-leaning state. And Obama, dueling with congressional Republicans on a number of fronts, gets to display common cause with a popular GOP stalwart. (Obama was not scheduled to meet with state Sen. Barbara Buono, Christie's likely Democratic opponent in the governor's race.)
Christie, in an interview with NBC on Friday, played down the politics, even when asked whether ties to Obama could hurt him among conservatives if he were to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
"The fact of the matter is, he's the president of the United States, and he wants to come here and see the people of New Jersey," Christie said. "I'm the governor. I'll be here to welcome him."
To be sure, New Jersey is still rebuilding. Obama is visiting those regions that have been among the first to recover ? Christie ranks the recovery of the state's famous boardwalks as an eight on a scale of 10 but concedes that in other parts of the state many homeowners are still rebuilding six months after the devastating superstorm struck. Overall, the storm caused $38 billion in damages in the state, and harmed or wrecked 360,000 homes or apartment units.
But the coastal recovery is a big potential boon for the state, where tourism is a nearly $40 billion industry.
For Obama, coming off a week that had the IRS in the crosshairs of a scandal, the trip also offers an opportunity to demonstrate the work of FEMA, whose response to disasters has been met with bipartisan praise.
Indeed, inside the White House, FEMA is perceived as an example of what's best about government. The agency, panned for its response under President George W. Bush to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, has made a turnaround under administrator Craig Fugate and has been commended for its work in disasters from the Joplin, Mo., tornado in 2011 to Sandy last year.
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2 Replies - 51 Views - Last Post: Today, 08:58 PM
#1 noja190 ?
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Posts:22
Joined:30-May 12
Posted Today, 01:35 PM
End of the school year is almost here, and me and my friend want to dedicate the summer to learning C++
I've always wondered though. On big programming projects like games and firewall programs, How do multiple people work together on code? I'd imagine it would get very messy.
Anyways...I'm using CodeBlocks right now, but is there another IDE that will let you program together in real-time?
If not, How can we work together on programming?
This post has been edited by noja190: Today, 01:35 PM
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Replies To: Question: Real time Co-Op programming?
#2 modi123_1 ?
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Posts:23,598
Joined:12-June 08
Re: Question: Real time Co-Op programming?
Posted Today, 01:40 PM
Quote
I've always wondered though. On big programming projects like games and firewall programs, How do multiple people work together on code? I'd imagine it would get very messy.
Two things - planning and source control.
Quote
Anyways...I'm using CodeBlocks right now, but is there another IDE that will let you program together in real-time?
I would hope not. That would be.. odd. Pair programming - where you have one person driving and the other looking over their shoulder - bugs me enough I couldn't imagine trying to code around what ever someone is editing the same file you are using.
Quote
If not, How can we work together on programming?
You take your project.. and before you even touch a lick of code you plan. Break it down into manageable pieces, logical parts, set milestones, etc. Then you dole those work chunks out to people. They key is everyone works off the same code repository - be it Team Foundation Server, GITHUB, SVN, etc. Then as people get chunks done you have someone (or that person) integrate that into the code repository and everyone gets a new copy and continues working. It's like building things with legos. Small pieces make up the bigger pieces makes up the Death Star. You know - the whole 'object orientated programming' method.
#3 Skydiver ?
Reputation: 1948
Posts:5,795
Joined:05-May 12
Re: Question: Real time Co-Op programming?
Posted Today, 08:58 PM
Yes, pair programming can be very disconcerting the first 30 minutes of doing it. After a while it becomes very natural. It's not for control freaks, though -- specially if the two of you have very different coding styles (eg. different spacing after some keywords, different indentation styles, different naming conventions). On the other hand, it can be very good learning / teaching environment as you both learn little tips and tricks from each other.
May 28, 2013 ? Imagine if you could open up your brain and look inside.
What you would see is a network of nerve cells called neurons, each with its own internal highway system for transporting essential materials between different parts of the cell.
When this biological machinery is operating smoothly, tiny motor proteins ferry precious cargo up and down each neuron along thread-like roadways called microtubule tracks. Brain cells are able to receive information, make internal repairs and send instructions to the body, telling the fingers to flex or the toes to curl.
But when the neuron gets blocked, this delicate harmony deteriorates. One result: diseases like Alzheimer's.
Understanding such blockages and how traffic should flow normally in healthy brain cells could offer hope to people with neurodegenerative diseases.
Toward that end, a research team led by University at Buffalo biologist Shermali Gunawardena, PhD, has shown that the protein presenilin plays an important role in controlling neuronal traffic on microtubule highways, a novel function that previously was unknown.
The research results were published May 24 in the journal Human Molecular Genetics. Gunawardena's co-authors are Ge Yang of Carnegie Mellon University and Lawrence S. B. Goldstein of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University of California, San Diego.
Inside the nerves of fruit fly larvae, presenilin helped to control the speed at which molecular motors called kinesins and dyneins moved along neurons. When the scientists halved the amount of presenilin present in the highway system, the motors moved faster; they paused fewer times and their pauses were shorter.
Given this data, Gunawardena thinks that tweaking presenilin levels may be one way to free up traffic and prevent dangerous neuronal blockages in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
"Our major discovery is that presenilin has a novel role, which is to control the movement of motor proteins along neuronal highways," said Gunawardena, an assistant professor of biological sciences. "If this regulation/control is lost, then things can go wrong. This is the first time a protein that functions as a controller of motors has been reported.
"In Alzheimer's disease, transport defects occur well before symptoms, such as cell death and amyloid plaques, are seen in post-mortem brains," she added. "As a result, developing therapeutics targeted to defects in neuronal transport would be a useful way to attack the problem early."
To see a video of traffic flowing normally in a fruit fly larval nerve, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWTKZwHwdBg
The findings are particularly intriguing because scientists have known for several years that presenilin is involved in Alzheimer's disease.
Presenilin rides along neuronal highways in tiny organic bubbles called vesicles that sit atop the kinesin and dynein motors, and also contain a second protein called the amyloid precursor protein (APP). Presenilin participates in cutting APP into pieces called amyloid beta, which build up to form amyloid plaques in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
Such buildups can lead to cell death by preventing the transport of essential materials -- like proteins needed for cell repair -- along neurons.
The findings of the new study mean that presenilin may contribute to Alzheimer's disease in at least two ways: not just by cleaving APP, but also by regulating the speed of the molecular motors that carry APP along neuronal highways.
"More than 150 mutations in presenilin have been identified in Alzheimer's disease," Gunawardena said. "Thus, understanding its function is important to understanding what goes wrong in Alzheimer's disease."
To track the movement of the kinesins and dyneins, the team tagged their cargo with a yellow fluorescent protein. This enabled the scientists to view the molecular motors chugging along inside the neuron under a microscope in a living animal. A special computer program then analyzed the motors' paths, revealing more details about the nature of their movement and how often they paused.
NASA isn't planning a return trip to the moon, but private companies are speculating on the Moon's tourism and colonization possibilities. How much would you pay for a trip?
By Mike Wall,?SPACE.com / May 23, 2013
The moon rises behind clouds lit from the setting sun on Thursday, May 23, 2013, in Gainesville, Fla. Now that NASA's priorities have shifted away from the moon, private aerospace companies are speculating about the next great leap in human exploration.
Matt Stamey / The Gainesville Sun / AP
Enlarge
Human exploration of deep space is looking more and more like a tag-team affair, with NASA jetting off to asteroids and Mars while the private sector sets up shop on the moon.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
While NASA has no plans to return humans to the lunar surface anytime soon, private industry is eyeing? Earth's nearest neighbor intently, said?Bigelow Aerospace?founder and president Robert Bigelow.
"The brass ring for us is having a lunar base ? as a company and in conjunction with other companies, and even other, possibly, foreign entities as well," Bigelow said during a teleconference with reporters today (May 23). "That is an appetite and a desire that we've had for a long, long time."
Two months ago, NASA tapped Bigelow Aerospace to sound out the private sector's interest and intent in going beyond low-Earth orbit, in an attempt to help map out possible public-private partnerships in deep space.
The Space Act agreement set out a two-phase study approach. Bigelow delivered a draft report of the Phase 1 findings today to NASA human exploration chief Bill Gerstenmaier, who also participated in the teleconference.
Bigelow Aerospace makes expandable habitat modules designed to house astronauts in space or on the surface of?the moon?and other bodies. The company has long been an advocate of setting up manned lunar bases, and Bigelow said other firms see the appeal of commercial lunar operations as well.
Golden Spike, for example, aims to begin launching two-person missions to the lunar surface and back by 2020. And several different firms, such as Shackleton Energy Company and Moon Express, plan to mine the moon's resources.
NASA had been planning on sending astronauts back to the moon until 2010, when President Barack Obama directed the space agency to work instead toward getting to a near-Earth asteroid by 2025, then on to the vicinity of?Mars?by the mid-2030s.
Gerstenmaier said NASA welcomes private industry's interest in the moon, viewing it as a complement to the agency's plans in deeper space.
"NASA and the government, we focus on maybe deep space, we focus on asteroids. The private sector picks up the lunar activity, and then we'll combine and share with them to see what makes sense," Gerstenmaier said.
"Transportation to the same region is common between us," he added. "Other aspects ? life-support ? are common between us. We can do lots of co-development between these that actually share what the private sector needs and what the government needs."
Bigelow said he talked to around 20 private companies during the course of the study, including major players such as SpaceX, Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corp.
"You would recognize most of the names," he said.
Gerstenmaier said NASA would release the Phase 1 report to the public after the agency receives the final draft. The Phase 2 portion of the study, meanwhile, is slated to last four months.
Follow Mike Wall on Twitter?@michaeldwall?and?Google+.?Follow us?@Spacedotcom,?Facebook?or?Google+. Originally published on?SPACE.com.
Copyright 2013?SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
(Reuters) - Proposed age limits for FIFA officials could be considered as a form of discrimination, president Sepp Blatter said on Monday, as the 77-year-old reaffirmed his opposition to the idea. "It's not up to me, we are in a democratic process with the member associations voting," he said in an interview with FIFA's website (www.fifa.com). "However, personally, I've already said I was against the age limit as I believe it is not a relevant criteria, not everyone is the same at 60, 70, 80, etc. It could even be seen as discriminatory. Passion makes the difference. ...
CHICAGO (AP) ? Increased use of medical marijuana may lead to more young children getting sick from accidentally eating food made with the drug, a Colorado study suggests.
Medical marijuana items include yummy-looking gummy candies, cookies and other treats that may entice young children. Fourteen children were treated at Colorado Children's Hospital in the two years after a 2009 federal policy change led to a surge in medical marijuana use, the study found. That's when federal authorities said they would not prosecute legal users.
Study cases were mostly mild, but parents should know about potential risks and keep the products out of reach, said lead author Dr. George Sam Wang, an emergency room physician at the hospital. stare
Unusual drowsiness and unsteady walking were among the symptoms. One child, a 5-year-old boy, had trouble breathing. Eight children were hospitalized, two in the intensive care unit, though all recovered within a few days, Wang said. By contrast, in four years preceding the policy change, the Denver-area hospital had no such cases.
Some children came in laughing, glassy-eyed or "acting a little goofy and 'off,'" Wang said. Many had eaten medical marijuana food items, although nonmedical marijuana was involved in at least three cases. The children were younger than 12 and included an 8-month-old boy.
The study was released Monday in JAMA Pediatrics.
Eighteen states and Washington, D.C., allow medical marijuana, though it remains illegal under federal law. Colorado's law dates to 2000 but the study notes that use there soared after the 2009 policy change on prosecution. Last year, Colorado and Washington state legalized adult possession of small amounts of nonmedical marijuana.
Some states, including Colorado, allow medical marijuana use by sick kids, with parents' supervision.
In a journal editorial, two Seattle poisoning specialists say that at least seven more states are considering legalizing medical marijuana and that laws that expand marijuana use likely will lead to more children sickened.
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Online:
JAMA Pediatrics: http://www.jamapeds.com
Medical marijuana: http://tinyurl.com/o2cu3be
___
AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner
Memorial Day is meant as a time to remember and honor those killed in America's wars. But it's also a reminder that those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan need their nation's help.
By Brad Knickerbocker,?Staff writer / May 27, 2013
People make rubbings of a name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial during the Rolling Thunder ride in Washington Sunday. The event is organized to show support for veterans past and present, and those who have fallen in war or are missing in action.
Joshua Roberts / Reuters
Enlarge
Around the country today, Americans are observing Memorial Day in different ways ? not all of it just barbecues and ball games.
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US Coast Guard veteran Abby Beck took her 7-year old son Levi and other Cub Scouts to place American flags on the graves of soldiers at a military cemetery in Newport Beach, Calif.
"I'm trying to teach him the importance of what we're doing here today, and what it really means to be a veteran and to give your life for your country,? Ms. Beck told the Los Angeles Times. ?We're lucky because of these people."
Jim and Carla Hogan, whose son Marine Corps LCPL Donald Hogan was killed in Afghanistan in 2009 (where he was awarded the Navy Cross, the US military?s second highest honor), are working to build their ?Socks for Heroes? programs.
?In the time period that followed that tragedy, we spent a lot of time with the Marines who served with him. During each of our conversations with these men, we asked them what they needed the most,? they write on their web site. ?Speaking to over 100 field Marines, the answer was uniform: ?Send us socks.??
In two years, ?Socks for Heroes? has sent 196,000 pairs to the men and women in desert war zones, where laundry facilities are scarce.
In Washington Saturday, hundreds of motorcyclists took part in the 26th annual Rolling Thunder ?Ride for Freedom? from the Pentagon to the reflecting pool near the Lincoln Memorial where speakers focused on POW/MIA issues.
Thousands more are visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, leaving mementos at the base of the black granite wall, reaching up to trace the name of a battle buddy or loved one ? one of the 58,195?names inscribed there. And at American Legion and Veterans of Foreign War Posts, vets are gathering today for ceremonies, speeches, and parades honoring those lost in military service.
They won?t be marching in Beverly, Massachusetts, however, where the city has canceled its Memorial Day parade. Marching has become difficult for many older veterans, and many younger veterans are first responders working that day, officials say.
It?s also true that there are fewer vets marching in parades across the United States today because there are fewer vets overall.
Since 9/11, it may feel like a perpetual state of war, but it?s a relatively small portion of the US who do the fighting ? or even know somebody who does. Among the nation?s professional and political elite, the figure may be even smaller.
There are exceptions, of course. Former Sen. Bob Dole in World War II. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in Vietnam. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, who was shot down and lost both legs flying a helicopter in Iraq.
Memorial Day dates back to the end of the Civil War, when it was called ?Decoration Day.?
A special order declared that May 30 should be set aside "for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land."
Since the end of the draft ? and the end of the very divisive war in Vietnam ? the public attitude toward veterans (and the military generally) has improved greatly. You can see it in the people who gather in the middle of the night at airports to welcome GIs returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Though the wars may not be particularly popular, for most Americans ?separating the warrior from the war? has become a lot easier.
In war and in peace, Memorial Day is meant to remember and honor the many thousands of American servicemen and women lost in armed conflict. In Iraq and Afghanistan so far, that?s been 6,714.
But the situation for war-weary vets returning from a conflict that began when many of them were still school boys and girls remains extremely difficult for many.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) ? the so-called signature injuries of Iraq and Afghanistan ? continue to affect thousands. Suicide rates are troublesome, as are higher-than-average rates of homelessness and unemployment.
?On this Memorial Day, as we remember those who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces, it is also a time to remember those who served and are still living,? write psychiatrist Harry Croft and retired military officer Sydney Savion, who have worked with thousands of vets, in Forbes online. ?The military members and veterans with physical wounds are easy to spot, but those with the ?invisible war wounds? ? can be just as severely affected.?
MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - Standing by a pile of debris that once was an elementary school, President Barack Obama on Sunday called the destruction last week's tornado wrought in Moore, Oklahoma, "hard to comprehend" and vowed to provide long-term federal help in rebuilding.
The tornado, rated at the top of a five-step scale used to measure the destructive power of twisters, killed 24 people - including seven children at the school site Obama visited. It ripped a 17-mile-long (27-km-long) corridor of destruction through the suburb of Oklahoma City, flattening entire blocks of homes, two schools and a hospital.
"Obviously the damage here is pretty hard to comprehend," Obama said, standing on a block where piles of boards, bricks and cinder blocks that used to be buildings and houses lined the side of the street. Rare items that survived the disaster - a television set, a pink baby carriage - stood in contrast to the wreckage.
The visit to the disaster-shaken town was one in a series of responses Obama has made in recent months to tragedies including the Boston Marathon bombings last month; a December mass school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut; and the destruction that Superstorm Sandy caused along the Jersey Shore in October.
"Whenever I come to an area that has been devastated by some natural disaster like this, I want to make sure that everyone understands that I am speaking on behalf of the entire country," said Obama, flanked by officials including Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin. "Everywhere, fellow Americans are praying with you, they're thinking about you and they want to help. And I'm just a messenger here letting you know that you are not alone."
Cars with their bodies dented and windows smashed lay under debris or twisted on their sides. Rising above the wasteland were at least three American flags that had been attached to the rubble, waving in the wind.
Caleb Sloan, 24, who lost his home in the storm, said Obama's words gave him hope that help would be forthcoming.
"He has no choice but to live by his word," Sloan said. "I hope and pray and think he will keep his promises."
SPATE OF STORMS
The May 20 Moore tornado was the most powerful of a spate of 76 twisters that touched down in 10 states from May 18 through 20, causing an estimated $2 billion to $5 billion in insured losses, according to disaster modeling company Eqecat.
The Moore tornado, the deadliest such windstorm to hit the United States in two years, also injured 377 people.
One volunteer who had been working on the response raised the commonly voiced complaint that the tight security surrounding a presidential visit can interfere with efforts to return to normal.
"It is fantastic he came, but his visit shut down everything," said Carol Hull, who has been working to feed and counsel victims. "We have no place to send people for food and aid while he is here because the roads and centers are shut down."
While assuring that residents of the 1,200 homes that the storm destroyed would receive extended federal help, Obama also urged lawmakers to maintain funding for the training and equipment that emergency responders rely on in the aftermath of disasters.
"I know everybody in Congress cares deeply about what's happening and know that resources will be forthcoming when it comes to rebuilding," Obama said. "But remember that it's also the ongoing training and equipment, making sure those things are in place. We can't shortchange that kind of ongoing disaster response, we can't just wait until the disaster happens. That's how, in part, we're able to save a lot of lives."
(Additional reporting by Heide Brandes; Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Sandra Maler and Mohammad Zargham)
Notification Center debuted in iOS 5 and began transforming Apple's old, unscalable, model alert system into something less obtrusive and more robust. Unfortunately, iOS 6 spent so much time setting up the future -- kicking Google to the curb, outsourcing social, and improving support for Asia -- that notifications were left pretty much at a standstill. Hopefully iOS 7's flatter and more consistent redesign won't occupy the lion's share of attention this time around, and Notification Center will not only catchup, but leap ahead. And hopefully it'll start with the transition from informational alerts to actionable ones.
This isn't a new request by any means. Many people have made it many times, including me last year. Palm had the beginnings of it in webOS, jailbreak apps like BiteSMS have been doing for ages, and Google started adding it to Android in 2012.
And here's why -- whether we're tired, busy, or just plain lazy, having to go hunting for apps -- even widgets -- just to reply to a message, reset a timer, change a song, or do any other trivial activity is outdated and inefficient. It's pull in the age of push.
It's well past time for actions, like information, comes to us.
From creation to conversation
In the current version of iOS, if we're using an app or playing a game or just fiddling around on the Home Screen, and an SMS, iMessage, IM, Hangout, or any other short bit of text is sent our way, we get a roll-down banner notification. If we tap the banner, it rips us from our current activity and sends us carousel-ing into whatever app owns that bit of text. At that point, we have to wait for the host app to wake up, connect, and download the actual message. (Even if all of it was shown in the push notification, the information isn't passed along and the app has to make its own, post-launch request to get its own, post-launch copy.) Then, after replying, we have to either use the fast app switcher to go back to our previous app, or the old Home button click/icon tap combo. There's no insta-back button or gesture for that.
Imagine instead that, once the banner notification rolls down, we could not only tap on it to go to the app, but drag it down to get an actionable dialog. Then we could quickly enter and send a response, at which point the dialog would disappear and we could immediately resume what we were doing. No carousel app switching, no need to click and tap our way back.
Apple already does a lot of the out-of-app heavy messaging lifting today, in Share Sheets. Launch the Photos app and pick a photo. Tap the Action button, tap Mail, Messages, or Twitter, and an embedded Mail, Message, or Tweet sheet slides up from the bottom. Type and send a message. The message gets sent and the sheet slides down again, allowing you to continue right where you left off. In fact, Notification Center already has buttons for calling up Twitter and Facebook sheets.
The current system only works to create new messages, and only for Apple's built-in and integrated partner apps (Mail, Messages, Twitter, and Facebook). It's not impossible, however, to imagine it working for replies as well.
And with third-party messaging apps. At worst, Notification Center could simply keep pulling the icon to identify the app. In a perfect world, those third-party apps could include parameters for/register with with Notification Center to use in presenting their own embedded sheets (similar in spirit to how Passbook provides for some level of design in third-party passes).
With Notification Center maintaining control of the transactions, communications could be handled more securely and power efficiently as well.
From snooze to choose
The same basic system could also work for changing alarms. Right now, just like with messages, if an alarm goes off, we can either okay it or put it to sleep, but we can't change it. If we want to do that, we have to mishandle the alert in someway, then go track down the app (typically Clock) to do something about it.
In a push-interface world, the alarm would go off and the banner could be pulled down into, or the popup would already be, a widget that could not only be dismissed or slept, but altered right there and then.
Even if it was kept model, a timer could be scrubbed back from 00:00 to 00:30, for example, right on the alert.
Likewise, an alarm could be deferred, but could also be quickly changed to another time.
From switcher to center
Controls are trickier, because they're persistent rather than event-driven. No one wants a constant banner with audio controls in it, for example, which is probably why Apple annexed them into the fast app switcher in iOS 4.
They might make more sense in Notification Center, however, where instead of being a double-click and horizontal swipe away, they're just a downward swipe. The brightness and AirPlay controls could easily live there as well, as could all the other settings most people never use, but the nerds among us want faster access to -- everything from Wi-Fi to Bluetooth to hotspot to Airplane mode, to the kitchen sync in there as well. They could be set to off by default, so mainstream users aren't bothered by them, but there and ready to be enabled by those who want them.
From static to dynamic
As much as we like to compare platforms and talk about who and who isn't innovating, who's blazing ahead, who's copying, and who's playing catchup, the truth is every major player is mostly just giving us variations on a theme.
Siri, Google Now, and Kinect are starting to break down the old concepts, not just with natural language and gesture-based control schemes, but with dynamically generated, contextually aware interfaces. They're still new, still experimental, still layers on top of far more static Home screens, apps, and activities, but they're getting there.
If Apple wants to get really avant guarde, Notification Center could become contextual, presenting information, actions, and options depending on the time of day, our location, and what we're doing when we invoke it. And, of course, helpfully nudge us with actionable banners when we haven't invoked it -- the classic example being "Traffic has changed, you will now have to leave 10 min. earlier for your meeting, would you like me to message attendees?"
From the Apple II to the Mac, Apple's been at the forefront of making ever more accessible types of interface mainstream. Actionable notifications could be a piece of the whatever's-next puzzle, and I hope we see it from Apple sooner rather than later.
If you've used webOS notifications, or Jelly Bean notifications, or BiteSMS, or if you're just tired of switching apps every time you get an alert, let me know what you think -- should the future be actionable, and how?
Private Online Communities: 7 Tips for Writing to Increase Engagement
Posted by Joshua Paul on Fri, May 24, 2013 @ 07:50 AM
When you begin researching how to build an online community for your customers, prospects, members, or partners, one of the first things that you?ll notice is that it is a complex process.
If you had that reaction, it?s ok. That is actually a good response given the number of signals you have to read and the levers you have available to pull, never mind setting a strategy that meets the needs of both your organization and your target audience.
Feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of social community building means that you are asking the right questions and have stumbled upon serious social business information. Just as with any serious customer relationship management or marketing approach, building and maintaining community is complicated.
How is Building Community Engagement Like Managing a Complex Sale?
Recently, I have been asked for advice and asked to speak on customer engagement and B2B marketing. Halfway through my presentations or conversations, one thing is clear from my experience growing B2B businesses - it is complicated.
Anyone who thinks that marketing or online community building is a clear, simple process will likely run into a hard reality in the near future. There are dozens of points where you need to think things through thoroughly and bring you?re ?A? game.
In business-to-business marketing, this ranges from getting found to converting website visitors to leads and then nurturing leads so that they eventually become customers. A break down in any of those processes can spoil your efforts in other areas of your process.
The same is true in your private online community. Along with building awareness for your community, you have to ensure your online community provides overwhelming value to your target audience. But that is not enough. You could have the most valuable online community in your market, but if you don?t have systems in place to drive busy community members back to your private social network regularly, all of the value you have built into your community will go to waste.
Become an Engagement Samurai Through Your Writing
The preceding two examples look at the high-level components of social business and marketing, but these initiatives are much more granular than that. ?The areas that you need to get right range from strategy and tactics all the way down to the language you use to communicate to your target audience.
That is the aspect of managing online communities where we are going to focus in this article. Your online community could be gorgeous, aligned with your audiences? problems, and use your built-in online community software tools to bring people back to the community for relevant content and discussions. However, the way that you phrase your content sets that tone of your community and plays a big part in getting members to participate.
Why is Writing for Engagement in Your Private Community Important?
As a social business professional, you may be thinking, ?Why is this necessary? I?ve worked hard to get my online customer community up and running, why do I need to put extra thought into the way I structure my content??
You customers or members do not see all of the hours you have put into planning the community. The see the messaging, content, and discussions in the community. To use a football analogy, it is like the audience not watch you march down the field into scoring position. They only see those plays called within the last five yards.
In your private online community, that is what members will base their engagement and sense of community on - the member-facing last five yards. It is also important to remember that participation leads to more participation in your online community. On the flip side, lack of engagement leads to less engagement until your community is in a death spiral.
What Type of Content Need to Be Written for Engagement?
As you may know, content plays a vital role in your online community. While your target audience may eventually visit your community for the social network they have built, they will initially (for an extended period) visit your community for the exclusive content.
You can apply the guidelines in this article to a variety of areas of your online community. The rule of thumb is, any information where the community can comment or respond should be written to maximize engagement. This includes:
Blog posts in the community
Discussions in the online forums
Emails and newsletters sent from the community
Announcements posted to the listserv
Document and video descriptions in the community?s file libraries
Contests and product feature idea submission
Writing in a way that encourages conversation is one of the less talked about areas of online community management. To help you carry all of the hard work you have done on your social business strategy and online community tactics through to fruition, here are seven tips to producing content that drives participation.
Tip #1) Explain Why It Matters
Don't beat around the bush. Explain upfront why your target audience should care and what they'll get out of your message or a particular discussion. Use stark language without crossing the line into hyperbole.
Tip #2) Don?t Be the Authority Unless You Have To
Nobody likes a know-it-all. As the organization that owns/sponsors the online community, you already have a large amount of authority in the content you produce (community members look to you as a leader). If you are responding to a discussion or question from a customer or member, leave room for others to provide insight as well (even if you are confident that your answer it best).
However, you don?t need to muddle knowable information.
Example:
If someone posts, ?When is the annual conference?? You shouldn?t answer with, ?The conference is August 16-20 in St. Louis. Does anyone else have suggestions for when the conference is??
However, when someone asks for advice or for best practices, add some value but use your response to let that member know that they are heard and as well as a call to action for other community members to chime in.
Tip #3) Invite Comment
Although someone may start a discussion and there are clearly marked areas in your online community to leave comments, there is often still a psychological barrier to contributing to a conversation.
Many times, people need an extra nudge of permission to feel comfortable responding to a question or sharing their reaction to a piece of content. This occurs for a variety of reasons ranging from being new to the community and not being familiar with its culture to feel like you are too low in your company to speak with any authority.
To counter these elements of human nature, be very clear and matter of fact when inviting responses to your content. Remind people that it is ok to respond and that their questions and insight help others in the community. Sometimes seeing that permission in plain language on the screen gives community members the psychological cover they need to participate.
Tip #4) When Responding to Others, Ask for More Details
When you do get a response to content or a discussion in your online customer or member community, you'll be alerted of the activity through the settings in your online community software platform. This is your opportunity to ask a thoughtful question back.
Example:
Let?s assume you sell inventory management software and published a blog post in your customer community with tips on training employees on your latest product upgrade. You then received a comment by one of your customers on how easy the upgraded system is to learn.
You can follow up that comment by thanking him or her for their comment and asking a simple follow up question that you know they can answer like, "Thanks for your feedback! Which types of employees picked up the software the fastest?" or "We?re glad to hear it! What steps did you take to roll out the new software to your team?"
By drawing the out further engagement with simple open-ended questions, you provide positive reinforcement to the member who commented on the content by letting them know that their feedback is valuable and commenting is not scary. It also gives implicit permission to others to join the conversation since activity begets activity in online communities.
Tip #4) Optimize Discussion Subject Lines
As you scroll through the discussion threads in the private online communities to which you belong, look at the titles or subject lines for the most active discussions. Are they statements, questions, simple phrases or single word, etc.?
One of the ways you can tap into your members? subconscious to increase engagement is to clearly ask for discussion in the title or subject line. Try using techniques like putting "Discussion:" or "Please Respond -" at the beginning of your subject lines to help your content stand out and explicitly give people permission to see what others are saying and add their two cents.
Tip #5) Disarm From the Start
Content marketing has quickly become a prominent force in all of our online experiences. Some content is good and some content is of a lower quality. Some is helpful and other content is a veiled sales pitch. The amount of content and the variation in usefulness makes all of us skeptical of online information.
This is why it is important to write in a way that disarms your audience. This means that you must be extra careful not to seem like you are pushing an agenda. Even if you are strengthening relationships with the people in your online community to meet specific business-level goals (e.g. customer retention, revenue, etc.), go the extra mile to build trust by disarming your audience with your honest writing style.
Your online community members can smell an agenda from a mile away. People are much less likely to engage with a sales pitch than an open and honest discussion of your products or their market.
Tip #6) Serve Small, but Meaty Portions
Unless you're writing blog articles, it is important to be brief and get to the point quickly. You will get a lot more clicks in the email letting people know about a relevant discussion in your online community if you keep your email short and scanable, than you would with a lengthy discussion of the history and importance of this topic.
The same goes for discussions that you start in your community?s forums. Get to the point quickly, but don't sacrifice points about how important the discussion is and how easy it is to participate.
Tip #7) Connect and Use Empathy
In presidential politics they call this the "who would you rather have a beer with?" test. People like and vote for people who they feel like they know and can relate to their lot in life.
You can use these principles in your online customer or member community. Write in simple terms. Acknowledge who you are helping and the paint a picture of their challenges. Make connections and build trust by making references to the positions that your audience may find themselves in.
Private Online Community Takeaway
In your private online customer or member community, sometimes you are adding your original content and starting your own discussions. Other times, you are curating content written by others in your industry. Regardless, the way that you introduce that content to your community can have an impact on whether community members are active participants in the conversations or just lurkers who browse, but don?t contribute to the community.
While you can and should always test, measure, and adjust each step in your online community management processes, your member-facing content and communication is an area that can have the high degree of impact. It provides the first impression of your community and an ongoing indicator of the community?s health to your target audience. Investing in developing a writing style that encourages engagement protects the investment you have made in the other aspects on your private online community.
White House press secretary Jay Carney at his daily briefing, May 14, 2013 
When you begin researching how to build an online community for your customers, prospects, members, or partners, one of the first things that you?ll notice is that it is a complex process.