Saturday, February 4, 2012

Gulet Charter Turkey Holidays at Sea | ArticleGoes - Free Dofollow ...

The dream gulet sailboat holiday. The gulet charter Turkey sailing holiday that many wait all year long for? The holidays at sea on a gulet charter from Marmaris to wherever you want the breeze to take you. Motorsailers otherwise known as gulets are a combination of sailing and motor driven vessels, characteristic to Turkey and a few other countries on the Aegean and Mediterranean.

Marmaris gulet charters are very popular in these parts. Depending on the size of your group, a gulet charter in Marmaris can be hired for Blue cruises to journey to many amazing harbours and private bays to the east and west of Marmaris.

The nearest blue cruise gulet charters to the west is the culturally colorful Bodrum, historical Datca and the ancient Greek Islands of Rhodes, Kos and others in the North Dodecanese. Heading east some of the gulet charters take route to alluring Gocek port, bustling port of Fethiye and all the little hidden bays in between, inclusive of the Gulf of Gokova.

So where to go? Well you could start with a shorter trip for your first time ? first week, just to get the feel of how wonderful a gulet cruise charter holiday is in Turkey. The authentic elegance cannot be found elsewhere. The gulet is a luxurious vessel and is yours for that week. A private luxury gulet cruise for your group to do whatever you like, participate in water sports, or just be lazy, and every so often go ashore and visit ancient cities from the ?way? past from thousands of years ago.

You will feel on top of the world with the personal around the clock services by the crew on board. The captain will follow you? or you can follow the captain ? he is the expert in these waters afterall. :) The cabins come in VIP, Master, Triple, Double, Twin and Single types. Each gulet is different in length, amenities (most common in general), and cabins sizes and types ? from 4 to 16 guests.

Gulet charter Turkey is a phrase most commonly used on the internet when looking for a yacht charter holiday. But when you add Marmaris to your search phrase ? Marmaris gulet charter, I would say you are off to a fair start.

Gulet cruises originated in Bodrum, east of Marmaris, but has spread quite rapidly to other major seaside cities such as Marmaris and Fethiye. Today these areas have shipyards, building some of the world?s most top quality gulet / motorsailers.

So it?s fair to say that you would be in the right region for a gulet sailboat holiday!

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Source: http://articlegoes.com/gulet-charter-turkey-holidays-at-sea.html

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Friday, February 3, 2012

'Gay' marriage trial videos to remain sealed

A ruling today from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means that the video recordings of the Perry v. Brown Proposition 8 trial, where a homosexual judge decided to grant ?marriage? rights to homosexuals in California, will remain under seal.

The appellate court said the trial judge, Vaughn Walker, who later retired and began using the recordings during his private speaking engagements, had promised the litigants they would be sealed, and so they must remain.

?The record compels the finding that the trial judge?s representations to the parties were solemn commitments. ? We therefore reverse the order of the district court as an abuse of its discretion and remand with instructions to maintain the recording under seal,? the court said in an opinion written by Judge Stephen Reinhardt.

The judge who replaced Walker, James Ware, had ordered the tapes released, but the appeals court scolded him, saying he failed to recognize ?the legal consequences of Chief Judge Walker?s statements given the factual and legal context in which they occurred.

?Judge Walker did not nearly create the recording and place it in the record under conditions that he and the parties understood to be subject to later modification; rather, he promised the litigants that the conditions under which the recording was maintained would not change??

Still pending before the court is the central issue of whether Proposition 8, through which voters in the state amended their constitution to define marriage as being between one man and one woman only, would be upheld.

Voters approved the constitutional amendment after the state Supreme Court tried to impose homosexual marriage on citizens. Homosexual interests then took their case to federal court where Walker, a homosexual, determined that the state was required to grant homosexuals ?marriage? rights.

The supporters of the measure had argued any release beyond the courthouse of the videos would intimidate their witnesses. In fact, death threats from homosexual interests were reported multiple times by those who advocated for Prop 8 in California, and other pro-traditional marriage efforts around the nation.

Walker had planned to allow camera coverage of the court events over the objections of Prop 8 supporters. The Supreme Court then intervened and said no, but Walker had the recordings made anyway.

At that time he promised they would remain under seal. Ware had ordered the recordings to be made available.

There also is an additional challenge being deliberated: that Walker should have been disqualified from hearing the case because as a homosexual with a longtime partner, he was situated to benefit from his own ruling.

?The American people deserve a court system that upholds the integrity of the judicial process,? said Austin R. Nimocks, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, which has worked on the case.

?The 9th Circuit correctly ruled that when a trial judge makes a solemn promise, as Judge Walker did by assuring the parties that the trial video would not be publicly released, the judiciary must not be allowed to renege on its pledge. To rule otherwise would severely undermine the public?s confidence in the federal courts by breaching the bond of trust between the people and their justice system. As the 9th Circuit today wrote, ?The integrity of our judicial system depends in no small part on the ability of litigants and members of the public to rely on a judge?s word.??

Months after Walker ruled at the end of a weeks-long trial that it is a federal civil right for same-sex duos to describe their relationships as ?marriage,? he gave an interview to a reporter in which he confirmed his long-term relationship with another homosexual, placing him squarely in the position of being able to benefit financially and socially from his own ruling, critics contend.

?When judges ruled on cases in which they possess a direct and substantial personal interest, there can be no justice. And when judges fail to disclose all relevant facts concerning their potential personal interest in the outcome of a case and permit the appearance of partiality, the entirety of our judicial process is undermined,? Nimocks said at the time.

?Judges have a duty not only to apply the law without bias, but also to do so in a way that avoids even the mere appearance of impropriety. This idea is a cornerstone of the judiciary. Thus, the Supreme Court has long been clear that ?no man can be a judge in his own case and no man is permitted to try cases where he has an interest in the outcome,?? he said.

Since Walker?s ruling, a campaign has been launched calling on members of Congress to defend marriage between one man and one woman as the foundation of civilization.

The effort is being championed by Kenneth L. Hutcherson, senior pastor and co-founder of Antioch Bible Church in Kirkland, Wash., who recently wrote in a column on WND saying the defense of marriage ?is a movement I would be willing to lead.?

The ?TIME TO DEFEND MARRIAGE: The Genesis 2:24 Campaign? is named after the earliest scriptural teaching on marriage. It enables constituents to send letters to all 535 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, encouraging them to prevent the societal consequences of caving in to the demands of homosexuals who insist the rest of society affirm their same-sex ?marriages.?

?Let?s be clear:? the letter tells members of Congress. ?What we?re talking about is the federal government?s de facto imposition, on all 50 states, of a radical redefinition of marriage for the first time in more than 5,000 years ? just to indulge the questionable demands of a miniscule segment of our population.

?Yet, who can deny that such frivolous experimentation with a foundational societal institution like marriage will inevitably result in serious, long-term ramifications to society as a whole? Loss of religious liberties of the vast majority of Americans as well as the complete breakdown of the family as we know it are just part of the fallout that will result,? it says.

In Canada, arguments already are being made in courts that since government prohibitions on same-sex ?marriage? have been removed, so should bans on polygamy. A California Supreme Court justice warned of such developments when his court, over his objections, created same-sex ?marriage? in the state.

The campaign was launched after President Obama and attorney general Eric Holder said they would refuse to fulfill their obligations to defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act when it is challenged in court.

Critics of the judge noted that there were several other circumstances, too, in which Walker?s behavior was described as anomalous:

  • ?Before the trial even began, the 9th Circuit issued an extraordinary write of mandamus to overturn Chief Judge Walker?s order requiring proponents to turn over confidential internal communications??
  • ?Also before the trial ? the Supreme Court of the United States issued an emergency stay ? enjoining Chief Judge Walker from video recording and disseminating the trial proceedings??
  • ?Walker?s decision recognizing a right under the Federal Constitution for same-sex couples to have their relationships recognized as marriages conflicts with the judgment of every State and federal appellate court to consider the validity of the traditional opposite-sex definition of marriage. ??
  • Walker peremptorily held that gays and lesbians are a suspect class ? even though all 11 Circuit Courts of Appeals ? have repeatedly and squarely held to the contrary.?
  • ?Walker refused to stay his judgment pending appeal. As a result, the 9th Circuit was forced to issue such a stay.?

WND reported earlier when two analysts contended that the judge?s actions irreparably tainted the case.

?He is either a direct beneficiary of his ruling in the case, or a person with a close-enough personal interest in the case that his impartiality might reasonably have been questioned,? wrote John C. Eastman, the Henry Salvatori Professor of Law & Community Service and a former dean at Chapman University School of Law.

?Not his sexual orientation, which alone would not require recusal, but the possibility that he could directly benefit from his ruling, raised the prospect that recusal may have been warranted,? he wrote in a San Francisco newspaper blog. ?If the relationship was such that it gave Walker a financial or other interest in the outcome of the proceeding ? and the ability to marry would certainly qualify ? recusal would be mandatory and nonwaivable.?

Also concerned was J. Matt Barber, vice president of Liberty Counsel Action and associate dean at Liberty University School of Law.

?Back in February of 2010 after it became rumored that Judge Vaughn Walker is a practitioner of the homosexual lifestyle and that he has a long-term male lover, I was one of the few people to call for his recusal,? he told WND. ?With Judge Walker?s recent admission that he does in fact practice homosexuality, I?ve been proven right. His ruling on the Prop 8 case should be immediately vacated.?

Barber explained that federal law is very clear in that the code of judicial conduct demands a judge remove himself if ?the judge?s impartiality might reasonably be questioned? or when he ?has a financial ? or any other interest that could be affected substantially by the outcome of the proceeding.?

?By manufacturing from thin air a constitutional ?right? to same-sex ?marriage,? Judge Walker used his position on the bench to create for himself a new privilege that he previously did not have. It?s undeniable that he had an ?interest that could be affected substantially by the outcome of the proceeding,?? Barber said.

Walker?s 136-page ruling said, ?Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples.?

In his ruling, Walker also arrived at the following highly controversial legal findings:

  • ?Religious beliefs that gay and lesbian relationships are sinful or inferior to heterosexual relationships harm gays and lesbians.?
  • ?Rather, the exclusion exists as an artifact of a time when the genders were seen as having distinct roles in society and in marriage. That time has passed.?
  • ?The gender of a child?s parent is not a factor in a child?s adjustment.?
  • ?The evidence shows beyond any doubt that parents? genders are irrelevant to children?s developmental outcomes.?
  • ?Gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage; marriage under law is a union of equals.?
  • ?Many of the purported interests identified by proponents are nothing more than a fear or unarticulated dislike of same-sex couples.?

His decision essentially ignored a warning from California Supreme Court Justice Marvin Baxter, who dissented when his court created same-sex ?marriage? in the state.

Baxter wrote, ?The bans on incestuous and polygamous marriages are ancient and deeprooted, and, as the majority suggests, they are supported by strong considerations of social policy. Our society abhors such relationships, and the notion that our laws could not forever prohibit them seems preposterous. Yet here, the majority overturns, in abrupt fashion, an initiative statute confirming the equally deeprooted assumption that marriage is a union of partners of the opposite sex. The majority does so by relying on its own assessment of contemporary community values, and by inserting in our Constitution an expanded definition of the right to marry that contravenes express statutory law.

?Who can say that, in 10, 15 or 20 years, an activist court might not rely on the majority?s analysis to conclude, on the basis of a perceived evolution in community values, that the laws prohibiting polygamous and incestuous marriages were no longer constitutionally justified?? Baxter wrote.

Source: http://www.wnd.com/2012/02/gay-marriage-trial-videos-to-remain-sealed/

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Egypt soccer fans rush field after game, 74 dead (AP)

CAIRO ? At least 74 people were killed and hundreds injured after soccer fans rushed the field in the seaside city of Port Said Wednesday following an upset victory by the home team over Egypt's top club, setting off clashes and a stampede as riot police largely failed to intervene.

It was a bloody reminder of the deteriorating security in the Arab world's most populous country as instability continues nearly a year after former President Hosni Mubarak was swept out of power in a popular uprising.

The melee ? which followed an Egyptian league match between Al-Masry, the home team in the Mediterranean city, and Al-Ahly, based in Cairo and one of Egypt's most popular teams ? was the worst case of soccer violence in Egypt and the deadliest worldwide since 1996. One player said it was "like a war."

In Cairo, fans angered that another match between Al-Ismaili and Zamalek was halted because of the Port Said violence set fire to the bleachers at the main stadium in the Egyptian capital, authorities said. No injuries were reported, and employees said firefighters extinguished the blaze before it caused much damage.

The clashes and ensuing stampede did not appear to be directly linked to the political turmoil in Egypt, but the violence raised fresh concerns about the ability of the state police to manage crowds. Most of the hundreds of black-uniformed police with helmets and shields stood in lines and did nothing as soccer fans chased either, some wielding sharp objects and others hurling sticks and rocks.

Security officials said the ministry has issued directives for its personnel not to "engage" with civilians after recent clashes between police and protesters in November left more than 40 people dead.

The violence also underscored the role of soccer fans in Egypt's recent protest movement. Organized fans, in groups known as ultras, have played an important role in the revolution and rallies against military rule. Their anti-police songs, peppered with curses, have quickly become viral and an expression of the hatred many Egyptians feel toward security forces that were accused of much of the abuse that was widespread under Mubarak's regime.

Egypt is not immune to soccer violence. In April, the ineffectiveness of the police force also was on display when thousands of fans ran onto the field before the end of an African Champions League game between local club Zamalek and Tunisia's Club Africain. The hundreds of police on duty at Cairo International Stadium could not stop the violence then, either.

Activists scheduled rallies Thursday outside the headquarters of the Interior Ministry in Cairo to protest the inability of the police to stop the bloodshed.

Many gathered outside Al-Ahly club in Cairo, chanting slogans against military rule, and hundreds filed into Cairo's main train station to receive the injured arriving from Port Said. "We die like them, or we ensure their rights," the crowd chanted, along with slogans denouncing the military rulers.

As the train arrived, scores jumped on top of the train and raised Egyptian flags.

"They came at us with machetes and knives...they threw some of us from the fourth floor," one returning fan told the private TV station ONTV.

"Everyone was beating us. They were beating us from inside and outside, with fireworks, stones, metal bars, and some had knives, I swear," another fan told the station, which did not give their names.

In Port Said, residents marched early Thursday, denouncing the violence and saying it was a conspiracy by the military and police to cause chaos.

Army tanks and armored vehicles joined police patrolling near hospitals and morgues. Police were not to be seen in the streets after the violence and were unavailable to break up fights that followed.

The tension also spread to the nearby Suez province. About 500 protesters, including soccer fans and activists, gathered outside the main police headquarters to protest what they called police negligence.

A security official said the police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. He was speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to reporters.

The scuffles erupted when fans of Al-Masry stormed the field following a rare 3-1 win against Al-Ahly. Al-Masry supporters hurled sticks and stones as they chased players and fans from the rival team, who ran toward the exits and up the stands to escape, according to witnesses. One man told state TV he heard gunshots in the stadium, while a lawmaker from Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood said the police didn't prevent fans carrying knives from entering the stadium.

TV footage showed Al-Ahly players rushing for their locker room as fistfights broke out among the hundreds of fans swarming on to the field. Some men had to rescue a manager from the losing team as he was being beaten. Black-clothed police officers stood by, appearing overwhelmed.

The Interior Ministry said 74 people died, including one police officer, and 248 were injured, 14 of them police. A local health official initially said 1,000 people were injured and it was not clear how severely. Security forces arrested 47 people for involvement in the violence, the statement said.

State TV appealed to Egyptians to donate blood for the injured in Port Said, and the military sent two aircraft to evacuate serious cases to the capital, Cairo.

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of the military leadership that assumed power after Mubarak's ouster, welcomed Al-Ahly team players who were flown back to Cairo from Port Said on a military aircraft.

"This will not bring Egypt down," he told reporters at a military air base east of Cairo. "These incidents happen anywhere in the world. We will not let those behind it go ...This will not affect Egypt and its security."

Tantawi said Egyptians should not be silent in the face of such acts of violence. "We don't want people to sit idle after acts like these...Why are the people silent," Tantawi said. Such statements have been followed by clashes in the past.

The military declared three days of mourning starting Thursday.

Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim told state TV that 13,000 Al-Masry fans stormed the field, jumping a low fence and attacking about 1,200 Al-Ahly fans. He transferred the Port Said local security chief to a desk job as a punitive measure.

Al-Ahly goalkeeper Sharif Ikrami, who was injured in the melee, told the private station ONTV that dead and wounded were being carried into the locker room.

"There were people dying in front of us," he said. "It's over. We've all made a decision that we won't play soccer any more. How will we play soccer after 70 people died? We can't think about it."

Hesham Sheiha, a health ministry official, said most of the deaths were caused by concussions, deep head wounds and suffocation from the stampede. He said 40 people were in serious conditions and undergoing surgery.

In an interview with the team's station, Mohammed Abu Trika, a player with Al-Ahly, criticized police for standing by and not intervening in the violence.

"People here are dying and no one is doing a thing. It's like a war," he told the team TV station. "Is life this cheap?"

Egypt's state prosecutor ordered an immediate investigation into the violence, and the Egypt Football Association ordered an indefinite suspension of the league games. The parliament said it would convene an emergency session.

The two sides also traded conspiracy theories, with each side blaming the other for trying to destabilize the country.

Essam el-Erian, a Brotherhood lawmaker, said the military and police were complicit in the violence, accusing them of trying to stop critics demanding an end to state of emergency that give security forces wide-ranging powers.

"This tragedy is a result of intentional reluctance by the military and the police," he said.

The manager of the Al-Masry, Kamal Abu Ali, announced he also was resigning in protest.

"This is not about soccer. This is bigger than that. This is a plot to topple the state," he told the same station, using an often-cited allegation by the military against protesters.

Bob Bradley, the former U.S. national team coach who was hired in September as coach of Egypt's national team, was not at the stadium, U.S. Soccer Federation spokesman Michael Kammarman said.

It was the deadliest incident of soccer violence since Oct. 16, 1996, when at least 78 people died and 180 others were injured in a stampede at a stadium in Guatemala City before a World Cup qualifying match between Guatemala and Costa Rica.

The Port Said game was a face-off between two teams with a long history of fierce competition, Al-Masry, the home team, and Al-Ahly, a record 36-time winner of the Egyptian league and a six-time winner of the African Champions League.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he was "shocked and saddened" by the deaths.

"This is a black day for football. Such a catastrophic situation is unimaginable and should not happen," he said in a statement.

The Confederation of African Football, which organizes the African Cup, said a minute's silence would be held before all quarterfinals this weekend as a mark of respect for the dead.

CAF President Issa Hayatou said, "African football is in a state of mourning."

___

Associated Press writers Ben Hubbard and Maggie Michael in Cairo and Gerald Imray in Franceville, Gabon contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120202/ap_on_sp_so_ne/soc_egypt_clashes

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Thursday, February 2, 2012

Home Redecorating ? The Family Room | EXPO.com

The family room or big room is where we spend most of our leisure time when we are at home. It should at once accommodate plenty of seating so our friends and family will be comfortable hanging out with us there, and it should reflect our habits and hobbies. When considering the family room for home redecorating we should take into account how we want the room to reflect our lifestyle and help us create harmony in our lives and the lives of our family members.

Family Room Functionality
Before you decorate the family room, think about what you want to do in your family room and the best arrangement for you furniture. Is it your home theater? Do you prefer to position the large screen T.V. in the middle of the room as a central focus, with all seats facing towards it? Or do you prefer to move the T.V. off in a corner to allow plenty of room for the kids to spread out their toys and run around during the day.

Perhaps you wish to create a quiet corner for the T.V. that represents a retreat for you after you pick up the toys and put the kids to bed.

If you keep a computer in the family room, you might want to create a computer nook, or a video game nook. This allows someone to be at the computer, or playing a video game while someone else in the family chooses to watch television. You could make use of a set of headphones too so that the noise in each corner is contained under a headset.

Family Room Lighting
Lighting is important for the interior decorating of a room and the atmosphere it creates. If your family room serves as a home theater or video game room most of the time, you might like more muted lighting and heavy drapes that can close out the glaring sun.

Your home redecorating choices can include darker colors and heavier textures. If your family room is more of a playroom, or a social room for friends to gather, then you might like to adjust your family room d?cor to accommodate plenty of light and use sheer, airy curtains that let in the sun, with Venetian or wooden blinds that can be let down at night to create privacy.

Family Room Atmosphere
Decorate your family room in a style that works for your lifestyle. The atmosphere you create will be a product of the home redecorating theme you use in your family room. You can scatter it with toy building blocks or scented candles, and you have one big, sectional sofa that dominates the room or several conversational areas made up of individual recliners, and small chairs. Create a formal look with wall-to-wall carpeting, or a polished wooden floor with a luxurious, wool area rug. Create a more casual family room decor with tiled or vinyl floor strewn with braided throw rugs. Of course the age of your family members will play a large part in the flooring decision. Let your lifestyle influence ideas for interior decorating your family room. Let the decor reflect the ages of your family members, and your combined hobbies and interests. When every member of the family can find their own space in the room, it will truly live up to its name, and bring the family together.

February 2, 2012 ??admin ??No Comments
Tags:?Family, Home, Redecorating, Room???Posted?in:?Home and Family


Source: http://expokidsrd.com/2012/02/home-redecorating-the-family-room/

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Romney eyes Florida victory; Gingrich to fight on (AP)

TAMPA, Fla. ? Mitt Romney reached for a resounding victory Tuesday night in the Florida primary, biggest test so far in a Republican presidential race with Newt Gingrich that was growing steadily more negative with no quick end in sight.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul conceded the state to their two rivals.

The winner-take-all primary was worth 50 Republican National Convention delegates.

But the bigger prize was precious political momentum in the race to pick an opponent for Democratic President Barack Obama this fall. That belonged to Romney when he captured the New Hampshire primary three weeks ago, then swung stunningly to Gingrich when he countered with a South Carolina upset 11 days later.

About half of Florida primary voters said the most important factor for them was backing a candidate who can defeat Obama in November, according to early exit poll results conducted for The Associated Press and the television networks.

As in early contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, that mattered more than experience, moral character or conservative credentials.

Not surprisingly, in a state with an unemployment rate hovering around 10 percent, about two-thirds of voters said the economy was their top issue. More than 8 in 10 said they were falling behind or just keeping up. And half said that home foreclosures have been a major problem in their communities.

Gingrich swept into Florida from South Carolina, only to run headlong into a different Romney from the one he had left in his wake in South Carolina.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, shed his reluctance to attack Gingrich, the former House speaker, unleashing hard-hitting ads on television, sharpening his performance in a pair of debates and deploying surrogates to the edges of Gingrich's own campaign appearances, all in hopes of unnerving him.

Restore our Future, an outside group supporting Romney, accounted for about $8.8 million in the ad wars, and the candidate and the "super PAC" combined outspent Gingrich and Winning The Future, the organization backing him, by about $15.5 million to $3.3 million, an advantage of nearly 5-1.

Gingrich responded by assailing Romney as a man incapable of telling the truth and vowed to remain in the race until the Republican National Convention next summer. He won the endorsement of campaign dropout Herman Cain and increasingly sought the support of evangelicals and tea party advocates, a former House speaker running as the anti-establishment insurgent of the party he once helped lead.

Bombarded by harsh television advertising, some Floridians said they had soured on both candidates.

"The dirty ads really turned me off on Mitt Romney," said Dorothy Anderson, of Pinellas Park, adding she was voting for Gingrich. She said of Romney, "In fact if he gets the nomination, I probably won't vote for him."

At the same polling place, Romney supporter Curtis Dempsey expressed similar feelings but about Gingrich. "The only thing Newt Gingrich has to offer is a big mouth," he said.

Voters frequently say they are offended or appalled by negative ads. But polls show consistently that the commercials are able to sway the opinions of large numbers of voters, and they are a staple of nearly all campaigns.

Santorum had no money for television ads to back up his strong debate performances. He left the state at one point, saying he was going home to Pennsylvania to prepare his income tax returns. But he stayed longer than anticipated, because of the hospitalization of his 3-year-old daughter with pneumonia. The girl has a rare genetic disorder, Trisomy 18.

Santorum and Paul both campaigned in Colorado on Tuesday as Florida Republicans were voting. The state has caucuses on Feb 7, the same day as Minnesota.

Even before that come caucuses in Nevada, a state that Romney won when he sought the nomination in 2008 and is favored to capture again.

By contrast, both Romney and Gingrich campaigned across Florida on primary day as the polls opened.

Exuding confidence, the former Massachusetts governor said ? even though the figures said otherwise ? that he had been outspent in South Carolina.

"I needed to make sure that instead of being outgunned in terms of attacks, that I responded aggressively, and hopefully that will have served me well here," he told reporters.

Gingrich, combative as usual, said the race for the nomination won't be decided until summer, "unless Romney drops out."

More than 600,000 Floridians voted before the polls opened, either by absentee or early ballot, exceeding the figure from four years ago, and raising the possibility of a record turnout. Vote totals in the three contests to date ? Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina ? have all been records.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Nuclear Reactor Incidents Are Reminders of Need for Preparedness (ContributorNetwork)

A reactor at a Southern California nuclear power plant was shut down after a leak in a steam generator tube on Tuesday, Reuters reported. This incident came a day after WIFR reported a nuclear plant lost power and shut down in Byron, Ill., on Monday. While both incidents were determined to not be high emergency levels, they are reminders of the importance to include nuclear disaster planning in individual and family emergency plans.

* A shutdown of a nuclear power plant could potentially mean a loss of electricity service to customers.

* The most frightening hazard from a nuclear power plant accident is exposure to radiation. FEMA characterizes the most common type of radiation exposure is from a cloud of radioactive gases and particles that could form. This type of cloud could cause exposure through particles left on the ground, breathing or ingesting radioactive materials.

* FEMA characterizes the risk area around a nuclear disaster as two zones. Zone one is a 10-mile radius around the plant where an incident occurs. People within this zone could be harmed by direct exposure to radiation. Zone two is a 50-mile radius around the plant in which radioactive materials from an accident could cause contamination of crops, water supplies and livestock.

* Before a nuclear emergency, residents living near a power plant are urged to follow normal emergency planning and preparedness as they would for any other emergency such as an earthquake. Make a plan that would require evacuation, and prepare a kit full of needed supplies that include food, water, prescription meds, important paperwork and other necessities. Don't forget your pets in your plan.

* If you live near a nuclear power plant, become familiar with emergency terms used to describe an incident.

* An "unusual incident" means a problem has occurred but there is no risk that will affect residents around the plant.

* "Alert" means a problem has occurred and small amounts of radiation could leak inside the plant but still no risk to residents around the plant.

* "Site Area Emergency" means residents in the zones around the plant might hear sirens from the plant and should listen to local television and radio stations for instructions and information.

* "General Emergency" is the highest alert level. This means radiation could leak from the plant and into the surrounding areas. Sirens will sound and residents are urged to listen carefully to instructions that will be broadcast on TV and radio. You should plan to act very quickly upon instructions during this alert level.

* Be prepared to act quickly, evacuate if necessary and move as far from a radiation source as possible. During an evacuation, close all car windows and vents, and recirculate air in your vehicle.

* If you are told to remain inside, turn off all air intakes in your home -- air conditioning units, vents, fans and furnaces.

* Shield yourself and your family by going to a basement and/or placing dense material such as heavy plastic between yourself and the outside.

* If you are exposed to radiation, don't waste time -- follow decontamination procedures which include taking a thorough shower and placing exposed shoes and clothing into plastic bags which should then be sealed and put out of the way.

Tammy Lee Morris is certified as a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member and is a trained Skywarn Stormspotter through the National Weather Service. She has received interpretive training regarding the New Madrid Seismic Zone through EarthScope -- a program of the National Science Foundation. She researches and writes about earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, weather and other natural phenomena.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120201/us_ac/10914797_nuclear_reactor_incidents_are_reminders_of_need_for_preparedness

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US, UN helped Colo. man now accused of terrorism (AP)

AURORA, Colo. ? A man from Uzbekistan that the United States and the United Nations helped relocate to Colorado now faces a terrorism charge.

Jamshid Muhtorov opposed his home country's dictator following a 2005 massacre, endured a brutal detention, and saw his sister arrested on a false murder charge. The 35-year-old fled his country by night dressed as a woman, and the U.S. and the U.N. helped bring him to Aurora in 2007.

Now, he's accused of providing material support and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic Jihad Union. The violent group opposes the Uzbek government and has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.

Authorities arrested Muhtorov in Chicago on Jan. 21, the Denver Post reported Tuesday ( http://bit.ly/yHsRIF).

Federal authorities say the Islamic Jihad Union has claimed responsibility for attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan, including a March 2008 suicide attack on a U.S. base. The group is also blamed for carrying out simultaneous suicide bombings of the U.S. and Israeli embassies and a prosecutor's office in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

"It is a crime, and has been a crime for many years, to provide material support for a designated terrorist organization, the IJU," said Dean Boyd, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington. "Our job is to enforce the law."

The FBI said Muhtorov communicated with a contact with the IJU by email using code words, asking to be invited to the "wedding." He also told the contact that he was "ready for any task, even with the risk of dying," the FBI said.

Authorities said there was no evidence that Muhtorov planned any attacks within the U.S.

Uzbekistan, which borders Afghanistan to the north, has become even more crucial to the U.S. war effort now that supply routes in Pakistan are closed.

American officials had described Muhtorov as a human rights worker whose activism began while he was trying to make a living in his home city, Jizzak. He ran up against corrupt officials expecting payments, which is common in Uzbekistan, and spoke out.

The U.S. tracked his case. The 2005 Department of State "country report" on Uzbekistan said Muhtorov's sister, Dildora Muhtarova, was arrested on a murder charge and detained. Such tactics, the report said, were aimed at intimidating activists to prevent them from exposing corruption.

A State Department report obtained by The Post said Muhtorov "attempted to defend local farmers against alleged illegal land seizures."

He worked within the confines of dictator Islam Karimov's system for the Ezgulik Human Rights Society, one of two registered groups that were allowed, according to a 2006 U.S. Embassy cable that surfaced through WikiLeaks.

Muhtorov then became director of Ezgulik after previous leaders clashed. But he was frustrated by colleagues reluctant to mount public demonstrations, the cable said. He eventually joined the Free Peasants Party, which favored regime change.

During this time, he worked closely with Human Rights Watch.

Uzbekistan suppressed an uprising in the city of Andijan in 2005, near where Muhtorov worked. Uzbek authorities said 187 people were killed and blamed Islamists for stoking the violence. But witnesses and rights groups said government troops killed hundreds.

In January 2006, Muhtorov was detained with another activist. Uzbek authorities beat him and released him only after he wrote statements promising not to write Internet articles or to oppose the government, according to Human Rights Watch reports.

"His nose was broken. He was covered in blood. And the assailants told him, `This is your last warning.' ... He was scared to go back to his family home, so he went to Tashkent (the capital)," said Hugh Williamson, director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia division. "But then he came back again a few days later and was beaten up again. This time, he lost consciousness."

Muhtorov and his family resettled in Aurora, a Denver suburb, and obtained a job as a truck driver.

State records show that as many as 157 Uzbeks have been resettled in Colorado since 2005, and federal officials said the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees assisted in Muhtorov's resettlement.

Muhtorov's colleagues at the UZ Auto Trans company, where he hauled cars for dealers to destinations across the country, knew that he opposed the Uzbek regime.

"I knew him as a good guy. Praying. He never talked bad about the U.S. Maybe he was angry with the regime back in Uzbekistan," said Ishmael Abdubafour, a former truck driver with the company. "He had the long beard and stuff, but that doesn't mean anything. We see a lot of people who have the beard. He was very gentle."

___

Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_re_us/us_terrorism_arrest

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