Localised sunshade could stop Arctic melting

If we have to hack the planet, we could at least do it with some finesse. Some of the problems with geoengineering could be fixed by targeting specific regions of the planet, rather than cooling everywhere equally.

A rough modelling study offers a crude blueprint for how to save the Arctic ice cap, but raises questions about who decides which areas to save.

Devised to stop climate change if attempts to cut greenhouse gas emissions fail or are insufficient to cool the planet, geoengineering schemes range from sucking carbon dioxide out of the air to "sunshades" that block incoming sunlight.

Sunshades produced by injecting aerosols into the stratosphere have received the most attention as they could be a cheap way to cool the planet. But they are far from perfect.

Models show that no sunshade can restore both temperature and rainfall to their preindustrial levels. What's more, while average global temperatures could be restored, there would be regional differences. As a result, nations would probably disagree over how much geoengineering to do.

In a bid to reduce these trade-offs, Douglas MacMartin of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and colleagues simulated a more regional approach. They set up a simple climate model in which carbon dioxide levels were doubled, which is expected to happen in the second half of this century.

Next they modelled three different geoengineering scenarios: a uniform global sunshade, one sunshade over each pole, and a whole-planet sunshade that was thickest over the North Pole and gradually thinned as it spread over the equator and southern hemisphere. They also varied the time of year the sunshades were up.

Friendly local geoengineer

The team found that the regional geoengineering approaches gave better results. A uniform global sunshade left some regions sweltering while others were too cold. But with the regional solutions, these disparities were reduced.

To see if it was possible to restore the Arctic sea ice, which is rapidly melting, MacMartin tried switching a sunshade on above the Arctic during summers only. He found this could restore the Arctic sea ice to its preindustrial extent, while also bringing average global temperatures and rainfall close to their original levels.

"People complain about setting a global thermostat," says MacMartin. "That's not the right way to think about it. It's an engineering problem."

Tim Lenton of the University of Exeter, UK, points out that current climate models are nowhere near good enough to make such conclusions. While they do a reasonable job of predicting temperature changes, they give wildly differing predictions for rainfall. As a result, it's not clear what geoengineering needs to achieve in terms of precipitation.

Lenton is particularly sceptical about the claims for restoring Arctic sea ice, as the model MacMartin used distorts the geography of the North Atlantic to simplify its calculations.

Geopolitical nightmare

MacMartin admits that his simulations are "idealised". In the model, he simply turned down the sunlight over different regions of the Earth. In reality, aerosols move around so this level of control may not be possible.

Nevertheless, his results open the possibility of a more sophisticated form of geoengineering. By combining different techniques, it may be possible to tailor the future climates of different continents, although MacMartin cautions that any change in one region will have knock-on effects elsewhere.

This will make it harder for countries to agree what to do. Lenton points out that nations would have to decide between them which aspects of the global climate to preserve. "Is protecting the sea ice more important than protecting the Indian monsoon?" he says. "Who decides? It inevitably turns into a power game."

In an attempt to reduce the inequalities caused by geoengineering, Lenton argues, MacMartin has uncovered even more complicated inequalities that, if anything, make the geopolitical problem worse.

Journal reference: Nature Climate Change, DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1722

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

Have your say

Only subscribers may leave comments on this article. Please log in.

Only personal subscribers may leave comments on this article

Subscribe now to comment.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/24b7735a/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cdn2240A20Elocalised0Esunshade0Ecould0Estop0Earctic0Emelting0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

florida primary full force odd fellows eli whitney blake griffin dunk on kendrick perkins kendrick perkins steve jones

Solar REITs: A Better Way to Invest in Solar | Alternative Energy Stocks

Tom Konrad CFA

The last day for a solar developer to submit an application for the Treasury?s 1603 grant program was September 30th, and only for grandfathered solar projects which broke ground before the end of 2011.

Solar panel prices have continued to drop this year, but solar project development remains a capital-intensive business. ?The 1603 program allowed solar developers to monetize the solar investment tax credit (ITC) much more quickly than they could otherwise, and this essentially reduced their cost of capital. ?As the rush of projects begun before the end of 2011 are completed, developers are looking for new ways to finance their next projects, especially since traditional forms of financing have been harder to come by since the financial crisis.

Jan Schalkwijk, CFA, a portfolio manager with a focus on sustainable investments at?JPS Global Investments?based in San Diego, CA ?says, ?Any solution that further improves financing of solar projects should be of interest to investors; especially if returns come in the form of dividends, from financial structures that are collateralized.?

The Solar REIT

Currently, the only way a small investor can invest in solar is by buying stock in solar manufacturers. ?I have long argued that solar manufacturers are unattractive as an asset class because of the?fiercely?competitive nature of the solar industry. ?The massive decline of solar stocks over the last several years has convinced most investors of the danger of investing in solar manufacturers, even when solar installations are skyrocketing. ?Since inception in April of 2008, the Guggenheim Solar ETF (NYSE:TAN) has fallen 93%, while solar installations have risen six-fold?with rapidly falling costs.

While those rapidly falling costs destroy solar manufacturer margins, they improve the opportunities for profitable solar farms. ?Yet stock market investors find themselves shut out of this opportunity. ?The two layers of taxation for public companies make common stocks a less than ideal investment medium for solar farms, unlike the private equity investments and LLCs used by large investors.

What sort of structures might be attractive? ?Master Limited Partnerships, or MLPs come immediately to mind, since they combine the tax structure of a limited partnership with the liquidity of public exchanges. ?MLPs allow the investor to avoid the two layers of taxation by passing their tax liabilities (and benefits) through to their limited partners (shareholders), which leads to a level of tax complexity most small investors are unaccustomed to.

In addition, MLPs are limited by law to specific businesses, mostly fossil energy extraction and transport. ?While extending MLPs to solar and other renewable energy has a certain appeal on the basis of fairness, such an extension would require an act of Congress.

Sen. Chris Coons introduced the Master Limited Partnership Parity Act on June 7th

Senator Chris Coons (D) of?Delaware?introduced The Master Limited?Partnership?Parity?Act?to allow MLPs to invest in renewable energy?on June 7th, and Representative?Ted Poe (R) of Texas?introduced identical legislation in the House September 19th. ?Unfortunately, the chances of these bills becoming law seems low. ?Govtrak.us puts their chances at only 4%.

A second appealing structure is the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). ?Like MLPs, REITs avoid the double taxation of traditional corporate structures, and are limited to investing in certain asset classes, which in the case of REITs means real property. ?REITs pass through?their?income, rather than their tax?liability to investors: REIT dividends are treated as ordinary income to the investor.

As Jim Hansen, a financial consultant at Ravenna Capital Management in Lake Forest Park, Washington and publisher of the Master Resource Report?notes, ?for retail investors the REIT would be the simplest and could be used in IRA?s which MLP in many cases cannot? ?because a certain portion of MLP income may be taxable, even if the MLP is held in an IRA. ?Indeed, Congress first enacted the REIT model in the 1960s to enable small investors to ?secure?advantages normally available only to those with large resources.?

Garvin Jabusch,?Cofounder and CIO of?Green Alpha Advisors?in Boulder, CO and manager of the?Sierra Club Green Alpha Portfolio?also thinks REITs would be a good structure for solar investments.

?Making PV [photovoltaic solar] a REIT eligible asset class will give investors access to what is currently the best value in solar, the annuity of electric power sales agreements. ?Currently investors can mainly invest in panel manufacturers (and to some degree BOS [balance of system] providers such as converter manufacturers), which is not these days the most profitable way to play solar. Buying a piece or pieces of solar PV projects on the other hand is profitable right now but is currently the province of private equity investors. Utility scale solar on a project basis is very attractive because, unlike a coal or other fossil-fuels based plants, once the solar plant is running it produces electricity which can then be sold essentially indefinitely without risk of the price of its fuel?increasing?(or indeed ever costing anything at all), with very low risk of plant failure (and if it does fail, it?s likely only offline for a short time, no risk of explosion), and relatively low overhead in terms of?maintenance.

?Legal Considerations

?The IRS could declare that solar assets were REIT-safe with a stroke of the pen.?

Joshua Sturtevant has done extensive research on the legal requirements to allow REITs to focus on solar investments.

The other potential advantage of REITs as an solar investment structure is that it would not require an act of Congress for PV to become a REIT-qualified?investment class. ?Joshua L. Sturtevant, an Associate with solar aggregator, financier, and developer Distributed Sun of Washington, DC, has done extensive research on the changes which would allow REITs which would generate all or most of their income from solar generation.

He found that ?the IRS could declare that solar assets were REIT-safe with a stroke of the pen. ?Because of the broad authority it has been granted to regulate REITs, it could bring solar assets into the fold simply by issuing a ruling to that effect. ? [I]t wouldn?t require legislation or huge changes to the tax code.? ?Getting a favorable IRS ruling might not be easy, but it would almost certainly be easier than getting legislation through Congress.

Sturtevant says that an IRS ruling might take the form of a ?private letter ruling? ?or?through a ?revenue ruling.? ?The IRS grants a private letter ruling in response to a taxpayer asking for clarification on an aspect of the tax code applies to them. ? A private letter ruling does not have broad applicability, in that it is only binding on the requesting taxpayer and the IRS. ?However, private letter rulings ?often end up having some trickle-down influence on business decisions as they are generally accessible to tax lawyers and accountants.?

A revenue ruling is ??often issued at the prompting of a government official. To the extent that an issue might be a close call, it is better for the request for clarification to come from within the government as there is a better chance of obtaining a favorable (from the perspective of the requestor) outcome.?

The Wheels of Government Turn Behind the Scenes

No one was able to tell me anything definite, but there are rumors that a request for an IRS revenue ruling is imminent. ?In June, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) issued a report,??The Technical Qualifications for Treating Photovoltaic Assets as Real Property by Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).? ?The report concluded that PV meets many of the important criteria to be considered ?real property? and hence a proper asset class for investment by REITs.

The fact that NREL issued this report suggests that someone in the government is working to prepare the way for a favorable revenue ruling. ?David Feldman, an NREL analyst and co-author of the report, said??We?re not trying to make the decision ? the Internal Revenue Service will do that. ?We?re giving them the technical information they need to make the decisions.? ?But somebody asked them to write the report.

Sturtevant says, ?My pulse of the situation suggests that there are parties who are moving to place a request to the IRS by election time. If such a request were successful, it could be less than two quarters before a company claiming REIT status is developing solar.?

Jabusch has also heard rumors predicting everything ?from year end this year to Q2 2013.?

UPDATE: The Renewable Energy Trust Capital, Inc., a San Francisco, CA based mission-driven company founded in 2011 to ?facilitate the transition to a clean and sustainable economy? apparently already has ruling request ?on file with the IRS.? ?I?m seeking an interview with RET to determine if this is a request for a private-letter ruling (most likely since this is not a government entity) and when the request was filed. ?10/12: I?ve published an article about Renewable Energy Trust?s request based on my interview here.

Will the IRS Rule in Favor of Solar REITs?

If there has?already?been a request to the IRS for a revenue ruling on PV as real property, the the odds are good that the ruling will be favorable for those of us who would like to see Solar REITs. ?According to?Sturtevant, enough political will would be sufficient to?guarantee?a favorable ruling. ?The political will is likely to depend on the outcome of the election on November 6th.

Giving solar a similarly advantageous ?investment structure to the MLPs enjoyed by investors in fossil fuels should be a ?politically neutral concept,? as?Sturtevant puts it. ?Obama has long been in favor of leveling the playing?field?between alternative energy and fossil fuels, while allowing Solar REITs is seemingly in line with Romney?s expressed belief that?alternative energy should sink or swim on its own merits:?Investors would?evaluate?each deal on its investment merits, as both Hansen and Schalkwijk implied above. ?On the other hand,?Romney has repeatedly called green jobs ?fake? or ?illusory? while championing the fossil industries, and has plans to sharply cut funding for clean energy: He may have already concluded that PV has no ?merits,? and hence might see little point in giving it similar?privileges?to the extractive industries he promises to?promote?in the name of energy?independence.

The First Solar REITs

Even if there is a favorable ruling, it may take a while for the first REITs dedicated to solar to emerge. ?The first movers are most likely to be traditional REITs that are already thinking about renewable energy investments.

A few REITs have dabbled with solar already as a revenue enhancement. ?IRS rules allow them to generate up to 25% of their income from sources other than real property, and this allows some scope for solar on REIT-owned buildings, for instance. ?Some solar developers are even specifically targeting the traditional REIT market. ?However, few REITs are likely to use this option to obtain more than a few percent of their income from solar because ??the IRS tends to be very wary of anything that doesn?t smell right in the context of REITs? and ??leads to wariness and conservatism by many REIT managers,? according to?Sturtevant. ?REIT managers generally feel that a little extra revenue is not worth risking greater IRS scrutiny.

ProLogis Global Headquarters, Denver, Colorado (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The conservatism of REIT managers has most likely already proven a barrier to some potential solar installations on REIT property, and a positive revenue ruling would have the added advantage of giving a green light for existing REITs to install solar on?their?property.

ProLogis, Inc.?(NYSE:PLD) is one of the few?REITs not waiting for a ruling. ?ProLogis?had installed 75 MW of solar on its buildings by the end of 2011, and claims to be ?just getting started.?? According to ?my calculations (using aggressive?assumptions of a 20% capacity factor and $0.10 per kWh electricity price), even 75 MW of PV would generate only $13 million in annual revenue, or 0.85% of ProLogis?s 2011 total revenue.

Another REIT which might be expected to take advantage of a positive revenue ruling in a big way is Power REIT (NYSE:PW). ?Power REIT invests in the embedded real estate of transportation infrastructure and renewable energy installations. ?PW currently owns only railroad real estate, but its CEO, David Lesser plans to?acquire?real estate underlying renewable energy generation (most likely a wind or solar farm) in the near future.

Talking ?Bout a Revolution

ProLogis and Power REIT will undoubtedly continue investing in renewable energy in any case. ?Lesser says, ?We believe that that there is an attractive investment role for Power REIT to play in the renewable energy space with or without a clarification of PV being included as a real estate asset for REIT purposes.?

But for both investors and solar developers, the IRS could completely revolutionize the solar investment landscape by classifying PV as real property. ?That revolution could be upon us before year-end.

Disclosure: Long PW

This article was first published on the author's Forbes.com blog, Green Stocks on October 9th.

DISCLAIMER: Past performance is not a guarantee or a reliable indicator of future results.? This article contains the current opinions of the author and such opinions are subject to change without notice.? This article has been distributed for informational purposes only. Forecasts, estimates, and certain information contained herein should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product.? Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed.

Source: http://www.altenergystocks.com/archives/2012/10/solar_reits_a_better_way_to_invest_in_solar.html

ferris bueller god bless america earned income credit super bowl commercials florida primary 2012 super bowl matthew broderick

Romney now up by one in New Hampshire and Iowa - Riehl World ...

Ohio is the key to Romney?s first path to 271. NH and IA figure into his primary alternate path. Nothing wrong with locking up both, of course.

The rest via?Poll: at ?Hot Air.

Yes, yes, I know, this comes from Kos?s pollster. What can I say? If the left can cling bitterly to Rasmussen as a bulwark against terrible numbers from Gallup, I can cling to this.

RCP?s average already had New Hampshire within a point so the new PPP number there isn?t news. The Iowa number is. This is the first poll in a month showing Romney ahead in the state, notwithstanding his blockbuster debate two weeks ago. NBC?s poll last night, in fact, had O up by eight points in Iowa, a ridiculous figure given that Obama?s worried enough to have campaigned there just two days ago but consistent with the CW that it?s his state to lose.

Source: http://riehlworldview.com/2012/10/romney-now-up-by-one-in-new-hampshire-and-iowa.html

occupy dc ufc 143 fight card my fair lady conversion disorder the chronicle spinal stenosis the forgotten man

First oil nears for Kazakhstan's supergiant field

KASHAGAN OILFIELD, Kazakhstan (AP) ? The manmade islands that are home to Kazakhstan's mammoth Kashagan oilfield project rise like a mirage to the boats churning through the shallow waters of the Caspian Sea.

Creating them has been a gargantuan feat but the real test is yet to come, as uncertainty persists on when the first oil will actually be drawn, although that's expected sometime next year.

When surveyors confirmed in 2000 that Kazakhstan had a new supergiant oil reserve, the world's energy companies reacted with glee. It was the type of find that had no longer seemed possible. Nothing that big had been seen in four decades.

Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev branded the Kashagan field, which some believe holds up to 13 billion barrels of recoverable oil, as the great hope for the future of his fledgling Central Asian nation.

Yet developing a remote offshore site half the size of Delaware that is blighted by weather ranging from blazing to glacial has proven difficult. The northern section of the landlocked Caspian Sea is extremely shallow compared to most offshore energy projects. That makes transporting heavy equipment a problem, as deep-hulled vessels can't be used. The area's fragile ecosystem is also the site of spawning grounds for endangered sturgeon, birthing habitat for the rare Caspian seal and migratory sites for numerous birds.

Delays in the Kashagan project have also strained relations between the oil companies developing it ? from Italy, France, Holland, the United States and Japan ? and the government of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan, a mainly Muslim nation four times the size of Texas that borders Russia and China, gained independence after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. It's a thinly populated steppe nation of 16.5 million people that has grown wealthy off of several major oil projects and other substantial mineral reserves. Many locals, however, complain that the country's riches are poorly distributed.

ON THE ISLANDS

Away from the politics, technicians on Kashagan's hub island ? two long, narrow mazes of wells and processing modules linked by a bridge to form what is known as D-Island ? exude pride in what they have achieved.

"In 2004, when we first started, the island was just a small box," said Giancarlo Ruiu, offshore project manager with Agip KCO, a subsidiary of the Italian oil giant ENI, which has led the work on Kashagan. Other companies in the consortium are Shell, ExxonMobil, Total, ConocoPhillips, Inpex and Kazakhstan's state-owned KazMunaiGaz.

The rocks and sand needed to build up D-Island and its four satellite islands were laboriously transported from the once-vibrant fishing port of Bautino, some 350 kilometers (217 miles) to the south.

But when the wind pushes the Caspian's lime-green waters south, in effect tilting the entire sea to below-navigable levels, the 18-hour summertime boat trip can become impossible, forcing workers to rely on helicopters. In the winter, ice breakers are deployed to clear paths for convoys to make the stultifying 36-hour voyage.

To protect D-Island from destructive ice drifts, a defensive ring had to be erected.

"You can occasionally get very rare conditions, where it is partially melted, and the water and semi-melted ice becomes like a lubricant. And when you get a surge of the ice, it can move very quickly," said Robert Dunkley, head of information and design at Agip KCO.

The construction team used a computerized system to carefully place tons of material, using building techniques similar to those that created Dubai's palm tree-shaped islands.

"We used to say that you are just dumping rock," Ruiu said. "(But) every single placement of rock was done with GPS control" to calculate depth and location.

In all, some 200,000 tons of concrete, enough to fill 50 Olympic swimming pools, and 600,000 truckloads of rock were used to form D-Island.

The island is now a dense forest of barges housing facilities such as gas injection equipment and emergency generators from Norway, Italy and Dubai.

In parallel with the construction, 12 wells were put down on D-Island to begin tapping into the highly pressurized reservoirs of sulfurous oil located 4,200 meters (13,780 feet) below the seabed. Another eight wells are primed to go on the smaller A-Island, while drilling is still ongoing to complete a further 20 wells on three remaining islands by the end of 2016.

In the meantime, thousands of laborers in orange suits work on the islands and sleep in floating apartment blocks during monthlong shifts. Sometime next year, the workforce on D-Island will be scaled down to 240 people and the largely automated offshore operations will be run from a high-tech control room.

IT WAS A GAMBLE

When test crude at Kashagan was discovered in 2000, oil prices were around $30 per barrel. This made any massive investment on a problematic energy project seem potentially foolhardy, but could also keep costs down.

The price of oil more than tripled over the decade, however, which sent outlays for energy-intensive construction labor, equipment and materials soaring as well.

More than $30 billion has been spent so far on the Kashagan project, way more than its original $10 billion estimate. The final bill for the Phase 1 development stage could even gallop past $45 billion. That figure will swell more with Phase 2 drilling at other patches of the field.

"It's not going to be profitable for the companies until you get into Phase 2," said Andrew Neff, Moscow-based senior analyst with IHS Energy. "Phase 2 is supposed to be by 2018-2019 and there hasn't been any progress in the last two years as far as I'm aware."

Kazakhstan has been irritated by the frequent postponement of the first oil, which over-optimistic planners had once said would start by 2005.

Kashagan operates under a production-sharing agreement where international companies pay for the exploration and development costs. Returns are shared between investors and the government on a sliding scale.

Now that Kazakhstan is growing increasingly rich on oil from other fields, it negotiates from a position of strength and has sought to adapt the deal to more favorable terms. The government is eager to begin receiving oil royalty payments and the state-owned KazMunaiGaz is due a share in the profits as a 16.85 percent owner.

"Everybody has been looking at Kashagan as this great cash cow coming down the road soon," Neff said.

While a KazMunaiGaz chief executive predicted a few years ago that Caspian oil would boost the country's annual oil production up to 180 million tons ? equivalent to 1.3 billion barrels ? by 2015, officials now have tamped that down to 90 million tons.

To reach that target, Kashagan will need to deliver 370,000 barrels of oil a day.

The production-sharing agreement expires in 2041 ? a date that is distressingly near to consortium members, considering the size of their investments. On the bright side for the companies, oil was selling for around $92 a barrel this week.

"We know the life of this field is much longer than 2041," said Alain Guenot, planning director of North Caspian Operating Co., the joint venture that manages Kashagan. "Everybody would like to extend the (deal)."

While Kazakh officials and oil executives are eager to start pumping, workers on the ground are more sanguine.

"Without production, we don't have revenue, they don't have revenue, and they'd like to have revenue as soon as possible," Guenot said. "(But) we're not going to start this plant if we're not sure that it's properly finished."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/first-oil-nears-kazakhstans-supergiant-field-070845105--finance.html

shooting at chardon high school sasha baron cohen stacy keibler stacy keibler all star game oscar red carpet daytona 500 start time

The Supremes and Expectations of Privacy on Workplace Computers

This morning, by 6 to 1, the SCC dealt with pornography on a work-issued computer and whether an employee had any reasonable expectation of privacy. The majority of the court set asise the Ontario Court of Appeal's order in R. v. Cole, to exclude the evidence on the basis that it was obatined in breach of ss. 8 and 24(2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Abella J. would have continued the exclusion. A new trial will be held in any event.

Here is the headnote:

The accused, a high-school teacher, was charged with possession of child pornography and unauthorized use of a computer. He was permitted to use his work-issued laptop computer for incidental personal purposes which he did. While performing maintenance activities, a technician found on the accused?s laptop a hidden folder containing nude and partially nude photographs of an underage female student. The technician notified the principal, and copied the photographs to a compact disc. The principal seized the laptop, and school board technicians copied the temporary Internet files onto a second disc. The laptop and both discs were handed over to the police, who without a warrant reviewed their contents and then created a mirror image of the hard drive for forensic purposes. The trial judge excluded all of the computer material pursuant to ss. 8 and 24(2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The summary conviction appeal court reversed the decision, finding that there was no s. 8 breach. The Court of Appeal for Ontario set aside that decision and excluded the disc containing the temporary Internet files, the laptop and the mirror image of its hard drive. The disc containing the photographs of the student was found to be legally obtained and therefore admissible. As the trial judge had wrongly excluded this evidence, the Court of Appeal ordered a new trial.

Held (Abella J.dissenting): The appeal should be allowed. The exclusionary order of the Court of Appeal is set aside and the order of a new trial is affirmed.

Per McLachlin C.J., and LeBel, Fish, Rothstein, Cromwell and Moldaver JJ.: Computers that are reasonably used for personal purposes ? whether found in the workplace or the home ? contain information that is meaningful, intimate, and touching on the user?s biographical core. Canadians may therefore reasonably expect privacy in the information contained on these computers, at least where personal use is permitted or reasonably expected. Ownership of property is a relevant consideration, but is not determinative. Workplace policies are also not determinative of a person?s reasonable expectation of privacy. Whatever the policies state, one must consider the totality of the circumstances in order to determine whether privacy is a reasonable expectation in the particular situation. While workplace policies and practices may diminish an individual?s expectation of privacy in a work computer, these sorts of operational realities do not in themselves remove the expectation entirely. A reasonable though diminished expectation of privacy is nonetheless a reasonable expectation of privacy, protected by s. 8 of the Charter. Accordingly, it is subject to state intrusion only under the authority of a reasonable law.

The police in this case infringed the accused?s rights under s. 8 of the Charter. The accused?s personal use of his work-issued laptop generated information that is meaningful, intimate, and organically connected to his biographical core. Pulling in the other direction are the ownership of the laptop by the school board, the workplace policies and practices, and the technology in place at the school. These considerations diminished the accused?s privacy interest in his laptop, at least in comparison to a personal computer, but they did not eliminate it entirely. On balance, the totality of the circumstances support the objective reasonableness of the accused?s subjective expectation of privacy. While the principal had a statutory duty to maintain a safe school environment, and, by necessary implication, a reasonable power to seize and search a school-board issued laptop, the lawful authority of the accused?s employer to seize and search the laptop did not furnish the police with the same power. Furthermore, a third party cannot validly consent to a search or otherwise waive a constitutional protection on behalf of another. The school board was legally entitled to inform the police of its discovery of contraband on the laptop. This would doubtless have permitted the police to obtain a warrant to search the computer for the contraband. But receipt of the computer from the school board did not afford the police warrantless access to the personal information contained within it. This information remained subject, at all relevant times, to the accused?s reasonable and subsisting expectation of privacy.

Unconstitutionally obtained evidence should be excluded under s. 24(2) if, considering all of the circumstances, its admission would bring the administration of justice into disrepute. The conduct of the police officer in this case was not an egregious breach of the Charter. While the police officer did attach great importance to the school board?s ownership of the laptop, he did not do so to the exclusion of other considerations. The officer sincerely, though erroneously, considered the accused?s Charter interests. Further, the officer had reasonable and probable grounds to obtain a warrant. Had he complied with the applicable constitutional requirements, the evidence would necessarily have been discovered. Finally, the evidence is highly reliable and probative physical evidence. The exclusion of the material would have a marked negative impact on the truth-seeking function of the criminal trial process. The admission of the evidence would not bring the administration of justice into disrepute and therefore the evidence should not be excluded.

Generally speaking, the decision to exclude evidence under s. 24(2) should be final. In very limited circumstances however, a material change of circumstances may justify a trial judge to revisit an exclusionary order. In this case, the Court of Appeal invited the trial judge to re-assess the admissibility of the temporary Internet files disc if the evidence becomes important to the truth-seeking function as the trial unfolds. Unconstitutionally obtained evidence, once excluded, will not become admissible simply because the Crown cannot otherwise satisfy its burden to prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.

Per Abella J. (dissenting): While it is agreed that there has been a Charter breach, the evidence in this case should be excluded under s. 24(2). The Charter-infringing conduct in this case was serious in its disregard for central and well-established Charter standards. The police officer had years of experience in investigating cyber-crime and was expected to follow established Charterjurisprudence. Further, the police officer?s exclusive reliance on ownership to determine whether a warrant was required, was unreasonable and contradicted a finding of good faith for the purposes of s. 24(2). There were also no exigent circumstances or other legitimate reasons preventing the police from getting a warrant. The decision not to get a warrant mandates in favour of exclusion.

The impact of the breach on the accused?s Charter-protected interests, even assuming that his reasonable expectation of privacy was reduced because it was a workplace computer, was significant given the extent of the intrusion into his privacy. The warrantless search and seizure in this case included the entire contents of the accused?s computer. It had no restrictions as to scope. The extent of the search of the accused?s hard drive and browsing history was significant and weighs in favour of exclusion.

Finally, while the evidence in this case is reliable, its importance to the prosecution?s case is at best speculative given that the pornographic photographs themselves were admitted.

Balancing these factors, and in light of the deference owed to trial judges in applying s. 24(2), the evidence should be excluded.

Respond: make a comment | read the 1 comment

Share: Email | Save as PDF | Print | Bookmark & Share | |

More: in Substantive Law: Judicial Decisions or Technology: Internet or Technology: Office Technology | from Simon Chester

Make a comment:

Note that some comments may be moderated. If you have not had an approved comment here before, your comment will be held for approval. We are glad to publish comments that address issues raised in the post or other comments on it and that contribute to a fruitful discussion. We do not publish comments that seek to promote commercial products, that make personal attacks, or that seek personal legal advice.

Although we do not require it, we ask that in making a comment you use your full name. You must supply a valid email address, which will not appear with your comment.

the count:
9227 posts | 12769 comments

---

search Slaw & SlawTips:

use "" + - AND OR NOT

Including 382 blogs as of 2012/09/24
[about]

?

These summaries of selected recent cases are provided each week to Slaw by Maritime Law Book.
More information.

• Criminal Law -?Sexual offences - Rape or sexual assault - Consent and extorted consent

  The accused was charged with aggravated sexual assault involving nine complainants, M.P., K.R., K.G., D.C.S., D.H., S.H., F.L., C.B., and J.L.L. The Crown claimed that the accused failed to disclose his ...

• Criminal Law -?Punishments (sentence) - Particular offences - Manslaughter

  Holden was charged with first degree murder of a rival in the drug trade. A jury convicted him of manslaughter. He was detained for four years in pre-trial custody, spent almost entirely in protective custody. On ...

• Civil Rights -?Security of the person - Institutional inmates - Telephone calls

  Following a voir dire, the Alberta Court of Queen?s Bench issued reasons for judgment on March 9, 2012, allowing the admission into evidence of certain recorded and monitored communications of the accused (Cormier) ...

• Criminal Law -?Sexual offences - Rape or sexual assault - Consent and extorted consent

  The accused was charged with sexual assault and aggravated assault on the basis that she had sex with her partner without disclosing her HIV-positive status.

  The Court of Quebec, in a ...

• Constitutional Law -?Determination of validity of statutes or acts - Practice - Appeals - Stay pending

  A June 15, 2012 order of Smith, J., reported at [2012] B.C.T.C. Uned. 886, declared that the provisions of the Criminal Code prohibiting assisted suicide unjustifiably infringed ss. 7 ...

• Courts -?Stare decisis - Authority of judicial decisions - Prior decisions of same court - Federal Court (incl. judicial comity)

  Allergan Inc., Allergan Sales Inc., and Allergan, Inc., applied under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations to prohibit the Minister of Health from issuing ...

• Evidence -?Witnesses - Attendance and oath - Attendance - Subpoena - Setting aside

  Police officers executed a search warrant at Ellis?s property. The police found some 236 pounds of cannabis marijuana. Ellis was charged, with others, with an offence contrary to s. 5(2) of the ...

Source: http://www.slaw.ca/2012/10/19/the-supremes-and-expectations-of-privacy-on-workplace-computers/

beverly hills hotel whitney houston national anthem dolly parton i will always love you beverly hilton hotel whitney houston found dead i will always love you whitney houston 2012 grammy awards

Simple Small Business Accounting - Time to Return to Basic ...

by: larondaumf91 - October 17th, 2012

What actually happened to pcs making our lives simpler? Yes it?s true that today you can find so many things which modern tools has created that do make life so much easier. Just what exactly has happened to the basic accounting software.Creation Gone MadIn the early days of the personal home PC the accounting programs were simple and basic and performed a really simple function of accounting for revenue and expenditures. But as computers got quicker and can manage more things somehow big business decided that mummy and men were doing it wrong, and that it was time for you to do it our way.So as a result the sales applications increased in dimensions to include so many new great things, such as for instance thousands or graphs and reports. We have started to feel that it is important to have each one of these reports and charts and if they doesn?t be included by our program feel bad. But consider it, when was the last time you actually viewed a graph to observe how your small business was doing.All that?s occurred in the last 15 years is that these kind of plans have become so big and so laborious to use that most of us now spend hours and hours just trying to enter a handful of receiptsBack to BasicsIs it time to place the accounting software out the window and to return to pen and paper. In reality I?ve seen many businesses that have done just that, and many of these home businesses are doing just fine.However the actual alternative goes back again to simple style, taking a leaf out of the accounting applications of yesterday and applying the PC power of today to offer an and straightforward method of accounting for income, charges, and fees for the typical little business of the 21st Century.

Go to our site for more details about junkmail cars south africa

Source: http://cannabismrsacure.letstalkaboutpot.com/simple-small-business-accounting-time-to-return-to-basic-accounting/

robert griffin iii dontari poe space shuttle nyc monkeypox nick perry

2013-2014 Phillip Jackson Baugh Fellowships in Anthropology ...

2013-2014 Phillip Jackson Baugh Fellowships Offered by?Graduate?School for PhD?Students ?in the field of Anthropology, Economics, Psychology, or Sociology at Duke University?in USA

Study Subject(s): The scholarship is provided to learn Anthropology, Economics, Psychology, or Sociology.
Course Level: This scholarship is for pursuing PhD? level.
Scholarship Provider: Duke University?
Scholarship can be taken at: -Students will get their studies in USA.

Eligibility:- Applicants must have completed the preliminary exam by the end of the Spring 2013 semester.
-No other award (whether fellowship or service-related) may be held concurrently with thisfellowship without special permission from the Dean.

Scholarship Open for International Students: The students of USA can apply.

Scholarship Description:?We are pleased to announce that the Graduate School will offer one competitive fellowship through the generosity of the Phillip Jackson Baugh Endowment.? This one-year fellowship is for the promotion of careers and interest in the areas of aging and human development.?

Number of awards offered: 2 Scholarships are offered.

Tenure of award: Not Known

Value: The Baugh Fellowship provides an annual stipend (equivalent to the Graduate School recommended stipend established each year), as well as tuition and mandatory fees.? In addition, the Graduate School will pay the health insurance premium for recipients who enroll in the Duke Student Medical Insurance Plan.

Other Benefits: Not Known

Selection criteria: Not Known

Notification:?Not Known

How to Apply: The mode of applying is?by Post.

Scholarship Application Deadline: Do submit your applications till 31 October 2012.

Further Scholarship Information and Application

Similar Post:?
Sociology Scholarships
Scholarships for International Students

Scholarship Tags: 2013, 2014, Anthropology, Baugh, Economics, Fellowship, Gradute, Jackson, Phillip, Psychology, School, Sociology, USA

Subscribe Scholarship Newsletter

Warning: There is no need to provide bank account details or payment to any person or organization when applying for a scholarship or positions.Never give your bank account information, credit card or social security number to a prospective employer. Do not accept any offers to cash checks or wire money. If these details are requested for any job you see on scholarship-positions.com, please report the job to our quality team.

Important: Scholarship-Positions.com is not responsible for the content of any external websites linked to or referenced on this site.

Browse Scholarships

Search International Scholarships and Financial Aid Positions

Source: http://scholarship-positions.com/2013-2014-phillip-jackson-baugh-fellowships-in-anthropology-economics-psychology-or-sociology-at-duke-university-in-usa/2012/10/13/

new planet new planet green bay packers stock jeff garcia jeff garcia big east jesse james

Titans edge Steelers 26-23 on Bironas' 40-yard FG

Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas (2) and holder Brett Kern (6) react after Bironas' game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday, Oct. 12, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. The Titans won 26-23. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas (2) and holder Brett Kern (6) react after Bironas' game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday, Oct. 12, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. The Titans won 26-23. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas (2) reacts with holder Brett Kern (6) after kicking the game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. The Titans won 26-23. (AP Photo/Joe Howell)

Members of the Pittsburgh Steelers training staff tend to running back Isaac Redman (33) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (8) flips the ball to a receiver while under pressure from Pittsburgh Steelers' Cortez Allen, left, and Keenan Lewis (23) during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger walks off the field after the Steelers' 26-23 loss to the Tennessee Titans in an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ? Coach Mike Munchak likes his football history, and he told his Tennessee Titans how the 1993 Houston Oilers started 1-4 before winning 11 straight to reach the playoffs.

One win down.

And that's enough for Tennessee right now.

Rob Bironas kicked a 40-yard field goal, his fourth of the game, as time expired, and the Titans edged the Pittsburgh Steelers 26-23 on Thursday night to snap a two-game skid.

Matt Hasselbeck also threw for 290 yards and a touchdown, Tim Shaw blocked a punt and Chris Johnson ran for 91 yards in his second-best performance this season.

Hasselbeck said the Titans (2-4) know a turnaround like Munchak and his Oilers' teammates had in 1993 can still be accomplished.

"We can write our own history," Hasselbeck said. "Until the season's over, we get to decide how we play."

The Steelers (2-3) head home with a lengthy injury list and even more questions after they lost their third straight road game this season and fifth in six games dating back to the end of last season.

With so many fans wearing Steelers jerseys and waving Terrible Towels in the stands, LP Field felt more like Heinz Field South. A fan even ran onto the field waving a yellow towel between the third and fourth quarters before being tackled by security.

The homey atmosphere didn't help the Steelers, who have lost at Denver, at Oakland and now to the team that had allowed more points than any other NFL team. Pittsburgh was the first team not to score at least 30 points against Tennessee.

"Obviously, we need to look at everything, but I doubt that the process itself is an issue," Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. "We have to coach better. We have to play better. We have to finish better in these settings."

Ben Roethlisberger threw for 363 yards and a touchdown, and passed Terry Bradshaw as the Steelers' career passing leader. But Roethlisberger couldn't drive the Steelers close enough after Hasselbeck and the Titans tied it up with 4:19 left, and Tomlin sent Shaun Suisham out to kick a 54-yard field goal for the lead. Suisham, who beat Philadelphia last week, watched this kick fall short of the crossbar.

"We just shouldn't have put him in a situation to kick such a long one," Roethlisberger said.

Suisham had given Pittsburgh a 23-16 lead by kicking his third field goal, a 52-yarder, earlier in the fourth.

Tomlin tried to ice Bironas with a timeout just after a low snap might have knocked the Titans' kicker off his pace. Bironas simply waited it out and connected for the game winner even with another low snap.

"It's kind of like Kevin Costner in "For The Love of the Game," where he clears the mechanism," Bironas said. "You go out there, and you're in the zone."

The Titans held the ball more than their opponent for the first time this season at 30 minutes, 3 seconds. The Steelers outgained Tennessee 412-359 on offense, and the NFL's fifth-stingiest defense sacked Hasselbeck three times and intercepted him once.

But Johnson, criticized heavily the past five weeks for hesitant play, outran the Steelers running backs all by himself.

"You want to go out there and make plays and show everybody what type of team you are," Johnson said. "That you are not coming out there to let them run us over."

The Steelers sat safety Troy Polamalu and his injured right calf along with linebacker LaMarr Woodley (hamstring). But the injuries started piling up from the very first offensive snap, as first center Maurkice Pouncey hurt his right leg and missed the rest of the game. Right tackle Marcus Gilbert hurt his right ankle in the second quarter. Doug Legursky stepped in for Pouncey, while rookie Mike Adams replaced Gilbert.

Baron Batch ran for a 1-yard TD after Ike Redman hurt his right ankle after catching four passes for 105 yards. Rashad Mendenhall, who made his season debut last week, hurt his Achilles. Safety Will Allen went out briefly with a stinger as well. Ryan Clark also went to the sideline briefly.

"We just didn't do what we had to do," Clark said.

Now the Titans can rest up and see if Jake Locker might be back Oct. 21 when they visit Buffalo. They eased the constant criticism with a big victory over a perennially good team. Munchak said they really needed this win badly.

"We need to enjoy this one," Munchak said. "It's only one win. We know that. But it's a great win for us at this point in the season when we needed to play and show people really what we're all about."

___

Notes: The game-winner was Bironas' second this year and set a franchise record with his 11th overall. ... Titans cornerback Jason McCourty had an interception, the fifth of his career and first this season. ... Tomlin is 3-2 against the Titans. Tomlin now is 15-6 in October. ... Tennessee has won two of its last three home games against Pittsburgh. ... Titans cornerback Tommie Campbell hurt his ankle on punt coverage and did not return.

___

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

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-10-12-Steelers-Titans-Folo/id-1f3b4cbed26f424a885e73293636c5a2

nfc championship game martin luther king jr quotes martin luther king jr i have a dream speech packers score ricky gervais napoleon dynamite michelle williams

Space shuttle Endeavour: A final 2 m.p.h. mission through Los Angeles

The space shuttle Endeavour began its 2-mph crawl through streets of Los Angeles at about 2 a.m. Friday. A retired laser scientist uses Endeavour's terrestrial crawl as a teaching moment for Los Angeles school children.

By Alicia Chang,?Associated Press / October 12, 2012

Crews look at the space shuttle Endeavour as it leaves Los Angeles International Airport and is transported on city streets to the California Science Center in Los Angeles, Calif. October 12, 2012.

REUTERS/Jason Redmond

Enlarge

The space shuttle Endeavor is making its final journey to a Los Angeles museum.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

The giant spacecraft began its 2-mph crawl through streets near Los Angeles International Airport at about 2 a.m. Friday. Crowds in the neighborhood lined the streets to watch it being hauled past. Some called it a once-in-a-lifetime sight.

About 400 trees and many traffic lights were taken down to make room for the five-story-tall shuttle with its 78-foot wingspan.

The shuttle's 160-wheeled carrier stopped briefly so that crews could prune more trees. The shuttle will go 3 miles and then stop for nine hours to prepare for a final 9-mile roll the California Science Center.

RECOMMENDED: Are you scientifically literate? Take the quiz

As the space shuttle Endeavour weaves through working-class communities on its way to its retirement home, Hildreth "Hal" Walker Jr. wants the children he tutors to remember a few names: Ronald McNair. Mae Jemison. Charles Bolden.

A retired laser scientist who had a role in the Apollo 11 mission, Walker took the opportunity of the two-day terrestrial crawl through predominantly African-American and Latino neighborhoods in Los Angeles County to highlight the role that minorities played in the shuttle program.

"We really have a job to do to show them the accomplishments of the people whose shoulders they're standing on," Walker said.

Soon after Endeavour's aerial tour around California landmarks, Walker, who runs an after-school tutoring center in the suburb of Inglewood, gave a lecture at the public library where he ticked off the prominent figures in the program.

McNair was the second African-American in space and died in the Challenger tragedy. Jemison rode aboard Endeavour as the first African-American female astronaut. Bolden is the current NASA chief and the first black to hold the position.

Endeavour remained parked at the Los Angeles International Airport since Sept. 21 after crowd-pleasing swoops over the state Capitol, Golden State Bridge, Hollywood Sign and other landmarks.

Early Friday morning, the shuttle began its last "mission" ? a 12-mile creep through city streets. It will move past an eclectic mix of strip malls, mom-and-pop shops, tidy lawns and faded apartment buildings.

Its final destination: California Science Center in South Los Angeles where it will be put on display.

Seizing on a teaching moment, some schools along the route have folded the historic move into their lessons, hoping to stimulate interest in science, technology, engineering and math ? fields where blacks and Latinos have been underrepresented.

At the Wish Charter Elementary School near LAX, kindergarteners to sixth graders spent the days leading up to Endeavour's terrestrial journey learning about the shuttle's different components ? nose cone, heat tiles, fuselage.

On Friday, students planned to walk across the street to a parking lot where Endeavour will temporarily rest after leaving LAX.

Armed with American flags and index cards depicting the shuttle, students planned a "scavenger hunt" ? identifying the various shuttle parts and marking them off on their cards.

"It's thrilling to have this pop up right here in our neighborhood," said principal Shawna Draxton.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/prIRAP5QeVE/Space-shuttle-Endeavour-A-final-2-m.p.h.-mission-through-Los-Angeles

love hewitt new ipad solar flare joseph kony 2012 arian foster dennis kucinich apple ipad

Health, Fitness and Excerise for Life ? Blog Archive ? Revolution ...

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) October 12, 2012

Revolution Laboratories (RevLabs) is a fast growing company focused on health nutrition sciences. RevLabs Commitment to total fitness sets them apart from their competition. Where some companies provide products that can be monetized, RevLabs offers additional free tools to users to ensure they are best equipped to improve their health and fitness. RevLabs previously released a full line of diet and work out supplements, eBooks to provide diet and exercise advice and plans, online tools to calculate how many calories burned during workouts and recommended intake of nutrients, and online blogs that are updated daily with additional advice and tips. The latest offering by RevLabs focuses on providing instructional videos for a fun and effective workout activity.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a grappling martial arts which focuses on controlling an opponent and subduing them rather than striking. Where other martial arts focus on development of speed and power to land strikes or blows on opponents, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu develops control and focuses on joint locks and holds to gain the upper hand. This system of control rather than striking makes Brazilian Jiu Jitsu an excellent fitness activity for all ages, including children, and for people at all fitness levels. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can be used for exercise, to learn self defense, or to compete depending on the interests of the user.

The first video released by RevLabs is an instructional video demonstrating one of the most basic and fundamental techniques, an arm bar, which can be used to isolate and constrain an opponents arm and shoulder. The video was created in conjunction with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Unlimited, a local Jiu Jitsu Dojo located in San Diego. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Unlimited offers first-class Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Judo instruction with a friendly environment for men, women and kids of all ages. This video is the first in an intended series to provide video instruction of basic techniques targeted towards promoting health and fitness and to educate and get more people involved in healthy activities.

RevLabs was founded by three avid athletes passionate about the health and fitness industry. The company?s slogan is simple ?Made by the fit for the fit? with the mission to revolutionize the science behind peak performance. Our exponential growth is a testament to both the effectiveness of our supplements and the quality of our customer service delivered by real people who understand our customers? needs.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 12th, 2012 at 10:24 am and is filed under Exercise Equipment. ?Tagged Channel, Laboratories, Launches, Revolution, Video You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.mrgymhealth.com/?p=123

benjarvus green ellis shaka smart hungergames bagpipes aspirin aspirin 21 jump street

Calif. House race with veteran Dems turns physical

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? An increasingly bitter California congressional race between two House Democrats turned physical Thursday when one aggressively seized the shoulder of his opponent during a debate, yanked him toward his chest and shouted, "You want to get into this?"

The confrontation between Democratic Reps. Brad Sherman and Howard Berman came amid a nasty campaign for a Los Angeles-area seat.

The lunge by the 57-year-old Sherman appeared to startle Berman, who is 71 and smaller in stature, while the audience hooted and shouted.

Moments earlier during a dispute on an immigration-related bill Berman stepped close to Sherman on the stage, who told his colleague loudly, "Get out of my face."

Berman's campaign released a video of the confrontation at Pierce College in the San Fernando Valley.

The veteran lawmakers are running against each other because of California's new primary system, which sends the top two finishers to the general election regardless of party affiliation.

Sherman said in a statement that the debate "was not conducted at the highest level. I regret my part in allowing emotions distract from the exchange of views."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/calif-house-race-veteran-dems-turns-physical-043226103--election.html

Chad Johnson London 2012 Soccer dwight howard Olympics closing ceremony PGA Championship 2012 John Witherspoon hope solo

Humorist Calvin Trillin wins Thurber Prize

NEW YORK (AP) ? A collection of humorist Calvin Trillin's writings called "Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin: Forty Years of Funny Stuff" has won the Thurber Prize for American Humor.

The award is named for humorist James Thurber, who was known for the short stories and cartoons he contributed to The New Yorker magazine. It first was presented in 1997.

The 76-year-old Trillin has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1963. He is the author of 20 books, including the bestselling "About Alice" and "Obliviously on He Sails."

Runners up for the prize announced in New York on Monday were Patricia Marx's novel "Starting from Happy" and Nate DiMeo's fictional "Pawnee," based on the setting of NBC's "Parks and Recreation," for which DiMeo is a staff writer.

The winner receives $5,000.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-10-01-Books-Thurber-Prize/id-6097eb7e4c54443ba9b58acb12f70c03

how to carve a turkey how to cook a turkey yorkshire pudding larry the cable guy miracle on 34th street santa tracker monkey bread

Patty Brisben: Like Fine Wine, Sex Gets Better With Age

Like a fine bottle of wine, I truly believe that we become better, more robust and wiser as we age. Experience almost always trumps enthusiasm, and intimacy is no different. Through experience, older adults develop a more complete sexual road map than their younger counterparts. As we age, we acquire a greater understanding of our own bodies, our partners' bodies and what buttons to push to please them both.

Last week I was out to dinner when an older couple caught my eye. It was clear to me that both the man and the woman, who were probably in their 70s, dressed up for the occasion. They held hands across the table, toasted each other with red wine and exchanged knowing glances and smiles all night. These two are exemplary of so many older couples that share an intimacy younger couples cannot experience.

Who doesn't want to be the older couple that still flirts publicly? Remember, the only person who keeps you from being sexy is you. Harness that sexiness and find a way to explore it and share it with your partner. Be the couple you have always aspired to be.

It's time to celebrate the many ways that sex gets better as we age!

1. An empty house means that you'll finally have the time and freedom to have spontaneous sex -- just make sure you keep those blinds closed!
2. As we age, we tend to grow less inhibited and gain a new acceptance and appreciation for our bodies, especially women. In our 20s and 30s, there tends to be a strict standard of beauty that we hold ourselves to, but after giving birth or being with a partner for many years, it's easier to redefine individualistic beauty. This new confidence provides women with the freedom to unleash their wild side in the bedroom and have the confidence to ask for what they want.
3. Some people find that it actually becomes easier to communicate about unresolved performance issues as we get older. There is a direct correlation between sexual issues, such as low libido and erectile dysfunction, and age. When people feel like their problems are less like an individual failing and more like the body's natural progression, it's easier to discuss it.
4. In a long-term committed relationship, trust has been built up for years, so individuals, especially women, experience a higher level of emotional and physical closeness, which contributes to more satisfying sex. In fact, according to a recent study targeting females from researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, 61 percent of sexually active older women said they are satisfied with their sex lives and reported high frequency of arousal and orgasm compared to their younger counterparts.
5. Post-menopause you no longer have to worry about getting pregnant, which opens the door to more spontaneous and less stressful romps. Additionally, some women link birth control to lower levels of desire and decreased libido. Just remember though, if you're not in a monogamous relationship, you'll still need to use a condom to protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases.
6. An additional bonus to having the kids out of the house is that you'll hopefully have the ability to slow life down a bit and sleep more than five hours a night. Use the time to charge your batteries; you'll be ready to go whenever an intimate occasion arises. Moreover, you'll also have the time and energy to focus on having fun as an individual and as a couple. It's a time to discover new activities that you both enjoy doing together, in and out of the bedroom.
7. If you're still working, and lucky enough to have reached a point in your career where you have financial stability, that may mean less stress and more disposable income to spend on romantic dinners, vacations and sassy lingerie. Create a romantic bucket list with your partner; experiencing new activities together will help to create and reinvigorate your bond.

Anyone who tells you that your sex life will come to an end when you reach 50 is seriously mistaken. Just remember: Sexiness is timeless. Make a decision each day to get in touch with your sensual side and bring that excitement to your relationship in order to achieve a more fulfilling sexual life and relationship at every age.

Earlier on Huff/Post50:

• Culprit: Medication

  "Medications that are prescribed for stroke issues and heart issues can have devastating effects on sexual functioning," explains Dr. Janice Epp of the Institute of Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. In addition, researchers have found that a family of <a href="http://www.springerlink.com/content/0483x4276q80417q/" target="_hplink">antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) can take the winds right out of your sails</a>. These drugs include brand names such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil.

• Fix: Talk To Your Doctor

  Don't be shy -- talk to your doctor about how your prescriptions are affecting your sex drive. "There are a whole lot of new drugs that don't necessarily have those side effects, but it takes a lot of experimenting," says Dr. Epp. "Sometimes it takes three to four different tries to find the one that's best for you."

• Culprit: Pain Or Discomfort

  "People of both sexes can develop pain disorders as they get older, and that can have a big effect on sexuality," notes Patty Brisben, founder and chairwoman of Pure Romance, a company that specializes in selling sex toys and providing information on women's sexual health issues.

• Fix: Mix It Up

  Brisben suggests re-evaluating your definition of sex. "Being intimate does not necessarily mean having sex in the traditional sense," she says. Some solutions sensual touching and massages and mutual masturbation. Dr. Epp suggests looking into new positions. "Sit on a chair, try being in different positions," she says. "Side by side actually puts the least amount of stress on your joints."

• Culprit: Lack Of Sleep

  The <a href="http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need" target="_hplink">National Sleep Foundation</a> recommends getting seven to eight hours of shut eye a night. But with the stress of work, kids, bills and, oh yeah, your marriage, who can think about fitting in time to have sex, much less sleep?

• Fix: Plan Sex Dates

  For some couples the days of random romps may be behind them, and that's alright, says Dr. Epp. "Plan some sex dates around times that you know you feel more energetic -- it lets you look forward to it," she says. "Some people say, 'Sex should be spontaneous!' to which I say bullsh*t," she says, laughing. "You plan other things in your life and you don't complain about it. You can do the same with sex."

• Culprit: Menopause

  Waning libido and vaginal dryness are two unpleasant side effects of menopause. With increased longevity, "women can now expect to spend a third of their lives in post-menopausal years," Brisben said. "So understanding how you're being affected by those changing hormones is essential."

• Fix: Creams And Lubricants

  A dip in estrogen may lead to thinning vaginal walls and itchiness in the area. According to the Mayo Clinic, <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vaginal-dryness/DS00550/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs" target="_hplink">treatments can include </a>vaginal estrogen creams such as Estrace and Premarin; a flexible estrogen ring that is inserted; or estrogen pills, patches or gels.

• Culprit: Avoiding Frank Conversations About Sex

  "I think if you're just now embracing this subject at or around age 50, you've got some catching up to do!" Brisben tells <em>Huff/Post50</em>. But it's never too late to start having a frank and honest conversation with your partner about what you want in bed.

• Fixes: Accessories, Letters, Books, Therapy

  "I recommend having these conversations out of the bedroom and when you have some alone time," Brisben says. "Be open, be receptive and be ready to listen." Don't be afraid to bring some playfulness to the discussion. "Shop online for intimacy products together," Brisben suggests. Or write your partner a letter: "Tell them what you'd like to introduce into your intimate relationship." Another tact: Read sexy books together and share what interests you and what doesn't. "If you find these conversations are still hard to have ... a sex therapist or counselor is trained to help," Brisben adds.

• Culprit: Not Addressing Problems Down There

  It's the one part of aging and sexuality that gets the most attention: erectile dysfunction, which is <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/erectile-dysfunction/DS00162/DSECTION=causes" target="_hplink">often rooted in some larger physical problem, including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity</a>, according to the Mayo Clinic. Medications and drug and alcohol use can also play a role.

• Fix: Prescriptions, Pumps And More

  Ubiquitous ads promote the popular little blue pill to cure impotence, but there are <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/erectile-dysfunction/DS00162/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs" target="_hplink">other treatments as well, including vacuum pumps, implants and surgery</a>, according to the Mayo Clinic.

• Culprit: Thinking You Have To Be 'In The Mood'

  According to the movies or steamy prime time television shows, passion goes from 0 to 69 with a mere glance, a bitten lip or a bad pun. But "as we age, our bodies slow down and we have less energy," Dr. Epp tells <em>Huff/Post50</em>. "That's naturally occurring, but it can have an affect on our sexuality."

• Fix: Learn The Difference Between Arousal And Desire

  Rethink the connection between arousal and desire. Tell your partner if you need more than the <a href="http://www.womansday.com/sex-relationships/sex-tips/sex-by-the-numbers-103274" target="_hplink">average 20 minutes spent on foreplay</a>.

?

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patty-brisben/sex-over-50-better_b_1882370.html

ray lewis steven tyler national anthem paterno newt gingrich joe pa joe pa joe paterno dead