Privacy or security: CISPA on the chopping block | Simply Security

Posted on June 28th, 2012 in Government Policy, Privacy & Policy by Noah Gamer | Be the first to comment | Tags: Government Policy, Privacy & Policy

Obama has said he will veto CISPA.

A new piece of Internet legislation is pending in Congress and it promises not to be a SOPA or PIPA reiteration. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) is supposed to let private Internet protection companies communicate more directly with the federal government to reduce vulnerability and enhance internet security, but the current administration seems to think this is a bad idea.

According to a recent statement, the president may attempt to axe the bill even if the House approves it due to concerns that the legislation's wording may allow too much security surveillance and censorship of the online community. Currently the House is showing bipartisan support of the bill, acknowledging that the intent is security without occluding personal privacy, but verbiage surrounding intellectual property has left some on edge.

"The idea is to facilitate detection of and defense against a serious cyberthreat, but the definitions in the bill go well beyond that," said Reiney Reitman, activism director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). "The language is so broad it could be used as a blunt instrument to attack websites."

Of primary concern to the EFF are websites like WikiLeaks and the Pirate Bay, as well as other websites that harbor pirated information or serve as potentially irksome outlets of dissent for the government. Proponents for anti-piracy laws have taken up the bill's defense, which concerns the foundation and led it to call on its members to protest its passage.

Congress has said it will try and rectify the threat of potential breaches in private information, already requesting amendments to clarify and revise parts of the bill. The legislation is also one of voluntary disclosure, meaning in its current format private businesses like Facebook and Twitter aren't compelled to share security information, let alone encroach on personal privacy, even if no amendments are made before its passage.

"The government applies safety standards for cars, food, building structures and toys," said Senator Joe Lieberman. "Why not do the same for the infrastructure that powers our economy?"

Meanwhile, the Obama administration has released a statement acknowledging the security issues incorporated with CISPA, saying it doesn't support the bill due to what some call "cyber spying." It goes on to state the bill doesn't provide any safeguards to repealing the proposed amendments that have gained it support in congressional passage in the first place.

Some legislators are concerned that presidential disapproval and threats of stonewalling the bill could affect its passage in the House. A congressional statement was released in response the White House's concerns, saying that these issues will also be covered in the revision process and that the current load of amendments has been approved in a bipartisan fashion. The House Intelligence Committee joined in saying that it to make provisions for privacy while improving Internet protection remained its primary goal.

Even if the bill is successful in passing in the House as it's forecasted to be, there's no indication that it will experience similar success in the Senate. A current bill is on the floor there that would require utilities and vital services companies to create their own cybersecurity systems for review by Homeland Security. While this bill has an information-sharing element similar to the bill in the House, it fails to enjoy anything like the same kind of bipartisan support that CISPA has.

Security News from SimplySecurity.com by Trend Micro

Source: http://www.simplysecurity.com/2012/06/28/privacy-or-security-cispa-on-the-chopping-block/

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Save Money With These Real Estate Buying Tips | Boca Raton Real ...

Don?t start searching for a house until you have a mortgage prequalification letter from the bank in hand. One main reason to do this is to make sure you are searching for a home that fits within your budget. Loans can take a long time to get, and you will not want to sit around and wait any longer.

Before buying a home, it is important for you to research the neighborhood thoroughly. This is a long-term investment, so make sure that you feel comfortable with the area. You have to know all you can about the area you plan to move to in order to know what to expect if you live there.

When you select an agent to assist you in finding a new home, question them on the amount of time they?ve been in the area. If they haven?t been on the job or in the area for that long then they won?t be as up to speed on local restrictions, roads, and schools as someone else would. Ideally, look for an agent who has lived in the area for at least 10 years.

Once you have real estate, you can increase your investment by simply completing some repairs or remodeling projects. The value of your property will go up quickly. The increase in value can sometimes be substantially more than your investment.

Any property near a busy road or freeway will earn less rent. You may be tempted to purchase these homes, but there is a reason that they are cheaper. You might be fine with the noise that comes with this, however, it will make it hard for you to sell the house once the time comes.

This is the perfect time to turn to real estate as an investment. Property values are low due to a recent fall in the housing market. If you?ve always dreamed of owning a home, now is the time to buy. The housing market will rebound, and you will see profits from your investment.

When deciding to buy real estate, always take into account your goals. Consider whether you have long term or short term goals. If the investment that you?re considering doesn?t fit in with t he goals that you?ve set, don?t do it. For a number of reasons, many real estate investors don?t focus on meeting their needs, and end up losing their investment.

Have your Realtor provide you with a checklist. A good Realtor will be able to give you a list that covers the different steps of a transaction, from finding a home to getting approved for your mortgage. The checklist allows all necessary parties to make sure everything is in order when buying a home.

If you are considering purchasing a property, enlist the services of a professional inspector. Even though it will cost you to hire someone to do this, do not try to get a relative or friend to do this for you. If you do not use a professional then you may have little recourse if something is missed during the inspection.

As you embark on your home buying adventure, you?ll probably appreciate the guidance of a good real estate agent. Be sure to find a trustworthy real estate agent. Look for an agent with a lot of experience and solid references. Be certain to study up on him or her, and find someone that will always keep you in mind.

Make sure that you obtain a home warranty. When purchasing a new home, either from the builder, or an older home from the previous owner, ask for a warranty. The builder should be willing to back up his or her workmanship for at least several years. People who previously owned the home should want to buy a warranty to help you with any repairs that may spring up.

If you are planning to move to another area, go on the Internet to research the neighborhood in which the property is located. Some areas may have more information that others available, but at the very least, you can find certain information. Look at things like average salaries, unemployment levels and travel times. See if the place is worker friendly and if you can make the area a viable place to build a career.

You should buy insurance before you start moving in everything and transforming your house into your new home. If you put off buying insurance, you?ll be sorry if there is an unpredictable act of nature that causes irreparable harm.

Remember that a minimum down payment is required, and you should be certain that you have it. If you don?t, you will likely have to pay private mortgage insurance, or PMI. This can add a lot of money to your monthly costs to show your bank the mortgage is able to get paid.

If you are going to be starting a new business, before you purchase your building, make sure that the location is in a viable and relatively safe neighborhood. Starting a new business in an area of high crime and dilapidated buildings will not win you many customers. Check with local real estate agents to learn the best location for setting up a business.

For rental properties, clarify issues like yard maintenance and landscaping services before the lease is signed. Sometimes rentals require that you handle it yourself, or for you to hire a gardener or yard person. However, this service is included with some rentals, with the cost of it already incorporated into the rent.

Before you start shopping for a new house, take a look at what?s in your credit report. When you get the credit, examine it and repair any errors you find. Being certain that your credit history is correct and not damaged will help you to secure a better mortgage rate.

Most home buyers don?t realize that buying a house is so complicated. Make use of this advice before you buy.

&copy Copyright 2012admin, All rights Reserved. Written For: Boca Raton Real Estate

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Global migration trends discovered in email data

ScienceDaily (June 28, 2012) ? For the first time comparable migration data is available for almost every country of the world. To date, records were incompatible between nations and especially by gender and age, nonexistent. Emilio Zagheni from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock, Germany, for the first time provides a rich migration database by compiling the global flow of millions of e-mails.

"Where estimates of demographic flows exist, they are often outdated and largely inconsistent," says MPIDR researcher Emilio Zagheni. Official records are difficult to use for various reasons. Emigrants tend not to register after they move to a new country or do so very late. There is also no clear agreement between nations on how to actually define a migrant.

Official migration data is outdated and inconsistent

"Global internet data does not have these drawbacks," says Zagheni. "You are where you email." Together with Ingmar Weber from Yahoo! Research he traced emails sent from Yahoo! accounts around the world to infer the residence of its sender. Every device which sends email can be located at least at the country level by an internationally standardized code, the so-called IP address. Zagheni and Weber analysed the countries derived from IP addresses for a set of messages sent by 43 million anonymous Yahoo! account holders between September 2009 and June 2011.

In addition to the date and geographical origin of each message they compiled the self-reported birthday and gender of the sender. When a person started sending e-mail from a new location permanently, it was assumed that he or she had changed residence. This way they were able to calculate rates of migration from and to almost every country in the world. Only anonym zed data was used, so identifying individuals was impossible and no information about the recipients, the subject, or content of a message was accessed. The findings have now been published in the ACM Web Science Conference Proceedings.

The results not only are a proof of concept. They also reveal international migration characteristics never seen before. For the USA, Zagheni and Weber were able to produce the first curve of emigration by age and sex ever. "In the U.S. many statistics are collected about people who move into the country, but there is no system that keeps track of people who move out," says Emilio Zagheni.

The potential of the email statistics goes far beyond calculating gross country profiles. For instance, the researchers also looked into Mexico-US cross-border mobility. The data reveals how strongly both countries are demographically integrated: most people who moved from Mexico to the United States either spent time in the USA before emigrating north, or went back to visit Mexico soon after moving to the United States. Those in their 30s have the highest rate of mobility across the Mexico-US border, while the least mobile are those 50 and older.

Only the tip of the iceberg

The strength of Zagheni's and Weber's migration data comes not only from the vast number of emails available, but also from a mathematical model they set up to adjust for typical shortcomings of email statistics: those who send email are not representative of the entire population. Some groups, like the elderly, use email less or not at all and are thus underrepresented. But the researchers managed to calculate adjustment factors for such groups by gauging their email data against migration numbers from European countries, where official data is fairly reliable.

"What we addressed so far is only the tip of the iceberg," says Emilio Zagheni. With further fine-tuning of the adjustment factors and mining more digital data like twitter messages, more difficult questions could be tackled. For instance one could keep track of the short and long-term mobility patterns before and after a crisis like that of the Japanese Fukushima reactors. Unquestionably, digital records give demographers the chance to gain a more accurate picture of population dynamics in regions they can so far only guess about, says Zagheni. "This research has the most potential in developing countries, where the Internet spreads much faster than registration programs develop."

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Spoelstra gave Heat a trophy before 'real' trophy

MIAMI (AP) ? Erik Spoelstra has come full circle.

When the Miami Heat won their first championship in 2006, it was then-coach Pat Riley giving his-then-assistant Spoelstra ties to wear and coming up with motivational wizardry to get the team through its playoff grind. Fast forward six years ? now it's Spoelstra as head coach, providing Riley with ties, plus commissioning a secret that became the battle cry on the Heat's march to this year's NBA title.

With Riley, it was about "15 Strong," the phrase he coined to point out that every player on the roster had a job. With Spoelstra, it was 16 little lines, scribbled with gold marker on a black replica of the NBA championship trophy that became the unknown rallying point for the Heat throughout these playoffs.

Whatever works. When the Heat championship parade rolled Monday through downtown Miami, Spoelstra had a view from the front of a double-decker bus, cap turned backwards, smile broad as can be, waving at the estimated crowd of 400,000 along with his 5?-year-old nephew.

A month ago, many experts suggested his job was in jeopardy.

Now, Spoelstra is a NBA champion coach ? and his trophy suggests he's a champion motivator as well.

"It was a testament to one another," said Heat forward LeBron James, the NBA Finals MVP. "And it had nothing to do with anyone else."

Here's the story: Before the playoffs started, Spoelstra had this black trophy with white lettering, a near perfect replica of the trophy presented to the NBA champions. Each player's name and jersey number appeared on the trophy, and the phrases "All In" and "Together/Tough/Trust" were printed on the base.

Spoelstra told the team it was to serve as a symbol of what mattered in the playoffs. Each player signed the ball atop the trophy.

"We signed our names to guarantee we'd bring those things onto the table," Spoelstra said. "And when we weren't, that trophy would come out and we'd remind ourselves we signed our name and we're not being true to that. That was a powerful exercise for us."

His team took it seriously.

"I didn't put my autograph on there," Heat forward Chris Bosh said. "I put my signature."

And they didn't tell a soul about it. The member of the Heat equipment staff who had to carry the rectangular duffel bag that served as the trophy's case around had no idea what was inside. Spoelstra wrapped the bag a certain way to ensure that no one would take a peek. Only he, his assistant coaches and his players knew about the trophy.

Among those who didn't: Riley, the master motivator himself.

"We didn't tell anybody. Didn't tell trainers. God bless you, I love you, I didn't tell Pat. I didn't tell management. I didn't tell you guys," Spoelstra said. "But it was a covenant that we made to each other, the coaching staff and the players that we would commit to a handful of things each and we would say them in front of each other. If we didn't do those things, we would not have a real opportunity to win and play for the title."

Spoelstra took over for Riley four seasons ago. Now in his 17th year in the organization, Spoelstra has had a variety of jobs. He started in the video room, used to work players out before games as an assistant, used to be in charge of tracking certain statistics, led the scouting staff for a while. Before now, his claim to fame in the Heat world may have been how he'd put together the light-hearted Christmas videos making fun of everyone and everything.

A year ago, when the Heat lost in the finals, many questioned if Spoelstra was good enough to follow Riley and lead the Heat to a title. The team's official response to that was to give him a three-year extension.

"I remember what it was like to be on that team when we won 15 games," Spoelstra said, going back to Riley's final season. "That's a miserable year. Not simply because you're losing all the time ? that's miserable enough. You're absolutely insignificant. And sometimes what you want in this game is to be a part of something significant even if it means the negative and the criticism and all that stuff that comes with it.

"You want to be part of a team that matters. You can say a lot of things about our team the last two years, but there was some significance to it."

There's some significance to Spoelstra now as well, although that was the case in Miami already.

"When you're in that seat, you don't get enough (credit) and then you get all the blame," Riley said. "It's just the way it is. I've been there, same seat in L.A. Anybody could have walked off the street and coached that team. But the opportunity for him is incredible."

When Spoelstra was an assistant, he'd often pull a wrinkled suit out of his bag 20 minutes before game time, throw it on and have Riley scoff at his tie selection. Riley would insist Spoelstra wear another tie, and would give him one for the night. This would typically lead to a fashion disaster ? not only could Spoelstra not properly knot the tie, but it would hang way too low.

This year, the Heat were in Boston for a playoff game. Riley was frantic. He had no tie to wear. Spoelstra gave him "one of my worst ones," he said. The Heat won. Riley kept wearing the tie. He wore it on stage a couple weeks later on the night Miami beat Oklahoma City for the NBA title.

Yes, it would seem the student has become the teacher.

"He's a young coach that's really found his way," Riley said. "He's getting better and better every minute."

One of Spoelstra's first acts in the locker room just after this season ended was going to the trophy, grabbing the gold marker and getting ready to draw the 16th line ? one depicting each playoff win needed to capture a championship. The champagne stopped getting sprayed for a second, just long enough for the squiggle to get added to the base.

With Riley, the ploy was "Fifteen Strong" cards that he printed up by the wheelbarrow load for the 2006 title run. Spoelstra went a different way, and the result was the same ? a title.

Next year, he'll have to come up with something else. For Spoelstra, that's a nice problem to have.

"It's something we had together," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. "All the things that it said, that was our motto as a team."

___

Follow Tim Reynolds on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ByTimReynolds

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BlackBerry Messenger for BlackBerry 10 gets a possible first sighting, themes to fit that chatty lifestyle

It was scarcely a day ago that we got a first peek at what could be the first BlackBerry 10 devices -- and now we're looking at what may be BlackBerry 10's cornerstone app, a reworked BlackBerry Messenger. As long as N4BB's details prove legitimate, the centerpiece of the app will be its theming: owners can customize the chat bubbles and backdrops to fit their finicky ways. Of course, this being an efficiency-obsessed RIM, the theming should also be integral to keeping power consumption to a minimum: the darker the colors, the less energy a BBM conversation demands from a future BlackBerry's big OLED screen. We don't know whether any changes will prove more than skin deep, although the switch to the QNX-based OS might prove enough at first. We'll know everything soon enough should of a September release for the first phone be more than just a feverish dream.

BlackBerry Messenger for BlackBerry 10 gets a possible first sighting, themes to fit that chatty lifestyle originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 10:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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94% Moonrise Kingdom

All Critics (156) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (146) | Rotten (9) | DVD (1)

Anderson never loses his core themes - young love, the need to escape, the bind and bluster of family. His "Kingdom" may not be large, but it is perfectly appointed.

Though undeniably smart and charming, "Moonrise Kingdom" loves itself the way the callow Holden Caulfield loves himself: unconditionally. Salinger understood the problem with that. Anderson may not.

The latest unadulterated delight from Wes Anderson, director of "Rushmore," "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox."

The usual complaints and caveats about Anderson - he's precious, his characters have no grounding in the real world - can be made about Moonrise Kingdom, but so what?

Anderson and his actors are able to convey more genuine feeling through these devices than most filmmakers can with more-traditional means.

One knock against some of Anderson's previous efforts is that they're too clever - so clever, in fact, that the humanity gets sucked out of them. That doesn't happen here.

It's funny, it's touching, it's Anderson doing what he does better than he's ever done before.

Wonderfully inventive and entirely immersing.

The great thing about Wes Anderson, other than his fabulously childlike imagination, is his deep attention to the smallest details.

This isn't Wes Anderson's best effort by any stretch. However, any Anderson is better than no Anderson at all.

This film contains some of cinema history's best lightning strikes.

Wes Anderson's films are stylistic carbon copies of each other, merely swapping out storylines and characters. It's like going to a bunch of different restaurants and ordering the exact same meal -- you walk in knowing what you're going to get.

Most of Wes Anderson's previous pictures came from the head; Moonrise Kingdom is one from the heart.

Moonrise Kingdom is a charming reminder of Anderson's particular talent for spinning fantasies about the collective childhood we all wish we had.

As fussy as anything Anderson has ever done, but instead of being overstuffed, as virtually all of his movies have been, for good and ill, [the film] is mostly delicate.

A sometimes precocious but mostly whimsical and artfully fluent evocation of adolescent enthusiasm and adult ennui.

Anderson's latest effort is like an Instagram photo - a nostalgic snapshot that seems to be of different time and place but is really the twee affectation of a world that never existed.

[Anderson] may make it look easy because of how firmly his mannerisms are established at this point, but it takes a real artist to evoke the rocky emotional storms of adolescence and adulthood with such clear eyes and precise voice.

Anderson's films have been described as quirky, eccentric and whimsical. But there is also a genuine charm and heart that is driven by the Anderson's love for his characters, and the love those characters have for one another.

Wes Anderson, at 43, is still grappling with adolescence.

More unbearable Anderson whimsy.

When the storm arrives, it's a doozy, especially as it intensifies a final, thrilling chase sequence.

Only Anderson could find the subtle brilliance in a shirtless, ax-wielding Murray dejectedly declaring "I'm going outside to find a tree to chop down."

Did you think Wes Anderson had no more tricks up his sleeve, that he was just showing us the same thing over and over again, that he couldn't surprise us? Wrong.

More Critic Reviews

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UK hackers admit plotting attacks on CIA, firms

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Video: Health Care Decision: Pharma Winners & Losers

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Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest Israel military draft

Abir Sultan / EPA

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews participate in a prayer rally and protest against the Israeli government's intention to recruit Yeshiva students to the army and civil service, in the neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem on June 25, 2012.

Thousands of Ultra-Orthodox Jews joined an early-morning prayer rally in Jerusalem on Monday to protest against government moves which could bring to an end the exemption of yeshiva students?from mandatory military service. ?

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that?Pini Rosenberg, one of the speakers at the rally, said: "Instead of preparing the prisons for immigrants from Sudan, we suggest to those haters of religion to prepare 50 thousand places of detention for yeshiva students who will refuse to be drafted."

Menahem Kahana / AFP - Getty Images

Ultra-Orthodox Jews pray early on Monday morning in the Sabbath Square at the heart of the Jewish neighbourhood in Jerusalem during a protest against the replacement to the Tal Law, that exempts ultra-Orthodox Yeshiva students from mandatory military service.

Abir Sultan / EPA

An Ultra-Orthodox man wearing burlap as a sign of mourning takes part in a prayer rally in Mea Shearim.

Abir Sultan / EPA

Boys watch from the sidelines of the rally.

?

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Joe Arpaio Tent City Protests: Thousands Gather For Rally

PHOENIX -- Several thousand critics of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio gathered outside "Tent City" Saturday night for a rally calling for the closure of the sheriff's complex of canvas jail tents.

Organizers say conditions at "Tent City" complex are inhumane. The sheriff has said he doesn't see any problems with housing inmates in tents and often points out that some members of the U.S. military live in tents.

"We are with you," protesters chanted in both English and Spanish, in hopes that inmates could hear them.

Most protesters held candles and wore yellow T-shirts that read "Standing on the side of love," a slogan of the Unitarian Universalist Association, which was holding its annual convention in Phoenix this weekend.

The rally was the latest effort by the association to promote social justice, association spokesman John Hurley said. The Unitarians organized the rally along with the immigrant rights group Puente Arizona.

The Rev. Peter Morales, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, attended the rally and was among a group that accompanied Arpaio on a tour of Tent City. In 2010, Morales was arrested at a protest in Phoenix over Arizona's immigration law.

Rachel Walden, who works at the Unitarian Universalist Association headquarters in Boston, said the group also gathered Saturday to protest the immigration law.

"We wanted to stand in solidarity with the immigration groups," she said. "We just wanted to be there to have a big presence and say this is wrong."

Arpaio is a national political fixture who built his reputation on jailing inmates in tents during Phoenix's triple-digit summer heat, dressing inmates in pink underwear, selling himself to voters as unceasingly tough on crime and pushing the bounds of how far local police can go to confront illegal immigration.

The U.S. Justice Department has accused the sheriff's office of racially profiling Latinos in its immigration patrols.

The sheriff has said the Justice Department's investigation of his immigration patrols was a politically motivated attack by the Obama administration and denied allegations of systematic discriminatory policing.

The jail complex in west Phoenix was the site of a January 2010 protest that drew 10,000 immigrant rights advocates and was marked by a clash between a small group of protesters and police officers.

The county's jails were closed to visitors on Saturday because of the rally.

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91% Safety Not Guaranteed

All Critics (80) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (73) | Rotten (7)

"Safety" can't sustain its own offbeat energy. By the end, even Aubrey Plaza would roll her eyes at it.

Neatly, the script embarks on one journey while dangling the possibility of another: the prospect of taking a sudden leap from comic reality into the realm of pure imagination.

"Safety Not Guaranteed" is most vibrant and vital at its edges, in the way that the characters interact with each other while waiting for something to happen.

It's brisk and assured and never begs the audience's indulgence. No time is wasted. The movie is, at every moment, either funny or pushing the story forward, or both.

The film is modest but skillful and heartfelt, spiced just so by Plaza and company.

Safety Not Guaranteed casts an enchanting spell from its opening scene.

It is an offbeat charmer that is fun and engaging from a storytelling standpoint, but one that also brings a surprisingly rich emotional payoff.

Unlike time travel or jet-setting, "Safety Not Guaranteed" shows that making movies can still be more about the journey than the destination. Whether or not you have first-class tickets.

"Safety Not Guaranteed" is eccentric enough to get mistaken for an uplifting fantasy, but it's Plaza who belongs in the penthouse.

Hope is a powerful thing and Safety Not Guaranteed delivers in its tale of longing, deliverance and connection during the here and now.

An intriguing yet erratic effort...

Less of a philosophical argument and more of a character piece driven deep into the heart by Duplass and Plaza.

Have you ever wondered what mumblecore sci-fi would look like? Wonder no more.

Rather than trying to beat Hollywood at its own game of high-tech gadgets and weaponry, director Colin Trevorrow and writer Derek Connolly achieve a sly mix of the insane and the mundane.

A character-driven piece about regret and true partnership - our basic, primal need for someone to take the journey with us even if safety is not guaranteed.

Aubrey Plaza is the best thing about this iffy mock-sci-fi doohickey.

As a hipster rom-com about people trying to shake off their pasts to make present-day connections, it's pretty satisfying.

A strange, light-hearted bit of quasi-sci-fi, with no small amount of heart.

The material is played mostly for laughs and succeeds in that regard. The undercurrent of lament in Safety Not Guaranteed, though, is what holds the film together.

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5 Tips for Blended Families | Everyday Christianity - A Sarcalogos ...

As the rates for divorce and remarriage increase there are more and more married couples who both have children from a previous relationship. When they live together they are considered to be a blended family. Combining two families in this way can be problematic, especially if the parents have drastically different parenting techniques. In order to maintain harmony in the home and help the children and parents to blend together effortlessly, use these five tips with your own family.

1. Set Clear Boundaries

Having two families living together under one roof can make it difficult to determine what is allowed and what is not. Many children may view the living situation as an extended slumber party rather than everyday life. It is important that both parents set clear boundaries for their children. While it is important that they enjoy the company of their new siblings, it should also be clear that life includes chores, schedules, homework and the like.

2. Maintain Equal Parenting Duties

One problem that many blended families deal with is having one parent deal with their biological children and not their stepchildren. If you have committed to a serious relationship or marriage with another person you need to accept responsibility for their children as well. Make sure that you feel comfortable scolding, punishing or just talking to your spouse?s children as well as your own. While this process may take time, it is vital for a blended family.

3. Decide on Punishments Together

If you and your spouse have drastically different parenting techniques for your children, it is important to write down punishments that you can agree on for all children. For example, children will be upset if one of them is grounded for a week and the other child is merely scolded for making the same mistake. Having set punishments across the board will help you come across to children as one combined parental unit.

4. Be Fair Among All Children

One issue that is raised time and time again in blended families is the issue of fairness. Some parents will naturally favor their own biological children, while in other cases they will favor their stepchildren. While this may be a natural reaction, parents need to treat all children equally. Rewards, praise and even punishments should be the same for all children. This will show that you care for all members of your family equally, and will foster a tighter bond between all family members.

5. Bond as a Family

Although many of these tips relate to parenting techniques, it is also important to set some time aside to bond as a family. Spend one on one time will all of your children in order to foster better relationships with each.

Blending two families can be a challenging task, but the outcome is well worth the effort. Each of these tips can help you to combine two families into one happy, healthy and loving family unit.

Kelly Helmes writes for higher education blogs nationwide. She recommends www.bestmastersincounseling.com as a great resource for students interested in finding more information on getting an online masters in counseling.

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Operation Coming Home: Understanding Veterans' Employment ...

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Rio+20 concludes; Q&A on what's next

RIO DE JANEIRO?? A U.N. development summit ended on Friday with an agreement that put off the implementation of many proposals on protecting the world's natural resources from climate change and globalization, leaving many attendees asking the question, "What next?"

Nearly 100 heads of state and government gathered over the past three days in efforts to establish "sustainable development goals," a U.N. drive built around economic growth, the environment and social inclusion.

While some governments were reasonably satisfied with the outcome document for the Rio+20 summit, others were disappointed and even angry with a perceived lack of ambition and sense of urgency to deal with the problems arising from rises in consumption, population and industrialization.

Following is a Q+A on what could happen next after the Rio+20 outcome:

WHERE SHOULD RIO+20 LEAD?
The aim of the summit was to agree on ways to achieve economic growth in a way that ensures everyone in the world has access to sustainable food, energy and water without further damaging the environment.

Governments have endorsed a universal shift to a "green economy," which would amount to a transformation of traditional consumption and production practices.

The hope is that companies and individuals will change their ways of doing business and their lifestyles.

Corporate and government accounting will likely reflect environmental profit and loss within a decade, thanks partly to Rio+20, backers of the plan said.

But achieving wider goals will not happen overnight.

"The green economy is not a big bang, it's a transition," said Donald Kaberuka of the African Development Bank. "Some say it will take up to 50 years. Rio is not supposed to be the end of the process but the beginning of the journey."

WHEN WILL WORK START ON THE ISSUES AGREED ON?
Practical work on the Rio+20 agreement will begin immediately, Brazil's minister of the environment, Izabella Teixeira, said on Friday.

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"We have methods and deadlines to be met until we complete the process that will be consolidated in 2014 or 2015," she said.

European Union Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik was more pragmatic.

"We need to sleep on it and see (the text) with less emotions and then we will have to focus concretely on the process after Rio," he told Reuters.

WHICH DEADLINES HAVE TO BE MET AND WHEN?
The sustainable development goals, or SDGs, will have to be set by the end of 2014 at the latest so that they can complement a revised set of millennium development goals aimed at eradicating poverty, when the current ones expire in 2015.

U.N. officials will have to work on avoiding too much overlap between the two sets of development goals.

"Before we begin to move on to universal goals, there is still unfinished business with MDs which has to be dealt with before 2015. The discussion now is on the post-2015 agenda. That conversation will be very important," said AfDB's Kaberuka.

A working group with representatives from 30 countries - six representatives for each continent - will work on defining SDGs and present a study to the U.N. General Assembly in September 2013.

Work on identifying on how much finance for sustainable development is needed and ways to raise it have to be finished by a U.N. meeting in September 2014.

Work on some other issues will take longer, with years such as 2020 or 2025 specified in the agreement.

HOW WILL WORK BE ORGANIZED?
Working groups will be appointed to work on some areas, like SDGs or ocean protection.

Potocnik said there was a proposal, which he dubbed "friends of the paragraphs," for groups of countries with a special interest in a topic in the agreement to work on it.

International bodies could also play a role in work on implementation, he added, without specifying which ones.

WILL THERE BE A RIO+30 OR RIO+40?
A follow-up to the Rio+20 summit of the same scale in 10 years or even another 20 years has not been set, but many observers at the summit say progress on some of the issues in Friday's agreement needs to be measured.

Some of the timelines in the Rio+20 agreement are so far into the future that measures may be too late to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and globalization.

"We don't have 20 years or even 10," said Kumi Naidoo, executive director of Greenpeace International.

"History tells us little will happen in real terms and definitely not at the timescale of urgency climate science tells us is needed," he added.

WHAT CAN BE DONE OUTSIDE THE RIO+20 AGREEMENT?
A series of much-hyped global summits on environmental policy has now fallen short of expectations, going back at least to a 2009 U.N. meeting in Copenhagen that ended in near chaos.

As a result, many ecologists, activists, and business leaders believe that progress on environmental issues must be made locally with the private sector, without counting on the help of international accords.

"We've believed all along that the more groundbreaking action at Rio+20 would be outside of the formal process," said Manish Bapna, acting president of the World Resources Institute.

On the sidelines of the summit, companies and local governments launched various projects and commitments.

On Wednesday, eight multilateral development banks pledged $175 billion over 10 years in support of sustainable transport worldwide.

Earlier this week, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and colleagues from around the world sought to show how cities could make progress even if a multinational agreement was not possible.

"Perhaps some of the most important work that is happening here are what used to be considered side events -- the partnerships between private sector and academia and NGOs and local governments and state level governments," said Lisa Jackson, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Click For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

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Feds seize disputed dinosaur skeleton

NEW YORK?? The U.S. government has seized a dinosaur skeleton in New York City that it says was unjustly taken from Mongolia.

The crates holding the Tyrannosaurus bataar fossil were held at a Queens storage facility. The seizure was carried out Friday

A Florida man, Eric Prokopi, says he legitimately obtained the specimen he refers to as "Ty."

Prokopi says he put it together at great expense before it was sold at auction for more than $1 million.

The sale is contingent on the outcome of litigation. The government sued earlier this week to seize the dinosaur for a return to Mongolia.

The head paleontologist with New York's American Museum of Natural History, Mark Norell, said Friday that the fossil should be returned quickly to Mongolia.

Meanwhile, Prokopi, a dealer of fossils who acquired the remains of a dinosaur, said he is "not some international bone smuggler" and that he risked his finances and reputation to put together the skeleton to promote a love of science in others.

Prokopi, 37, struck back Thursday at the U.S. government's account of the Tyrannosaurus bataar fossil it seized to hand over to Mongolia.

"I'm just a guy in Gainesville, Florida trying to support my family, not some international bone smuggler," he said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press.

He said transforming chunks of rocks and broken bones "into an impressive skeleton took thousands of hours and every penny my wife and I had, but it was fascinating."

"We were thrilled and couldn't wait to share him with the world, and hoped it would inspire others to see the magic of paleontology and develop a love of science and appreciation of nature," Prokopi said.

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Prokopi contested government claims in papers it filed in federal court in Manhattan this week that the skeleton was brought from Great Britain to Gainesville in March 2010 with erroneous claims that it had originated in Great Britain and was worth only $15,000. It was sold at auction last month for more than $1 million, though the sale was contingent upon the outcome of litigation.

A judge earlier this week said the government could seize the 8-foot-tall, 24-foot-long skeleton from a Queens art storage facility because it appears the government will succeed in its claims. Prokopi accused the government of caving to the will of Mongolia, saying he hoped "the American legal system will uphold the American laws and not sacrifice my rights and freedoms to please a foreign government out for a political trophy."

The commercial paleontologist said that the U.S. government wrongly claimed he misrepresented what was being imported and its value.

"I can wholeheartedly say the import documents are not fraudulent, a truth I am confident will be brought to light in the coming weeks," he said. "The value was declared much lower than the auction value because, quite simply, it was loose, mostly broken bones and rocks with embedded bones. It was not what you see today, a virtually complete, mounted skeleton."

Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman for government lawyers, declined to comment Thursday.

Prokopi said and his wife hoped the skeleton would be bought by a museum or collector who would put it in a public forum, but the controversy that erupted caused museums to back out of the sale.

Prokopi also challenged assertions by experts that the skeleton had to originate in Mongolia, saying it was true that they are mainly known to come from the Gobi desert of Mongolia, "but they've also been found elsewhere, and it's certainly possible a new locality with complete specimens was discovered in another country."

He said they were "stunned by some of the public's reaction to the sale because commercial paleontology and private collectors are a vital part of bringing some of nature's most precious treasures to museums worldwide."

Prokopi also challenged claims by some experts that the skeleton was collected poorly.

"I believe this specimen was expertly excavated, and the only damage that was done was caused by the elements," he said. "The claws and some teeth had weathered away and some teeth had slipped out before burial. I believe this specimen was expertly excavated, and the only damage that was done was caused by the elements."

He said claims by experts that it had been unearthed in the last 17 years could not be trusted.

"Other than the diggers, there is no way for anyone to know for certain when or where the specimen was collected," Prokopi said.

He defended commercial paleontology, saying the business was "full of intelligent, passionate people who love paleontology, not bone smugglers just looking to steal from important scientific research."

He said he was "headed toward total financial ruin" because the lost sale of the dinosaur had "irreparably devastated my family financially, it has cost several people their jobs, taken an emotional toll on my life and two young children and damaged my reputation as a commercial paleontologist."

Prokopi added: "If it weren't for people like me, some of these bones would just turn to dust and none of us would ever get to see or study them."

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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TheDC?s Political Roundup

In this edition of The Daily Caller?s Political Roundup, we take a look at intra-party strife in Maine, attack-by-campaign-sign in Montana, an unfortunate endorsement in a New York House race, an unwanted candidate in Tennessee, the impending Republican Senate primary in Utah and a Republican debate in Texas? never-ending Senate race.

1) Maine Senate race

In the Maine Senate race, both major parties have managed to field candidates seriously at odds with important members of their base, making it even more likely that independent Angus King ? the wildly popular former governor who has been the front-runner since the beginning ? will pull off the race.

As The Daily Caller reported Thursday, State Sen. Cynthia Dill is on the attack against her own party, going after the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) in a fundraising email sent Thursday.

?Don?t let the DSCC and other beltway insiders decide who Maine?s next United States Senator will be,? she wrote. ?We know these groups don?t share our ideals and will not fight for working families, small businesses and Maine values.?

The DSCC has not indicated any plans to get involved in the race on Dill?s behalf. In fact, King is seen as Democrats? best hope to control the seat, as he is widely expected to caucus with Democrats if elected. King, who supported President George W. Bush in 2000, Sen. John Kerry in 2004, and President Barack Obama in 2008, has refused to say who he would caucus with, and said he would not say so before being elected.

On the Republican side, a rift between the nominee, Secretary of State Charlie Summers, and Sen. Olympia Snowe has finally been publicly reported, though insiders have long been aware of the feud.

The Portland Press Herald?reported?on the feud last week.

Summers is a former Snowe staffer, but last year he opted ?not to endorse Snowe in her race against tea party-backed Scott D?Amboise.?

?Snowe had been targeted by the tea party, and as she ramped up her campaign against D?Amboise she approached Republican leaders in Maine for endorsements that could blunt a tea party surge against her,? the Portland Press Herald reported.

John Richter, Sen. Snowe?s chief of staff, confirmed the story, but told the paper that Snowe would back Summers as ?the duly chosen Republican nominee.? However, he indicated that Snowe might not back Summers financially, as has been her habit with Maine Republican candidates.

2) Montana Senate race

In Montana, things turned violent after a debate when a Democratic activist started hitting Republican candidate Denny Rehberg?s wife with a rolled up sign. Rehberg is running for Senate against Democratic incumbent John Tester.

TheDC?s Caroline May reported that the woman was in her late thirties, and that, ?After exchanging words with Jan Rehberg, she began hitting the candidate?s wife with a rolled up Tester sign.?

The owner of the venue ultimately threw the woman, along with two companions, out of the event.

3) An unwanted endorsement in New York

In what TheDC?s Neil Munro described?as ?an awkward problem,? a Democratic candidate for New York?s 10th Congressional District has earned the not-at-all-coveted endorsement of David Duke, a former Louisiana state representative and former grand wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

Duke endorsed Democrat Charles Barron in the Democratic primary on Thursday. Barron is black, which makes the whole thing even more confusing, but Duke said he felt an affinity with the city councilman because of their shared distaste for Jews.

?The possible election of a dedicated anti-Zionist has thrown the Zionist-influenced media and the Zio-political establishment in a tizzy,? Duke said in a video posted to his website.

He goes on to say that he will support Barron over his opponent in the primary, State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries. Jeffries is also black.

?In an election of limited choices, I think Charles Barron is the better choice [because] there is no greater danger facing the United States of America ? and facing the world ? than the unbridled power of zionist globalism,? Duke declared in a June 21 video.

Duke, by the way, now says he supports ?diversity,? but advocates the separation of whites and blacks.

4) Tennessee

Speaking of unwanted attention for Democrats, the Tennessee Democratic Party is seeking ?legal remedy? to get Senate candidate Thomas K. Owens? name off the Democratic primary ballot after it came to light that he was charged with solicitation of a minor last year.

Owens is vying to obtain the nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Bob Corker.

According to The Tennessean, ?Authorities say a 7-year-old girl riding her bike? by Owens? apartment ?was invited inside. According to authorities, the 36-year-old then allegedly hugged the girl, unzipped his pants and asked her to perform a sex act. The girl ran home and told her mother, who notified police, authorities added.?

A mental evaluation by Lakeshore Mental Health Institute determined that though he was mentally competent to stand trial, he had suffering from a ?severe mental disease? during the time of his alleged crimes.

When asked to The Tennessean,?Owens? only comment on the matter was, ?I have a problem with that.?

Brandon Puttbrese, a spokesman for the Tennessee Democratic Party, said they are looking for a way to legally take Owens off the primary ballot.

?There?s no place for a candidate like that on the Democratic ticket in Tennessee,? he told The?Tennessean.

5) Utah Republican Senate primary

Tuesday?s Republican primary in Utah pits Sen. Orrin Hatch against State Sen. Dan Liljenquist, who is hoping to take down the longtime incumbent despite being dwarfed in terms of fundraising.

That is unlikely to happen, according to Utah politicos. Even FreedomWorks, which is in large part responsible for drafting Liljenquist into the race and has spent just under $1 million attacking Hatch, is downplaying expectations.

?Hatch wins by 20+,? one Utah political consultant predicted.

?FreedomWorks will try to explain this as a moral victory, but they got their hat handed to them,? the consultant added. ?They always took too much credit for Bennett defeat in 2010 and all they did was waste a million bucks that could have been used to defend Heller or pick up Colorado or Montana.?

Utah Democratic political consultant Doug Foxley also predicted that ?Hatch wins going away.?

FreedomWorks campaign manager Russ Walker said he was ?hopeful? for Tuesday, but sounded skeptical that Liljenquist could pull it off.

?It?s a tough campaign ? I think momentum is shifting our direction,? Walker said.??I just don?t know if it?s enough to win the campaign on election day.?

?It?s very difficult to beat someone, especially in Utah, who has the full support of the fair-haired child of Utah ? and that?s Mitt Romney ? in a year when he?s running for president,? Walker added. ?And that?s always kind of been an x-factor in this race, but you know, Sen. Hatch has tied himself to Mitt Romney?s coattails and he?s ridden them pretty hard.?

Liljenquist recently earned the endorsement of Romney?s primary opponent, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

Even if they didn?t win, Walker said, challenging Hatch had forced him farther to the right in his votes over the past two years, though it remained to be seen if he would stick to that level of conservatism after the election.

Nonetheless, Liljenquist himself expressed confidence.

?We feel very good,? Liljenquist told TheDC in a phone interview.

?This is a grassroots campaign and we?re working it to the end, and we?re confident we can win,? he said.

Hatch, though likely to win, sounded beaten down earlier this week, telling the Salt Lake Tribune: ?This race has not been fun. The attacks on me have been tough.?

6) Texas Senate primary

Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and former Solicitor General Ted Cruz will face off in their first televised debate on Friday.

?I think one thing you?ll see is that David Dewhurst will present a clear contrast in the race, which is between a Texas conservative businessman and a lawyer funded by Washington special interests,? said Dewhurst campaign spokesman Matt Hirsch.

Hirsch said Dewhurst would talk about his record as lieutenant governor, and specifically about the policy plan he released Thursday, which Hirsch described as ?his agenda to go to Washington and change business as usual.?

Among other things, the plan calls for term limits, decreasing congressional salaries, banning earmarks and reforming the lobbying rules to keep members of Congress from becoming lobbyists for four years after they leave Congress.

The Cruz campaign knocked Dewhurst for refusing to debate Cruz more.

?Since this race began, Ted has campaigned vigorously across the state, meeting with grassroots conservatives all over Texas, while David Dewhurst has skipped 36 debates and acted as if he were entitled to a U.S. Senate seat,? James Bernsen wrote in an email to TheDC. ?This rare Dewhurst debate appearance is an opportunity for Texas voters to hear why he supported a ?wage tax? that The Wall Street Journal called a ?fancy disguise for an income tax,? and why state spending grew by $72 billion during his tenure.?

?This race presents a clear choice between a go-along-to-get-along career politician in David Dewhurst and a conservative fighter who will stand up to the Obama administration, end the Obama war on jobs, stop out-of-control spending and rein in the growth of government power,? Bernsen added. ?More and more Texans every day are embracing Ted?s campaign because they recognize that he is that kind of fighter they?re looking for.?

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