Foursquare to display full user names, share more data with local businesses

Fond of your family name? Good -- it's about to get a bit more visible. Foursquare is planning to display full user names on profile pages, explaining in a recent community email that the old policy has become confusing. "If you search for a friend on Foursquare, we show their full name in the results, but when you click through to their profile page you don't see their last name." The team says these abbreviations made sense in Foursquare's early days, but recently users have been asking for change. "We get emails every day saying that it's now confusing." The social network hopes that displaying users' full surnames will help mitigate confusion between the John Smiths and John Smythes of the world.

The company's tweaked privacy policy promises to share more data with businesses, too, giving store owners greater visibility of customers who have recently checked in. Users who want their quests for coffee to remain anonymous still can, of course -- Foursquare was careful to remind users that they can change their "full name" whenever they want, and can opt out of sharing their location information with businesses. We wouldn't want to step on any toes, would we? Head past the break to see the email for yourself, or check out the adjacent source link to read Foursquare's "Privacy 101" summary.

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Foursquare

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/30/foursquare-to-display-full-user-names-share-more-data/

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Kim Kardashian, Kanye West Get Baby Love From Demi Lovato

'X Factor' judge offers to babysit their bundle of joy while fellow celebs send their love to the couple.
By Jocelyn Vena

Demi Lovato and Kim Kardashian in 2011
Photo: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1699498/kim-kardashian-pregnant-kanye-west-demi-lovato.jhtml

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Capital News ? Woman accused of NYC subway hate crime murder

Posted by AFP on December 30, 2012

A man walks past a subway stop in Manhattan on December 5, 2012/AFP

NEW YORK, Dec 30 ? A 31-year-old New York woman was scheduled to appear before a judge Sunday after being charged with murder as a hate crime for shoving a Hindu man to his death in front of an oncoming subway train.

Erika Menendez of the Bronx borough was motivated by hatred of Muslims and Hindus, according to the Queens District Attorney?s Office.

?I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims. Ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers, I?ve been beating them up,? she told police.

Menendez, who is awaiting arraignment in Queens Criminal Court, faces from 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

The victim, 46-year-old Sunando Sen, was born in India and raised Hindu, a roommate told The New York Times.

The incident took place late Thursday at a station on the number 7 line in Queens.

Menendez ? who was speaking to herself as she paced along the platform, according to witnesses ? pushed the man as the train was pulling into the station. He apparently had his back to Menendez and did not see her.

Police released surveillance camera video footage via Twitter showing a woman running from the scene.

?The defendant is accused of committing what is every subway commuter?s worst nightmare ? being suddenly and senselessly pushed into the path of an oncoming train,? Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.

?The victim was allegedly shoved from behind and had no chance to defend himself. Beyond that, the hateful remarks allegedly made by the defendant and which precipitated the defendant?s actions can never be tolerated by a civilized society.?

Sen?s death was eerily similar to that of a 58-year-old man killed on December 3 when he was pushed onto the tracks during a fight with a deranged man at a Manhattan subway station. The assailant, later identified as 30-year-old Naeem Davis, has been charged with murder. Davis is homeless.

A New York Post front page picture of the man on the tracks a split second before he was killed by the oncoming train provoked public fury as to why no one helped him ? and why the tabloid newspaper published the photo.

Several million people use the New York City subway system every day, but incidents of this kind are rare.

Before the December 3 death, the last time someone was pushed onto the rails and hit by a train was in 2010. The woman survived.

Thursday night?s incident appeared to have scared many New York subway riders as they kept closer to the walls as trains rolled into the station.

?It?s horrible,? said 46-year-old city resident Elena Rodriguez. ?We?re feeling so insecure now to be in the subway.?

Author: AFP
AFP has written 3651 posts
Agence France-Presse is a global news agency delivering fast, in-depth coverage of the events shaping our world from wars and conflicts to politics, sports, entertainment and the latest breakthroughs in health, science and technology.

Source: http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2012/12/woman-accused-of-nyc-subway-hate-crime-murder/

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Guy Kawasaki says you should write a book... and he's right!

Google Plus may have inadvertently changed publishing forever.

The self-publishing process for Guy Kawasaki?s What the Plus??created such a disruption in Kawasaki?s life that he wrote his newest book, APE: Author, Publisher,?Entrepreneur ? How to Publish a Book?to share all of the lessons that he learned from the process. ?It?s probably one of the most important books in recent memory for aspiring writers or frustrated scribes.

The beauty of APE is that Guy Kawasaki doesn?t show people how to self-publish a book. ?He gives them the tools and insight to publish a good book. ?Being an occasional reader of printed schizophrenia, I appreciate the distinction.

Not what I expected

I?m skeptical of pretty much everything and I had few expectations of APE going in. ?I read What the Plus? and appreciated Kawasaki?s enthusiasm despite the fact he might have been overstating the case for G+ a little. ?I enjoyed Enchantment?very much, though it left me with the impression that Kawasaki was a rose-colored glasses sort of guy. ?When I was offered an advance copy of the APE book, I expected a feel-good collection of stories.

When I learned that the topic of the book was self-publishing, my expectations plummeted. ?After all, how would the guy whose advocacy for the concept of ?enchantment? tackle self-publishing? ?Would he write a book of affirmations about self-publishing and tenacity, maybe including an inspiring story about how some ambitious blogger compiled all of her posts into a best-selling book (which is a?colossally?bad idea by the way). ?APE could have been a rah-rah book to further the blogosphere?s self-esteem movement. ?But thankfully this isn?t THAT book. ?Quite the contrary, actually.

It turns out Guy Kawasaki is a pragmatist. ? Not only that, he?s willing to call you out on your stuff. ?You may want to write a published book for profit, esteem or to prestige ? and G.K. writes about how ill-conceived those motivations are. ?An affirmation by a publishing house isn?t necessary if you have a message that people needs to hear. ?And self-publishing gives authors agility and freedom that traditional publishers cannot mimic.

He is brutally honest about the corporate publishing process, and uses author-publisher-entrepreneur?as a framework to describe (in?astonishing?detail) the painstaking work that must be done to bring a big idea to fruition. ?You need an editor. ?You need a?copy-editor? ?You need a copy of the Chicago Manual of Style. ?Not only did I learn an extraordinary amount about publishing and writing, but as a begrudging reader of haphazardly conceived books I frequently nodded ?Amen.?

And if you still doubt G.K.?s pragmatism, he even advises using Microsoft Word to write your manuscript. ?Quite an admission from the former Chief Evangelist for Apple.

Why APE is important

There are a few authors that I would drop everything to read. ?Some that come to mind: Malcolm Gladwell, Daniel Pink, Dan Ariely, Sally Hogshead, Jeffrey Gitomer, and Robin Thornton.

You may or may not know Robin Thornton. ?She?s a frequent contributor to this site and is one of the people whose writing I look forward to each month (for a quick primer read ?How to Do Business With a Woman (If You are a Guy)? or her end-of-year ?Unwish List.?) ? She?s a brilliant writer who has ?it.? ?I don?t know exactly what ?it? is ? but if she was writing an interpretation of the phone book, I?m pretty sure that she would make it compelling. ?If she wrote a book you would love it. ?So would I.

Many years ago I dated a brilliant writer. ?She was later revealed to be a pretty wretched person (subjectively speaking, of course), but she had a gift for taking seemingly mundane observations and turning them into the most thoughtful, mind-blowing narratives you?ve ever read. ?She should have been revered, and I say that as someone who still thoroghly dislikes her. ?Many years later she writes banal, uninspired essays that get published from time to time on the internet ? a far cry from her most brilliant work.

I thought often about Robin and of the atrophied brilliant as I was reading APE. ?There are people out there who have interesting and insightful things to share, but because of the traditional publishing machinery never try. ?When I think of how excited I get to read books by authors like Ellen Bremen, Ted Rubin, and Crystal Washington, I can?t help but wonder how exciting it would be to have an outlet for other people to create ?artisanal? books of similar quality and substance?(subliminal message to Robin Thornton). ?I also can?t help but think about how many valuable ideas and insights go to waste because of the reliance on traditional publishers to validate long-form content.

Maybe I?m the one wearing rose-colored glasses, but Guy?Kawasaki?s?Author, Publisher,?Entrepreneur?made me realize how accessible the technology for self-publishing is. ?As someone who publishes short-form essays by?Beth?McShane,?Erin?Feldman,?Margie?Clayman?and?Pete?Trapasso?every month, the thought that they could elaborate their insights for mass-consumption is pretty special.

APE may not change the world. ?But it?s honest, it?s inspiring and it?s accessible. ?If the world were a meritocracy, it would be Guy Kawasaki?s best?selling?book and it would spawn a litany of great books written by people who otherwise would have never considered writing them.

I see social media as a huge differentiator for small businesses and try to tailor my insights to support that view. I am the 12th most influential social media blogger according to Kred, and the single most influential person on the topic of David Hasselhoff according to Klout. Neither of those is probably true. Representing Cincinnati, Ohio and my hometown of Seattle, Washington.

Source: http://leaderswest.com/2012/12/30/author-publisher-entrepreneur/

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Redskins win NFC East, Broncos get top seed in AFC

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) celebrates his touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) celebrates his touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh reacts to a play in the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker Ray Lewis sits on the bench in the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano acknowledges the fans after the Colts defeated the Houston Texans, 28-16, in an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, left, talks to Houston Texans' Andre Johnson following an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, in Indianapolis. The Colts won the game 28-16. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

RG3 and the Washington Redskins are heading to the playoffs as NFC East champions.

By winning their seventh straight game, the Redskins rolled to their first division title in 13 years with a 28-18 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. Next up for Robert Griffin III & Co.: a home playoff matchup next Sunday with the Seahawks ? the third straight postseason game for Washington against Seattle.

"It's just a mindset change," the rookie quarterback said. "When you have all these guys coming to work every day, putting it on the line, we knew we couldn't afford to lose one game, we made sure we didn't"

Thanks to Houston's late-season slump, Denver and New England will have byes when the AFC playoffs begin next week.

The Texans fell from first to third in the conference Sunday when they lost 28-16 at Indianapolis, which welcomed back coach Chuck Pagano after nearly three months of treatments for leukemia.

AFC West champion Denver won its 11th straight game, 38-3 over Kansas City to secure the top seed. New England blanked Miami 28-0 for the second spot.

Minnesota edged Green Bay 37-34 to grab the final NFC wild card, sinking the Packers to the third seed. Those teams will meet again next Saturday night at Lambeau Field.

The other NFC matchup will have Seattle (11-5), which beat St. Louis 20-13, at Washington on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Cincinnati (10-6) will be at Houston on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET, and Indianapolis (11-5) goes to at Baltimore (10-6) on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the AFC wild-card rounds.

The divisional round games will be hosted by Denver on Saturday, Jan. 12, followed by San Francisco (11-4-1) at night. On Sunday, Jan. 13, Atlanta (13-3) will host the early game, followed by New England (12-4).

Peyton Manning threw for three touchdowns as Denver (13-3) routed the Chiefs. New England got the second seed despite having the same record as Houston because it beat the Texans, who lost three of their final four games.

Adrian Peterson had 199 yards against the Packers, finishing with 2,097 ? Dickerson's single-season rushing mark in 2,105. But it was rookie kicker Blair Walsh who won it with a 29-yard field goal as time expired.

"Ultimately we got the 'W,'" Peterson said. "I told myself to come into this game focused on one thing, and that's winning."

Green Bay would have been seeded second in the NFC by beating Minnesota.

"The road got a little tougher having to play on opening weekend, but we've got a home game and that's why you win the division," Aaron Rodgers said. "We get to go back home, and the game will be different. They won't have home-crowd advantage, and hopefully that will make a difference."

Baltimore Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed is looking forward to a reunion with Pagano. He wishes it would come a little later in the postseason.

"Chuck's like a dad to me," Reed said "He means a lot to me. I would have much rather seen them in the AFC championship game than the first game."

But Reed will see him next week at Baltimore.

The Ravens had a chance to move up to the AFC's third seed with a win and a New England loss. But Baltimore lost at Cincinnati as both teams played backups for much of the game.

Pagano coached the Ravens' secondary for three seasons and was promoted to coordinator last year. Players and coaches in Baltimore have kept in touch, offering encouragement as he fought through the cancer treatments.

"Going back to Baltimore, obviously there's some familiarity there," Pagano said. "We had four great years there as a family. It's a top-notch organization, you know, really good football club. It's a great challenge and they have a great team and they have great players all over the place."

The Colts were 2-14 last season and chose quarterback Andrew Luck with the top selection in the draft. Luck and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, who stepped in as interim coach with Pagano sidelined, led the turnaround.

Next week, Pagano goes up against former boss John Harbaugh.

"I love his family, and he's one of my closest personal friends in coaching," Harbaugh said. "What he's been through is phenomenal, but we're all competitors so that gets set aside."

Houston beat Cincinnati in the opening round of last year's playoffs.

"I think it will be good," said Bengals QB Andy Dalton, who grew up in suburban Houston. "We played there last year and know the atmosphere and what it's going to be like. The experience last year will definitely help us."

The defending Super Bowl champion Giants are out of contention. When Chicago beat Detroit 26-24, the Giants (9-7) were eliminated, even though they routed Philadelphia 42-7.

"It hurts," said Eli Manning. "Each year you want to make the playoffs to give yourself an opportunity to win a championship; 9-7 last year was good enough. It wasn't good enough this year and we knew it wouldn't be."

Minnesota's win eliminated Chicago.

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-31-FBN-NFL-Playoffs/id-261250e87b9f453b9bf0cc177668561e

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Will Google+ Ever Get A Full Read/Write API?

Depending on who you ask, Google+ is either a thriving social network and the most important backbone of Google?s social efforts, or a deserted wasteland where a small clique of fans keeps the lights on. I tend to think it?s doing quite alright for Google, but I also know that I would use it far more if I could use a desktop client (and maybe one that combines Twitter, Facebook and Google+) to read and post updates. Google, however, has steadfastly refused to launch a full read/write API for Google+.

At I/O earlier this year, the company?s representatives said that they don?t want to ?disrupt something very special? and ?magical? by just letting third-party apps post to it. What Google wants to avoid, it seems, is auto-posting news updates, cross-posted tweets, and other updates it considers to be of low value to its users. Google also wants to keep full control over the Google+ user experience. While it has whitelisted a few tools like Hootsuite and Engage121 and now allows them to post to Google+, there are currently no consumer-oriented tools for directly interacting with Google+ without going to the site.

Sure, there are the Google+ buttons, a basic read API and the Hangouts API for those who want to run video chats and a few other tools, too, but unlike Twitter, which despite its recent kerfuffles with developers still enables lots of interesting third-party services, Google+ still feels very insular. If I want to post a picture to it from my phone, I have to use the Google+ app. If I want to post an update, I have to use the Google+ app. But while that app is actually quite good, I?m pretty sure we would see a lot more innovation and interesting use cases for Google+ if the company made it easier for developers to really start using it as a platform.

At I/O, Google quietly launched the Google+ History API for privately sharing updates to Google+ to your profile after the fact, but I?m not aware of any popular apps or web services that currently use this API. Throughout 2012, the Google+ team always said that it won?t release a full API until it is sure it gets everything right and won?t have to make changes later on that will upset developers the way Twitter did this year. It sure is taking its time to get things right, though, and as time passes, this argument continues to lose its power.

Maybe it?s telling then that the Google+ developer blog (the ?official source of information about the Google+ platform?) has only been updated twice since the end of this year?s I/O. To be fair, the team regularly posts on Google+, but there have obviously not been many major updates to the platform in the second half of 2012. Google, it seems, really isn?t all that interested in turning Google+ into a platform. Instead, it wants it to remain as pristine and tightly managed as possible.

I often think of Google+ as a walled community with an overbearing homeowners association that wants to make sure your lawns are perfectly trimmed and the flags you hang outside your house aren?t offensive to anyone. It?s safe to let your kids play on the streets there, but it?s also a bit boring. That, it seems, is the community Google is striving for on Google+, but I can?t help but think that if it opened the gates a bit wider for third-party developers and let them innovate on top of the Google+ platform, the social network itself would quickly become far more interesting, too.

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/30/will-google-ever-get-a-full-readwrite-api/

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Dad of girl killed on school bus commits suicide

By Kari Huus, NBC News

The often-absent father of a 13-year-old girl who was shot to death on a Florida school bus in November has committed suicide, the?Broward County Sheriff's Office said Friday.

Armando "Alex" Guzman-Cirino had a history of jail time and had been largely absent while his daughter Lourdes "Jina" Guzman DeJesus was growing up, family members told the Miami Herald.

---

But Guzman-Cirino had attended Jina?s funeral and had been very depressed since then, the sources said, according to the Herald report.

Jina was killed while riding a school bus on Nov. 20, when a 15-year-old boy pulled a .40-caliber handgun from his backpack and it went off, shooting her in the neck. She was one of about eight kids on the school bus, which dropped kids at several schools.

The boy is charged with manslaughter and carrying a concealed firearm, NBCMiami.com reported,?and prosecutors have said they plan to try him as an adult.

Guzman-Cirino, 34, was found dead in his car in a parking garage in Lauderdale Lakes, a small city just northwest of Fort Lauderdale.?The Sheriff?s Office said he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/28/16223427-father-of-girl-killed-on-florida-school-bus-commits-suicide?lite

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2013 NFL Draft: Geno Smith?s draft stock drops in loss to Syracuse

Rich Barnes- US Presswire

?

Quarterback Geno Smith may have witnessed some NFL scouts jump off his band wagon after losing to Syracuse.

Smith has been projected to be taken first over in most mock drafts by the Kansas City Chiefs, but after a mediocre performance in the Pinstripe Bowl, Smith may not be as ready for the pros as people think. Everyone knows he is a raw talent, but he is even more raw than Robert Griffin III. He could become better than Griffin III, but he will not be taken first overall in this year?s upcoming draft class.

In a snowy game, the excuses came rolling in for the West Virginia quarterback, and he played ?decent enough? according to Smith fans and other scouts.

Guess what? There is weather in football, meaning rain, wind, snow, etc. If he is a legitimate NFL quarterback, he should be able to handle games in poor weather conditions. He still went 16-for-24 passing, for only 187 yards and two touchdowns. That is minimally decent, but he had a chance to prove his worth, and failed.

He is still a first round selection, but where in the first round is yet to be determined. He can not be a first year starter, in time though, he can easily contend in the NFL.

Mike Glennon, NC State, will be the highest rated quarterback by the time the draft comes around, but there is no?guarantee?that the first overall pick will be a quarterback.

Smith?s stock will drop even more if Glennon has a big bowl game, but luckily Matt Barkley and Tyler Wilson will be absent in bowl week. This will help Smith keep his stock at a neutral level for the time being.

Source: http://www.rantsports.com/nfl/2012/12/29/2013-nfl-draft-geno-smiths-draft-stock-drops-in-loss-to-syracuse/

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"Want to know what 10th graders think about Snapchat, Tumblr, Twitter, etc? My s...

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/SGEntrepreneurs/posts/139432372879683

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Weakened Filibuster Reform Plan Unveiled In Congress By John McCain, Carl Levin

WASHINGTON -- In a bid to head off the "nuclear option" for changing the Senate filibuster, a bipartisan group of senators Friday offered watered-down reforms they suggested would restore Washington to a place the fabled Mr. Smith of the 1939 movie would recognize.

"What we're proposing on a bipartisan basis is a way to end the major sources of gridlock around here," said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), one of eight senators who crafted the proposal that would give the Senate two new ways to end filibusters.

The filibuster has been used nearly 400 times in the 112th Congress, which will go down as the least productive since the 1940s. The classic filibuster -- made famous in the film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" starring Jimmy Stewart -- involves a lawmaker taking to the floor and doggedly making his point.

In the modern Senate, the invoking of cloture to stop such debating requires 60 votes. But it's been decades since the objecting senator has had to take floor.

The proposal by Levin and Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), doesn't propose a new rule requiring a talking filibuster, but a document they distributed explaining their proposal said the leaders of the two parties would require it.

"If a senator wants to block legislation, he or she should go to the floor of the Senate, and be there for that objection," said McCain.

"You must talk," said Levin, adding that no new rule is needed because the talking requirement has never actually been dropped. It's only been waived by senators as a courtesy, McCain and Levin said.

The proposal would block filibusters on starting debates, on going to conference with the House, and on some presidential nominations. Two new methods would be allowed for the majority leader to stop filibusters of motions to begin debate of regular bills. One would let the leader call a vote on proceeding, with just four amendments allowed. The other involves the minority and majority leaders signing a motion to proceed with five other senators.

The proposals would only last two years.

Proponents for stronger reform were not impressed, and said the changes would do little or nothing to change obstruction in the chamber. And, they argued, the changes would not bring back the talking filibuster.

"It shifts the paralysis from the motion to proceed onto the early amendments," said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). "The heart of the current paralysis, the silent, secret filibuster, is not addressed by the Levin-McCain proposal."

Merkley pointed to historical filibuster battles to note that in order for the Senate to keep a filibustering lawmaker on the floor and talking, 51 other senators -- or a quorum of the Senate -- also has to be on hand.

"What this does is it allows bills to be killed with no evidence that it's happening in front of the American people or on the floor of the Senate," Merkley said.

"The talking filibuster goes right to the heart of that. It doesn't eliminate the 60-vote, but it makes sure that everybody knows who's obstructing, and that's where the accountability is," said Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.).

McCain and Levin stressed that their proposals still needed to be agreed upon by the leaders. They would be enacted as a standing order, which requires a 60-vote threshold.

Their idea in pushing a milder reform is to head off not just the efforts of senators such as Merkley and Udall, but to avoid the so-called nuclear option, where the Senate can change rules with just 51 votes at the start of the session, instead of the usual 67 votes needed to change rules. Supporters of the 51-vote change call it the constitutional option, since it is allowed, if not used.

McCain and Levin, however, see it as breaking the rules, and fundamentally changing the Senate to be more like the House.

"A number of us are very deeply troubled by the idea that we would do something in violation of the rules that provide a two-thirds vote to change the rules," Levin said.

"Hopefully, this will prevent us from going over a Senate cliff as of Jan. 3," McCain said.

Michael McAuliff covers Congress and politics for The Huffington Post. Talk to him on Facebook.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/28/weakened-filibuster-reform-mccain_n_2377516.html

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Black Galaxy Note 2 spotted, reportedly coming in early 2013

Rumors of new Samsung Galaxy Note 2 colors are nothing new, and nothing particularly surprising, given the diverse palette of Galaxy S3 colors now available. Since the phone's launch, though, many have to been hankering for a Galaxy Note 2 in classic black. If the latest rumors are to be believed, that's exactly what'll be coming in early 2013.

Swiss blog AndroidSlash has today come across a high-res press render of a Note 2 in black. And, well, it's a Galaxy Note 2. In black. Interesting to note is that the black Note 2 seems to retain its faux-metal texture, whereas the black Galaxy S3 lost this effect in favor of glossy plastic finish.

There's speculation that this, and other Note 2 color variants, will be shown at Mobile World Congress in February. But remember Samsung's also going to be at CES in just over a week, so there's a chance we might see the Note 2's new coat of paint sooner than expected. Lucky for you we'll be reporting live from both shows in the new year.

Anyone want to place bets on when the inevitable berry pink version will appear?

Source: AndroidSlash; via: SamMobile

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/wSDycxRFeaQ/story01.htm

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JW Marriott Luxury Brand Opens Golf & Beach Resort in Panama ...

Page last updated at 11:08 am, Friday, December 28th, 2012

Marriott Hotels & Resorts has opened the 118-room JW Marriott Panama Golf & Beach Resort, marking the brand?s first resort and first hotel in the country. The property is located within the master-planned Buenaventura beach front community, near the town of Rio Hato, about two hours driving distance from Panama City, on the Pacific Coast of Panama.

?Panama remains one of the most vibrant countries for new development in all of Latin America,? said Rob Steigerwald, Chief Operations Officer for the Southern Americas at Marriott International. ?We are thrilled to finally reveal our first world class JW Marriott luxury brand hotel in the country. This beautiful resort brings the highest levels of accommodations and service to Panama and is a great addition to the brand?s growing global portfolio.?

All of the resort?s 118 guestrooms feature private balconies or gardens, bringing the natural beauty of the region right to their door. The resort features five restaurants and a variety of activities both on and offsite, including the resort?s recently opened 18-hole Nicklaus Design course.

The hotel has 517 square metres of meeting space, including a grand ballroom and four smaller meeting rooms to accommodate groups, events and destination celebrations.

?The JW Marriott Panama?s exotic and tropical seaside location along with its luxurious accommodations, amenities and services, has made it Panama?s premiere resort destination. Whether you are travelling for leisure with your family, on a romantic getaway, or an incentive trip with your company, the property has a vast selection of activities and amenities to accommodate you,? Manuel Ovies, Area Vice President of Operations for Central America & Northern South America.

?We are thrilled to open our first property in Panama,? said Mitzi Gaskin?s, Vice President & Global Brand Manager for JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts. ?We focus on giving guests the space and time they need to do what is most important to them. Whether it is a zip-lining adventure or a beach-side spa treatment, the new JW Marriott Panama Golf & Beach Resort can deliver.?

JW Marriott is part of Marriott International?s luxury portfolio and consists of beautiful properties in gateway cities and distinctive resort locations around the world. Currently, there are 58 JW Marriott hotels in 23 countries; by 2015 the portfolio is expected to encompass 79 properties in 28 countries.

JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts www.marriott.com/jw-marriott/travel.mi

Nicklaus Design www.nicklaus.com/design

Buenaventura?www.buenaventura.com.pa

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Source: http://www.golfbusinessnews.com/news/travel/jw-marriott-luxury-brand-opens-golf-beach-resort-in-panama/

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SMALL BUSINESS OWNER'S DILEMMA ? The Burning Platform

ThePessimisticChemist says:

Times are getting rougher in this area. My company does a LOT of business overseas, so we are still doing very well, but the blue collar jobs are taking a beating.

I feel bad when we turn away someone fully qualified for a position, but they wouldn?t want the pay anyways. Most are ex-union and want 25-50% more pay for the same work as people who have never been in a union before.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 12?0

28th December 2012 at 5:11 pm

Hope@ZeroKelvin says:

What a timely cartoon.

Since the election, about 75% of my patients have been asking me if I will still be around once Obamacare kicks in over the next few years.

I say that I don?t know, I just soldier on every day, that I am more worried about the economic collapse of the country, that I?ll hang on as long as I can but I am not optimistic.

I either get tears of acknowledgement of how screwed we are or looks of blank astonishment.

At this point, I hand out my little American flag pins (which I tell them to wear upside down indicating a nation in distress) and a little card with all my favorite websites on it, also the names/phones of our CONgresscritters.

Trying to spread my gospel of Embrace The Doom, one person at a time.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 22?1

28th December 2012 at 5:29 pm

Muck About says:

Attention llpoh!!

Paying attention? Listen up and act accordingly. I closed my own ?small business? 3 years ago just to avoid excessive taxes. Fuck ?em. They?ll keep spending any income they get until they get no more. Then they?ll spend more that the Fed gives them (now happening) until that won?t work anymore (maybe 2013).

Starve the beast. Stop paying taxes. Collect Free Shit from as many sources as you can.

Break the bastards and let?s start over from a lower baseline..

MA

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 7?1

28th December 2012 at 7:17 pm

Administrator says:

Muck

How are you feeling? We haven?t heard from you for a few days.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 8?0

28th December 2012 at 7:21 pm

The Watchdog says:

@HZK,
Aside from TBP, what other web sites are on your little card?
ZeroHedge, Mish, King World News, The Onion?

Like or Dislike: 3?0

28th December 2012 at 7:44 pm

Llpoh says:

Muck ? already putting in plans for option number two. My prediction is for an exodus of small- business owners from their businesses. Despair will over-take them. Get out while the getting is less bad. No way in hell I am going broke just in order to keep my employees employed another year or three. I do not run a business for their benefit, which will come as a shock to them. At least to those that have ever given it a single thought.

I have always been pleased that what I do has provided a social good. Not any longer ? I no longer get to share in the good, but only suffer the bad. Screw it.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 14?0

28th December 2012 at 10:00 pm

Administrator says:

llpoh

I?m guessing your employees don?t frequent TBP.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 9?0

28th December 2012 at 10:12 pm

Chronic Agitator says:

Timely cartoon Indeed! For the time being I do not have to be concerned with Obama care because I have less than 50 employees but year after year gross revenue continues to deteriorate. If sales go any lower I will have no choice but to become ?Arnold?s Rug? as the old yellow pages advertisements used to say. Going back to a one man show would have it?s benefits but I have staff who need jobs, although, I believe most of them think it will be easy to go elsewhere.

Even though it is very stress full, I keep holding on?hoping that I can do a magical turn around but month by month it is getting less likely. Although it is possible, I like to think I am not to blame for everything in my company going to shit?maybe that is why I keep coming back to TBP because I want to feel like I am not responsible for all of this clusterfuck economy we have. [Rant Off- Temporarily] Be Safe FFs.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 8?0

28th December 2012 at 10:22 pm

Chronic Agitator says:

Lloph? I like your fucking attitude?really!

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 5?0

28th December 2012 at 10:24 pm

Llpoh says:

Admin ? I suspect not. Too bad for them.

CA ? it is very important to abandon ship while the ship is still floating. If you wait too long, you can go down with it. I appreciate the kind words.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 6?0

28th December 2012 at 10:29 pm

crazyivan says:

?CA ? it is very important to abandon ship while the ship is still floating.? -llpoh

A good Captain will always get off a ? ?Brace For Impact? message.

A better Captain will admit to boarding passengers, that he has a very strong stinging pain in his penis, but assures that the flight will not be affected.

The best Captain will give everyone a parachute and say ?good luck you fuckers, I love you all?

Like or Dislike: 2?0

28th December 2012 at 11:23 pm

John says:

On a positive note, the 47+M food stamps recipients at the end of 2012 truly believe, that their Obama/Chase EBT card will buy em Walmart can food all the way through in 2013.

Like or Dislike: 2?0

28th December 2012 at 12:31 am

SSS says:

Hope said, ?Since the election, about 75% of my patients have been asking me if I will still be around once Obamacare kicks in over the next few years.?

Let me tell you what I said to my urologist after my last visit, Hope, and she is just as concerned as you are on the impact of Obamacare on her medical practice. I told her that I WILL PAY OUT OF MY POCKET WHATEVER IT COSTS FOR HER TO SEE AND TREAT ME AS A PATIENT PLUS WHATEVER SHE CONSIDERS AS A FAIR PROFIT FOR HER SERVICES. AND I WILL DO IT IN CASH.

She looked at me, smiled, and said thank you. Not every patient will say that, Hope, but I did because I can ?? and mean it. I predict that there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people like me who will gladly participate in a black market of payments to our doctors just to keep them solvent and us as their patients because we can afford it.

And here?s to any government fucksticks that may be monitoring this site. Saying that you might break the law through payments under the table is a lot different than actually breaking the law. Have fun in adding me to your watch list.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 6?0

28th December 2012 at 12:39 am

SSS says:

?SMALL BUSINESS OWNER?S DILEMMA?
?-title of article

Admin,

Gee, I always thought it was spelled dilemna, with an n and not 2 m?s. I?m sure you will straighten out this incredible spelling controversy in a New York minute.

(Imbedded secret writing comment invisible to Admin. Dilemma with 2 m?s is the accepted form, but dilemna popped up somewhere in the past, and no one can figure out where it came from. Probably another CIA plot. Anyway, let?s all watch Admin struggle with this challenge.)

Like or Dislike: 2?0

28th December 2012 at 1:00 am

Llpoh says:

SSS ? unfortunately, that will only be a de facto tax on you, and will be in the end nothing but a transfer payment to those receiving free shit. Your doctor will be able to continue seeing subsidized patients off of your dime. I will only do what you are proposing if the doctor is entirely out of the system, otherwise it will be a tax on me. Obama would be oh so grateful to have us subsidize his system by paying the difference personally.

Re under the table, that transaction has nothing to do with you ? entirely up to the receiver to declare or otherwise. You are paying in legal tender so end of story. You did not ask for a receipt ? no law broken there.

Like or Dislike: 3?0

28th December 2012 at 1:01 am

Llpoh says:

BTW I never ask for a receipt for personal services and always try to pay in cash. I am not interested in how people keep their books.

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 6?0

28th December 2012 at 1:05 am

Leobeer says:

My employees never saw it coming although the signs were clearly there. They suspected something ?was up? but couldn?t work it out for themselves. I would have told them in advance but my exit strategy to get out cleanly and legally required secrecy and they couldn?t be trusted to keep their mouths shut.

Good luck, Llpoh

Well-loved. Like or Dislike: 5?0

28th December 2012 at 2:50 am

Stan says:

My patients ask me the same thing. I tell them to take 2 shots of vodka and call me in the morning.

Then pay the receptionist 100 bucks and get the hell out!!

Like or Dislike: 2?1

28th December 2012 at 4:25 am

Chatham Police says:

SSS

Don?t worry. You were already on our watchlist. We consider you a traitor for frequenting this anarchist anti-American website.

We will round up all of you when the time is right.

Like or Dislike: 3?0

28th December 2012 at 7:34 am

TeresaE says:

Only the luckier business owners are in this position.

For quite a few, it is make it, or not, there is no get out while the getting is good.

And, of course, there are still a number that as long as ?this? or ?that? does not apply to them, they will do nothing and see nothing and care naught.

I tell those I know that they are next up. Today it is employers over 50, tomorrow, we?ll see. Just like I tell my ?successful? teachers and government contractors that they are the ?rich? their preferred leaders keep talking about. Only a matter of time.

Fear not CONgress is ready to help us out. The pricks are talking about raising minimum wage again (thus cutting the purchasing power of my employee?s wages and business too), apparently they got word about the thousands of companies that are reducing their employees hours to avoid O?care. Always ready to lend the little guy a hand by giving him a dime and costing him a dollar.

And it isn?t just O?care. It is the dozens and dozens and dozens of new regulations, laws, rules, fines, penalties (now including prison! for failure to file a form! it?s great to be a rich business guy!), costs, that seem to be hitting us daily.

The constant erosion of everything you do is not exactly productive, nor conducive to ideas of growth and riches. More like a constant dark cloud forcing you to find ways to reduce, reuse, recycle, cut back, refuse. My company is being begged to take on a huge production order which eventually will end up in the one of the Big 3. The Big 3 pays like crap, force you to hold massive amounts of specialty inventory and ultimately, force many of their suppliers (my customer) into bankruptcy whom take their suppliers (me) along for the ride.

So, money from sale is iffy, at best and now add to it the prohibitive cost of the Michigan Business Tax, the additional & ever growing costs of increasing employment, the added property tax (and inspectors) that come with adding a machine, not to mention the purchasing (and kick to the cash flow at the highest tax time of year) of six months of pricey stainless, and we passed.

Decisions like that. What is the sense of adding another head when all it means is adding another opportunity for some government agency to be up my ass and take their ever-growing percentage of ?profits? with them?

It is just plain fucking disheartening to be an employer in this country. And yet the sheeple believe Washington is creating jobs for them. Good luck with that.

Like or Dislike: 1?0

28th December 2012 at 10:26 am

Buckhed says:

I told my doc I?d pay him in silver..he liked that !

Like or Dislike: 2?0

28th December 2012 at 10:26 am

flash says:

Maybe SB owners should contact Jamie Dimon to get the # to his lobbyist cuz the SB lobby ain?t worth a po? rat?s ass.
All political vermin are for sale and youse got to pay to continue to play.
And, it?s a simple as that.

Like or Dislike: 1?0

28th December 2012 at 10:39 am

Source: http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=46356

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