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Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Trapped in the Snow
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Monday, October 14, 2013
Strongest Indian cyclone since 1999 nears coast
This image provided by the U.S. Naval Research Lab shows Indian Cyclone Phailin taken Friday Oct. 11, 2013 at 6:32 a.m. EDT (10:32 GMT). Officials ordered tens of thousands of coastal villagers to flee their homes Friday as a massive cyclone _ so large it filled nearly the entire Bay of Bengal _ gathered strength and headed toward India's eastern seaboard. The Indian Meteorological Department warned that Phailin was a "very severe cyclonic storm" that was expected to hit with maximum sustained winds of 210-220 kilometers (130-135 miles) per hour. Forecasters are saying Cyclone Phailin will hit the region Saturday evening. (AP Photo/Naval Research Lab)
This image provided by the U.S. Naval Research Lab shows Indian Cyclone Phailin taken Friday Oct. 11, 2013 at 6:32 a.m. EDT (10:32 GMT). Officials ordered tens of thousands of coastal villagers to flee their homes Friday as a massive cyclone _ so large it filled nearly the entire Bay of Bengal _ gathered strength and headed toward India's eastern seaboard. The Indian Meteorological Department warned that Phailin was a "very severe cyclonic storm" that was expected to hit with maximum sustained winds of 210-220 kilometers (130-135 miles) per hour. Forecasters are saying Cyclone Phailin will hit the region Saturday evening. (AP Photo/Naval Research Lab)
Indian villagers look at the Bay of Bengal in Gokhurkuda, in Ganjam district , 215 kilometers (136 miles) from the eastern Indian city of Bhubaneswar, India, Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. The Indian Meteorological Department warned that a massive cyclone Phailin was a "very severe cyclonic storm" that was expected to hit India’s eastern seaboard with maximum sustained winds of 210-220 kilometers (130-135 miles) per hour. (AP Photo/Biswaranjan Rout)
Indian fishermen try to balance their boat as they pull it out from the Bay of Bengal at Gokhurkuda in Ganjam district 215 kilometers (136 miles) away from the eastern Indian city of Bhubaneswar, India, Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. The Indian Meteorological Department warned that a massive cyclone Phailin was a "very severe cyclonic storm" that was expected to hit India’s eastern seaboard with maximum sustained winds of 210-220 kilometers (130-135 miles) per hour. (AP Photo/Biswaranjan Rout)
A young Indian boy sits on an anchored boat at the Bay of Bengal coast in Gokhurkuda in Ganjam district 215 kilometers (136 miles) away from the eastern Indian city of Bhubaneswar, India, Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. The Indian Meteorological Department warned that a massive cyclone Phailin was a "very severe cyclonic storm" that was expected to hit India’s eastern seaboard with maximum sustained winds of 210-220 kilometers (130-135 miles) per hour. (AP Photo/Biswaranjan Rout)
An Indian man holds on to his umbrella as he fishes in high tide waves at Gopalpur beach, in Ganjam district, 215 kilometers (136 miles) away from the eastern Indian city of Bhubaneswar, India, Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. The Indian Meteorological Department warned that a massive cyclone Phailin was a "very severe cyclonic storm" that was expected to hit India’s eastern seaboard with maximum sustained winds of 210-220 kilometers (130-135 miles) per hour. (AP Photo/Biswaranjan Rout)
BHUBANESHWAR, India (AP) — The strongest cyclone to threaten India in more than a decade bore down on its east coast Saturday as authorities bused and trucked tens of thousands of villagers from their mud and thatch coastal homes to government shelters inland.
Officials canceled holy day celebrations and stockpiled emergency supplies in coastal Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states, with forecasters saying Cyclone Phailin, a massive storm that nearly covers the Bay of Bengal, will hit the region Saturday evening.
The Indian Meteorological Department warned that Phailin was a "very severe cyclonic storm" that was expected to hit with maximum sustained winds of 210-220 kilometers (130-135 miles) per hour.
However, the U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii forecast maximum sustained winds of 269 kilometers (167 miles) per hour with gusts up to 315 kilometers (196 miles) per hour.
U.S. meteorologists said the storm is flirting with historic power.
"If it's not a record it's really, really close," University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy told The Associated Press. "You really don't get storms stronger than this anywhere in the world ever. This is the top of the barrel."
To compare to killer U.S. storms, McNoldy said Phailin is near the size of 2005's Hurricane Katrina, which killed 1,200 people and caused devastating flooding in New Orleans, but Phailin also has the wind power of 1992's Hurricane Andrew, which had 165 mph (265 kph) winds at landfall in Miami.
The storm shows no sign of weakening and has an impressive eye, said Ryan Maue of the private weather firm Weather Bell. He called it a "critically dangerous situation with a rare Category 5 landfall," which he said in that region has a history of being catastrophic.
Category 5 storms have winds exceeding 155 mph.
If the storm continues on its current path without weakening, it is expected to cause large-scale power and communications outages and shut down road and rail links, officials said. There would also be extensive damage to crops.
Satellite images of the storm showed its spinning tails reaching nearly 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) from the east coast of India to the west coast of Myanmar, an area roughly the size of France.
Using trucks and buses, authorities evacuated 40,000 people from 40 villages to government-run shelters, schools and buildings in five districts of Orissa state, said Surya Narayan Patra, the state revenue and disaster management minister.
Patra said officials plan to take another 100,000 people to safer areas before the cyclone hits.
"No one will be allowed to stay in mud and thatched houses in the coastal areas," he said.
The government also began evacuating 64,000 people from the low-lying areas of three vulnerable districts in neighboring Andhra Pradesh state, said state Revenue Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy.
Officials have been stockpiling emergency food supplies, and setting up shelters for people expected to flee the heavy winds and rains. The Indian air force said four transport planes and 18 helicopters were being kept ready for relief operations in the region.
Weather forecasters had been predicting waves up to 2 meters (7 feet), but warned that the storm has been gaining strength and its impact could be severe.
What makes this storm so fearsome is that there's no wind shear to weaken it and the water that is fueling it is warm and deep, McNoldy said. Those are the ingredients for a record storm.
The Bay of Bengal has been the scene of some of the deadliest storms in recent history. A 1999 Orissa cyclone of similar strength killed 10,000 people.
This storm could get as deadly, but the region Phailin is aiming at is not quite as low lying, so that's something that might lessen its death toll, said Jeff Masters, meteorology director at the private Weather Underground.
"This is as bad as it gets," said Masters, who used to fly into hurricanes. "This is a top end Category 5 cyclone. You don't get these very often."
___
Associated Press writer Seth Borenstein contributed to this report from Washington, D.C.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-10-11-AS-India-Cyclone/id-44cc10497c1b440fb0fd44ad30e46a11Similar Articles: hell on wheels
Friday, October 11, 2013
McDonald's President Was Caught Off Guard By Low-Wage, Single Mom
A video of a McDonald's worker confronting the president of the fast-food behemoth has gone viral this week, with the help of a fast-food workers' campaign aimed at raising hourly wages to $15.
In the short clip, the worker, Nancy Salgado, a Chicago single mother of two, shouts out to Jeff Stratton, president of McDonald's USA, who was standing at a podium in a ballroom giving a talk.
"It's really hard for me to feed my two kids and struggle day to day. Do you think this is fair, that I have to be making $8.25 when I have worked for McDonald's for 10 years?" Salgado shouts out from the back of the room.
Stratton's response? "I've been there 40 years."
As Salgado calls out that she needs a raise, she is escorted out of the room, and in the video you can hear a voice say, "You're going to be arrested." Later, police reportedly issued her a ticket.
In bringing attention to this video, the Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago, which is helping to build the campaign for $15-per-hour wages, has circulated a press release highlighting the disparity between McDonald's corporate profits — which totaled $5.5 billion last year — and workers' wages. According to WOCC, the median wage of cooks, cashiers and crew is $8.94 an hour.
According to an MIT living wage calculator, an adult with one child needs to make $20.86 an hour working full time in the Chicago area to afford the basics.
There's been suggestion on social media that Stratton's response was curt and insensitive. So we reached out to McDonald's to ask him if he would have responded differently to Salgado had the circumstances been different — say, if she had not barged into a private event and interrupted him.
"Yes, Jeff Stratton was caught off-guard at this church-based event," a McDonald's spokeswoman told us by email.
And why did Stratton bring up his 40 years at McDonald's? Well, it turns out "his 40-year anniversary was that very week, so it was top of mind for him," the spokeswoman said.
The company points out that Stratton first joined McDonald's back in the '70s as a restaurant crew member and has worked his way up.
McDonald's says its history is full of examples of individuals who worked their first job with the company and went on to have successful careers both within and outside of McDonald's.
As for the push from workers for higher hourly wages, McDonald's says it "does not determine wages set by our more than 3,000 U.S. franchisees," according to the company spokeswoman.
At the restaurants run by McDonald's USA — less than 10 percent of the roughly 14,000 outlets in this country — the spokeswoman explains, "we pay salaries that begin at minimum wage but range up from that figure, depending on the job and employee's experience level."
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Monday, August 5, 2013
TUIDA reports Lancaster Energy could be up and running by end of the year
by Thomaston Times
Lancaster Energy hopes to be up and running by the end of this year, the Thomaston-Upson Industrial Development Authority was told at their July meeting last week. The authority approved an amendment to the memorandum of understanding. They are looking at possibly garnering a bond from the TUIDA for up to $15 million, if alternative funding does not pan out.
The bio mass company has been a part of the community for the last two years, but ran into a few snags preventing them from opening in the old Thomaston Mills co-generation plant located off Edgewood Avenue. They use wood waste to manufacture electricity and will be producing around 16 and a half megawatts of electricity at the Thomaston plant. The company will employee around 17 people and is in the process of constructing the plant now with plans for it to open around the end of November or first of December.
Dan Rolling of Lancaster Energy stated the company has had a good experience working in Thomaston the past two years. They have been happy and pleased with the cooperation between their company and the TUIDA and have had no trouble there in finding suitable employees.
In other business, TUIDA Executive Director Kyle Fletcher told the board July has been a busy month for the office and prospect recruitment has picked up lately. Project Ski made an impromptu visit a few weeks ago and toured the Clearwater plant, however a lack of rail access determined that they were not interested in the building. Fletcher noted she will be resubmitting an application for the old Quad plant because she feels it may better suit the company?s needs.
She thanked board members Rusty Blackston, Steve Daniel and Chairman Billy Johnston for making the presentation to the company since she was out of town. Blackston told the rest of the board that during their visit the company made the comment that Thomaston was the only place of all the ones they had visited that day that seemed to be more community oriented and they were impressed by that.
Fletcher noted that she had heard the same thing and hopefully the company will be back, but she is optimistic about gaining more prospects for our area.
?After going 6-8 months without and information on prospects we?ve had a lot of activity lately. It sometimes can take years to see something through; it is a marathon, not a sprint and it is very tedious, but we are on the radar.?
In rare appearance, Hassan Nasrallah vows to ?remove? Israel
(JTA) ? In a rare public appearance, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said of Israel, ?removing it is a Lebanese national interest.?
?Israel poses a danger on all people of this region ? including Lebanon,? Nasrallah said Friday?in southern Beirut in what the World Bulletin news site said was his first public appearance since last September.
Nasrallah has lived in hiding for fear of assassination by Israel since Hezbollah fought a monthlong war with Israel in 2006.
Speaking of Palestine, he said Palestinian leaders have no right to compromise on the land.
?The Palestine which we mean is a Palestine which stretches from the [Mediterranean] sea to the [Jordan] river and it should return to its rightful owners,? Nasrallah said, the Israeli news site Ynet reported. ?No king, president, sheik, state or country has the right to give up even one clod of Palestinian land.?
His speech was delivered to an audience at an event marking al-Quds Day ? a day devoted to Jerusalem and its extraction from Israeli control that was celebrated originally in 1979 in Iran. Nasrallah usually gives speeches via television screens.
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Sunday, August 4, 2013
Coach's Corner: Pat Washington
August 4, 2013
Coach's Corner: Pat WashingtonOver the course of fall camp, PowerMizzou.com is talking to Tiger assistant coaches to get the inside scoop on each position. Today, a chat with wide receivers coach Pat Washington.
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Google takes note of Island scientist Bitners
Thirteen-year-old Mercer Island native Larissa Bitners is not your typical teenager.
Recently selected as one of the 90 finalists in the global Google Science Fair competition, the singularly gifted Bitners is already trailblazing new paths in the world of science.
Google?s online science competition invites young people from around the world to ?be curious, ask questions, and perform science experiments to answer those questions.? Last year?s winner from the 13-14 age group worked to help individuals with hearing loss enjoy a superior music experience by employing multi-frequency tactile sound.
Bitners? project involved experimenting whether a parabolic reflector could expand the range of a wireless network signal, and increase its security by directing radio waves to a particular area while blocking signals from neighboring properties. And if that sounds complicated, you?re certainly not alone.
Dubbed ?the fix-it girl? by her mother, Melinda, Bitners has had a knack for technology and science her entire life.
?She was one of those babies who took apart the remote control,? Melinda recalls. At age 7, Bitners dismantled and reassembled a transistor radio, and would later express puzzlement when discovering that her father didn?t know how to put window wipers on the family car, to her a seemingly uncomplicated task.
Tonya van Orden, her science teacher at Islander Middle School, asked her class to create projects in response to the same questions that the Google Science Fair had requested that contestants explore. However, the students weren?t required to submit their projects for actual competition.
Completed in merely a week and tested with the help of her dad, Bitners didn?t register that her project was something out of the ordinary, until van Orden approached Melinda Bitners with the suggestion that her daughter enter the project in the international competition.
?It was original,? van Orden recalls. After three years of giving out the assignment, van Orden had seen many students devise similar experiments, until Bitners handed in her project. She characterized her student?s work as clear and simple, a rare trait in science experiments these days.
?As scientists, we have to make what we do understandable to the rest of the world,? van Orden explains. Bitners did just that with her accessible and practical experiment.
She sat on the idea of submitting it to the global competition for a long time, and waited until minutes before the deadline to submit her experiment.
Her decision paid off, and Bitners was announced as one of 90 regional finalists from around the globe.
Not overly concerned with the outcome, one might find Bitners playing video games or practicing percussion for Islander Middle School?s jazz band instead of fretting over the Google Science Fair?s ultimate decision. Despite her cool and collected exterior, her mother suspects that she is excited about Google Science Fair?s recognition of her work.
?I think she is probably pretty proud of how far she?s gotten,? her mother said. And proud she should be.
Though Bitners narrowly missed making one of the top 15 spots when they were announced on June 27, Melinda explains that this development is something her daughter is not at all discouraged by, as ?she didn?t think her project was earth-changing.? Other experiments from her age group that advanced in the competition involved helping endangered species and solving the shortage crisis of rare-earth elements. However, Melinda is sure her daughter will compete in the Google Science Fair again in the future.
Having only just finished eighth grade, Larissa Bitners should be on Mercer Island?s radar as one to watch in coming years.
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Contact Mercer Island Reporter Intern Jennifer Flick at jflick@mi-reporter.com or 206-232-1215 ext. 5058.Source: http://feeds.soundpublishing.com/~r/mirlifestyles/~3/alNAvquSJd0/215845081.html
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Fitness Challenge Underway to Help Those With Multiple Sclerosis ...
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SARTELL ? Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that is hard to overcome for anyone, but with partnership of Fitness Evolution and Fit-Pro, trainers are trying to help those with MS live a healthier lifestyle with the MS Fitness Challenge.
The event was created by David Lyons, who also suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, as a way to help those with MS try and fight this disease like he did.
?My goal was to get on a body building stage as soon as I can to prove to the world that even though I had MS I could still overcome this disease,? says Lyons.
This 12 week program with pair those who have MS with a trainer and help build the muscles that the disease try?s to take away.
?We?re trying to help them create a goal and help them achieve the next level of fitness, or mobility or better living,? says Fitness Evolution Club Owner Brad Kloss.
Throughout the day Fitness Evolution, in Sartell, will hold a live auction, zumbathon, food vendors, silent auction, as well as a live concert from Country Music Singer Julie Roberts which will start at 2:00 p.m.
?I?m very blessed that I can travel around singing my music and telling people about MS?, says Roberts, who also has MS. ?And telling those with it you can come and work out, and you can live a normal life, and you can follow your dreams.?
All the proceeds from the auction will then go into funding for trainers and memberships to those participating in the MS Fitness Challenge.
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Source: http://wjon.com/?p=204036
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DA: Death of potential witness unrelated to Bulger
WOBURN, Mass. (AP) ? Cyanide-laced iced coffee led to the death of a man who'd just found out he wouldn't get to testify against reputed Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger, authorities said Friday, but linked the man's death to a business associate who owed him money, not to Bulger.
The body of 59-year-old Stephen Rakes of Quincy was found in the woods July 17, just a day after he learned he wouldn't take the witness stand against Bulger ? a man he'd openly despised and blamed for seizing control of his business to use as headquarters for Boston's Irish mob decades ago.
Bulger ran the city's feared Winter Hill Gang before fleeing in 1994 after a corrupt FBI agent tipped him off he was about to be arrested. He was captured in California two years ago and is on trial, accused of participating in 19 murders.
But authorities believe the suspect in Rakes' death, 69-year-old William Camuti, acted alone on the afternoon of July 16 when he lured Rakes to his death by arranging a meeting at a McDonald's in Waltham to pitch him a fake real estate deal, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said.
Camuti, of Sudbury, pleaded not guilty Friday after his arrest on charges including attempted murder. Authorities said the medical examiner still is awaiting toxicology test results to determine Rakes' exact cause of death, and prosecutors could file a murder charge later.
Authorities say Camuti bought two iced coffees and added two teaspoons of potassium cyanide to the one he gave to Rakes to drink. Investigators found out later that Camuti had made inquiries online about buying cyanide, Ryan said.
She said Rakes drank the poisoned drink and Camuti drove him around for hours before dumping his body in Lincoln, outside Boston between Lexington and Concord.
The prosecutor said Camuti and Rakes were business associates who had known each other for years and had done multiple deals. She said Camuti also owed Rakes a significant amount of money.
Camuti also faces charges of misleading police and unlawfully disposing of human remains. A judge ordered him held without bail until a Tuesday hearing, and his attorney didn't return a message.
Surveillance video from the federal courthouse where Bulger is being tried showed Rakes leaving July 16 after attending the trial, Ryan said. Rakes had been attending the trial every day. The prosecutor said Rakes was wearing the same clothing when found dead the next day without a wallet, identification, keys or a cellphone.
There was no sign of trauma to his body and authorities said following his autopsy that they'd have to await test results before they could say more about how he died.
Federal authorities have said Bulger forced Rakes and his former wife to sell him their South Boston liquor store in 1984.
Steve Davis, the brother of one of Bulger's alleged murder victims, called Rakes' death a sad situation. They became good friends and sat through many court hearings together after the FBI caught Bulger in California and crossed him off the agency's most-wanted list.
"The guy was full of life," Davis said of Rakes. "He was happy. He had two grandchildren who he always talked about."
__
AP writers Rodrique Ngowi and Denise Lavoie in Boston contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/da-death-potential-witness-unrelated-bulger-000836152.html
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Saturday, August 3, 2013
What's the Deal with Windows 8.1?
ABOUT SCOTT I'm a teacher. I speak all over to whoever will listen. I have written code that you've used. I've been blogging for over a decade and podcasting for about half that. I speak, code, write, empower, promote, braid, learn and listen - usually not in that order.
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Simon Cowell says, baby? Maybe!
Celebs 
7 hours ago
Mike Pont / Getty Images file
Simon Cowell reportedly is going to be a father.
Simon Cowell won't confirm that he's going to be a father by the wife of a friend, but he won't deny it outright, either.
At the Television Critics Association press tour on Thursday, where he was promoting his Fox show ?The X Factor,? journalists tried to get Cowell to address?reports that he?s about to be a first time daddy.
One reporter first broached the subject by saying, ?Congratulations on the new addition.?
?You mean the (new 'X Factor' judges)?? he said smiling. ?I haven?t read the newspapers. Am I missing something??
Judge Demi Lovato jumped in to say, ?Even if you did read the newspapers, I feel like you don?t have to answer.?
But Cowell accepted the congratulations anyway.
?Unfortunately, I have to keep this for the moment private,? Cowell said. ?It?s just one of those things. But thank you very much anyway.?
Another reporter asked Lovato and new judges Paulina Rubio and Kelly Rowland about what type of father they thought Cowell would be.
Cowell smiled broadly and said, ?That was clever!?
Even after the "X Factor" session, the acerbic judge couldn't escape the baby questions. He finally answered, "There are a lot of things I will eventually clear up when the time is right, but I really have to be sensitive because there's a lot of people's feelings involved here."
But his beaming face seemed to indicate he was a pleased man.
The reported expectant mother, Lauren Silverman, 36, is still married to real estate mogul Andrew Silverman, a close friend of Cowell?s. Reports say she will leave her husband to be with Cowell.
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/simon-cowell-says-baby-maybe-6C10825506
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Friday, August 2, 2013
STATE BASEBALL: 2A Finals Set
North Polk returned to the field tonight for the first time since winning the longest game in state tournament history. The Comets outlasted Albia in 13 innings to advance to the semifinals against Kuemper Catholic. The Knights spotted North Polk 3-runs before Kolby Hilgenberg?s sac-fly that drove in Bryce Wessel. In the third inning North Polk?s Matthew Cox swiped second base and the throw skipped into center field allowing Jacob Hadaway to score. Comets pull away late to top the Knights 6-2 and advance to the 2A State Championship.
Roland-Story jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the defending State Champion, Beckman Catholic Blazers. Alex Muhlenburg hit an RBI single to drive in Evan Johnson. Blazer responded in a big way, scoring 13-unanswered runs and ending the Norsemen season with a 13-2 win.
Beckman Catholic is the only defending champions still left in all classes.
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/52649555/ns/local_news-des_moines_ia/
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Android 4.3 Starts Hitting Galaxy Nexus Phones
Android 4.3 was finally made official, and usually updates start rolling out that very same day. It is taking a little longer for the update to hit even Nexus 4s out there, but word has it that international Galaxy Nexus users have started to receive the Android 4.3 update.
There have been early builds for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus that have been conjured up, which of course needed to happen because we know how Verizon loves to take their time when it comes to updates. So I would keep an eye on your system updates in the next couple weeks. First the newer Nexus devices will receive the update, then the good ole? Galaxy Nexus will get its update next. Let us know if you see anything.
Source: Android Community
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About the Author
David Pena
Been an Android nerd since the G1 days. I believe I hacked and flashed that phone into dust. Since then I jumped onto the G2 and now rocking the totally awesome HTC One S. I also host and produce The ManDroid Show every week and love talking Android to whoever wants to talk about it. Long Live Android!More articles by David Pena+ ?
Source: http://androidspin.com/2013/08/01/android-4-3-starts-hitting-galaxy-nexus-phones/
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SnappyCam for iOS grabs 20 full-res iPhone 5 photos per second
SnappyCam 3.0 is now available for update from the App Store. SnappyLabs' quick-snapping photo utility for iOS has been updated with full frame capture on most devices, which lets you capture series of action shots for just the right image. The developer has posted details on the web site.
SnappyCam is great choice if you want to shoot sports photos and other action-packed imagery using your iPhone's built-in camera. And while iPhone 5 users will see optimal performance, it's compatible with the iPhone 3GS or later as well as iPad 2 or later.
Let?s put this into perspective. The closest competitor to the iPhone 5 is the Samsung Galaxy S4. It?s ?best shot? camera feature shoots up to 20 pictures continuously at full-sensor resolution, with each photo 0.1333 sec apart: an average of just 7.5 photos/sec. SnappyCam is able to deliver over 250% faster continuous shooting performance on the iPhone 5, in pure software, on a hardware rig that?s 10 months older than the Galaxy S4
Using all the pixels of the iPhone 5's 8 megapixel sensor, SnappyCam can shoot up to 20 frames per second. iPhone 4S users can shoot 12 pictures per second at 8 megapixels.
Other enhancements in the new release include Instagram support, improved UI and sound effects, bug fixes and performance enhancements.
- $0.99 - Download now
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PlayStation 4 Leads The Way In Video Game Console Energy Efficiency
Anticipation mounts as the next generation of video game systems are starting to hit the market, promising more realistic graphics, better sound and a more movie-like experience.
Last year, Nintendo released the Wii U, the successor to the Wii. This fall, Sony will release the PlayStation 4, while Microsoft enters the ring with Xbox One.
But with all those shiny new gaming consoles comes a question: Which system is the most energy-efficient system on the market and waste the least amount of energy.
The good people at Enervee?have provided the answer:
With the tests being completed and the numbers crunched, its Sony who comes out the winner.?The PlayStation 4 out of a scale from 0 to 100 (100 being the top mark) received an efficiency score of 100.?Xbox One, was second at 96,?Ouya???an Android operating system micro console ? was third with a score of 78, while the?Nintendo Wii U has a ranking of 67, even below next generation systems.
Older systems??rank even lower on the energy efficiency scale: PlayStation 3 Slim 500GB has a rating of 69; the Wii finishes with 65; Xbox 360 at 63 out of 100; and last on the scale was the PlayStation 3 Slim 320 GB at 62.
While Enervee does give a very through list of environmental performance for electronics, its not the only website out their if you are looking for the greenest video game system or electronics.?Greenpeace every fall publishes their??Guide to Greener Electronics??which provides a comprehensive ranking of the best in eco-friendly gadgets.
Are video games the energy wasting vulture that many within the environmental community complain about? Or as the new generation of systems come out, starting to turn face??What do you people think?
About the Author
Adam Johnston A University of Winnipeg graduate who received a three year B.A. with a combined major in Economics and Rhetoric, Writing & Communications. Currently attempting to be a freelance social media coordinator. My eventual goal is to be a clean tech policy analyst down the road while I sharpen my skills as a renewable energy writer. Currently working on a book on clean tech and how to relate it to a broader audience. You can follow me on Twitter @adamjohnstonwpg or at www.adammjohnston.wordpress.com
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Kerry backpedals on controversial comment on Egypt
Secretary of State John Kerry meets with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in London, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)
Secretary of State John Kerry meets with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in London, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)
Secretary of State John Kerry speaks with embassy staff about same-sex spouses applying for U.S. visas, Friday, Aug. 2, 2103, at the U.S. Embassy in London. The U.S. will immediately begin considering visa applications of gay and lesbian spouses in the same manner as heterosexual couples, Kerry said on Friday. (AP Photo/Jason Reed. Pool)
LONDON (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry backed away Friday from his candid comments that seemed to signal American support for the Egyptian military coup and the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi.
The U.S. has tried hard not to appear as if it is taking sides in the crisis. But when Kerry said Thursday in Pakistan that the Egyptian military was "'restoring democracy" in leading the July 3 coup, it left the impression that the U.S. backed the military action. Kerry moved quickly to defuse the flap, saying on Friday that all parties ? the military as well as pro-Morsi demonstrators ? needed to work toward a peaceful and "'inclusive" political resolution of the crisis.
His backpedaling came after his comments were denounced by Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, which insists that the democratically elected Morsi is the legitimate leader of Egypt.
"Does Secretary Kerry accept Defense Secretary (Chuck) Hagel to step in and remove (U.S. President Barack) Obama if large protests take place in America?" a spokesman of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, Gehad el-Haddad, asked.
The flap over Kerry's remarks came at a bad time. Just as Kerry was in London trying to clarify his statement from the day before, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns was landing in Cairo to urge Egyptian leaders to avoid violence and help facilitate a political exit strategy to end the stalemate that has paralyzed Egypt and deeply divided the country.
It is unclear if Burns will meet Morsi, who has been kept out of sight since being overthrown on July 3. The military has established a civilian government and called elections for next year, but pro-Morsi protesters say they won't break up their massive street demonstrations until he is returned to power. More than 130 Morsi supporters have been killed and hundreds of others have been injured since the military coup. Last Saturday, an estimated 80 protesters, mostly Morsi supporters, were killed in clashes with security forces in one of the worst single crackdowns on a protest in Egypt's nearly three years of turbulence.
"The last thing that we want is more violence," Kerry said before meeting in London with the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates. "The temporary government has a responsibility with respect to demonstrators to give them the space to be able to demonstrate in peace. But at the same time, the demonstrators have a responsibility not to stop everything from proceeding in Egypt."
In his interview with Geo TV in Pakistan TV, Kerry said, "The military was asked to intervene by millions and millions of people, all of whom were afraid of a descendance into chaos, into violence," Kerry told the Pakistani television channel. "And the military did not take over, to the best of our judgment so, so far. To run the country, there's a civilian government. In effect, they were restoring democracy."
"By killing people on the roads?" the TV correspondent asked Kerry.
"Oh, no. That's not restoring democracy, and we're very, very concerned about, very concerned about that," Kerry said. "I've been in touch with all of the players there. And we have made it clear that that is absolutely unacceptable, it cannot happen."
State Department officials said Kerry's remarks about violence being "absolutely unacceptable" were an indication that the secretary was not favoring either side in the conflict, which Obama administration has painstakingly avoided calling a coup.
The Obama administration told lawmakers that it won't declare either way whether Egypt's government overthrow was a coup. Making a legal determination that the Egyptian army had ousted Morsi in a coup would have triggered a suspension in the $1.3 billion in military aid the U.S. provides each year. Conversely, a determination that a coup had not occurred would have flown in the face of the uncontested facts that the army removed Morsi from power and has detained him incommunicado in an undisclosed location for weeks.
Kerry also said that the U.S. was working with EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton and foreign ministers of other countries to try to find a way to help resolve the Egyptian crisis peacefully.
"The story of Egypt is not finished yet, so we have to see how it unfolds in the next days," Kerry said.
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FileMaker shutters Bento products on September 30
Bento, the consumer-oriented database offering from Apple subsidiary FileMaker, is being discontinued on September 30. Bento offered users the ability to create databases using existing or custom templates for various types of information, and integrated with OS X's Calendar and Contacts applications. The discontinuation was announced in a statement by FileMaker:
FileMaker, Inc. is increasing its focus on FileMaker Product Line software. Thanks to the ease of creating iPad and iPhone solutions, our customers' use of FileMaker on iOS is growing rapidly. Our increased focus will create an even better experience for these customers.
As part of our sharpened focus, we will stop further development of the Bento consumer products.
For Bento users, this news is certainly disappointing. Many relied on Bento for database management of projects, contacts, clients, and events. And while FileMaker Pro for desktop and the FileMaker Go apps for iPhone and iPad can fill some of the void, they're also more difficult to use for most users, lack certain features like calendar and contacts integration, and, most importantly for some, they are priced much higher than Bento. FileMaker Pro costs $299, while Bento costs $49.
As unfortunate as this is, it also makes sense that FileMaker would turn their focus to their flagship product line. FileMaker Pro hasn't seen an update since April of 2012, while the iOS apps have been idle since September.
If you're a Bento user, are you surprised by this announcement? Let us know in the comments below, and tell us what you plan to do in the wake of this decision.
Source: FileMaker
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/1F7C3j_Mzlo/story01.htm
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Microsoft Office comes to Android, but not tablets
NEW YORK (AP) -- Microsoft is bringing a pared-down version of its Office software to Android phones, but it is keeping the app off Android tablets just as it isn't making a version for iPads.
The company made the software available Wednesday through Google's online Play store. It requires a $100-a-year subscription to Office and won't be sold separately.
The new offering follows the release of an iPhone version in June and brings an Office app to phones running the most widely used operating system on new smartphones.
Like the other mobile versions, the new Android software is designed for lightweight use. For example, you can use it to view and edit an attachment sent by email. But it's not meant to create a complex spreadsheet from scratch.
Microsoft Corp. is trying to make its Office 365 subscription more compelling, without removing an advantage that tablet computers running Microsoft's Windows system have - the ability to run popular Office programs such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
"The release of this app shows that we're committed to keep providing additional value for Office 365 subscribers," the company wrote in a blog post. "Office 365 subscribers will now be able to access, view, and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents with Windows Phone, iPhone and Android phones."
Microsoft is pushing subscriptions as a way to get customers to keep paying for a product that was historically sold in a single purchase. The company touts such benefits as the ability to run the package on multiple computers and get updates for free on a regular basis. However, a subscription can be more expensive than buying the package outright for just one or two computers.
Microsoft said it designed Office Mobile for Android phones specifically for the phone's smaller screen, even though many people will prefer editing documents on a tablet's larger screen. The company has a version for iPads and Android tablets, called Office Web Apps, but that runs on a Web browser and requires a constant online connection. The new Android software is an app that gets installed on the phone and can work offline.
With a subscription, customers typically get to use Office on up to 10 devices. Five of them can be Windows or Mac computers or Windows tablets. The other five can be iPhones or Android phones. Windows phones come with Office installed and do not count toward the limit.
In failing to make a version for the iPad, the top-selling tablet computer, Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder has estimated that Microsoft is potentially ceding $1.4 billion a year in revenue, based on 10 percent of the 140 million iPad owners paying for a $100 subscription. Gownder said failure to provide it on the iPad or Android tablets gives incentives for users to explore competing offerings such as QuickOffice from Google and iWork from Apple.
Technically, iPad users can download the iPhone version, but it doesn't take advantage of the larger screen, so images and text are fuzzy when blown up. Android tablet owners won't be able to download it at all through the Play store.
The new software requires Android 4.0 or later - the Ice Cream Sandwich or Jelly Bean flavors of Google's operating system. At first, it's available only in the U.S., though Microsoft plans to expand to 117 markets with versions in more than 30 languages.
Microsoft did not announce any plans for BlackBerry phones.
---
Online:
Office: http://office.microsoft.com
Play: http://play.google.com
App on Play: http://bit.ly/132A9Xp
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India's Congress Party agrees to create new state in south
By Sanjeev Miglani
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's ruling Congress party approved on Tuesday the creation of a new southern state, a move that has revived deep political divisions and raised fears of violence in the area, home to global firms including Google.
The decision to break up Andhra Pradesh state and establish Telangana comes ahead of elections next year and critics say the ruling party is seeking to shore up its political fortunes after dragging its feet over the explosive issue for four decades.
Supporters, however, say Telangana's economic development has been neglected in favor of the richer and more powerful Andhra region, and that a new state is the only solution.
"It was not an easy decision, we appeal to people to cooperate," said Ajay Maken, a spokesman of the Congress after the party's highest decision-making body adopted a resolution calling for the establishment of a new state, igniting celebrations in parts of Andhra.
Additional federal troops were deployed ahead of the decision in the coastal parts of Andhra Pradesh where people are bitterly opposed to the breakup of the state.
The booming state capital Hyderabad, where Google, Microsoft and Dell have major sites, will remain the common capital for two states for a period of 10 years, Maken said.
Hyderabad, India's sixth largest city, was a bone of contention because it fell in the proposed new state carved out of the western part of Andhra Pradesh.
A government official said there was still a long way to go before the new state, which will have an estimated population of 40 million, became a reality. The measure has to be approved by the Andhra assembly and then the federal parliament where the Congress does not have a clear majority.
"We're swallowing the poison for our party. The decision is very unfortunate but since our leader has taken the decision we'll abide by it. We know the consequences, the problems that will follow," said Rudraraju Padma Raju, the chief whip of the Congress in the state, who has long opposed the split.
"DANGEROUS TREND"
One immediate consequence is likely to be renewed demands from other parts of India for separate states, including in the Darjeeling hills and a further breakup of the most populous Uttar Pradesh state.
Since independence in 1947, successive governments have dealt carefully with demands for new states - creating three in 2000 - while ensuring demands did not spiral enough to threaten the integrity of a nation that now has 1.2 billion people with hundreds of languages, ethnicities and castes.
India currently has 28 states while the United States with a population of 300 million has 50.
The chief minister of revolt-torn Jammu and Kashmir state said he feared the establishment of Telangana would set off more unrest.
"Telangana is a state that will be created on the basis of agitation. It's not created on the basis of any recommendation of a state reorganizing commission or something like that," said Omar Abdullah.
"I believe this is a dangerous trend because all we are doing is sending across a message that if you agitate enough, and if you agitate long enough, you will create a state."
Another fear is that leftist guerrillas who operate in parts of the proposed Telangana state will become further emboldened and take advantage as the new state comes into being.
(Additional reporting by Nigam Prusty; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/indias-congress-party-agrees-create-state-south-144007437.html
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Wednesday, July 31, 2013
AP Source: Obama to meet with Mideast negotiators
WASHINGTON (AP) ? A White House official says President Barack Obama will meet Tuesday morning with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators involved in a new round of peace talks.
The meeting was to happen at the White House as a second day of talks overseen by the State Department was getting underway.
The Washington negotiations are the result of Secretary of State John Kerry's six months of furious shuttle diplomacy. A previous Obama administration effort to restart stalled talks collapsed quickly in 2010.
The official insisted on anonymity in order to confirm the meeting before it was formally announced.
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Man threatens students, staff at Eastern Arizona College
Spirit Air flies coop at Mesa Gateway for Phoenix Sky Harbor
Tuesday, Jul 30, 7:54 am
PHOENIX -- Spirit Airlines will be relocating from Mesa Gateway to Sky Harbor, and begin service there in October, the company announced Tuesday. The Florida-based, fees-heavy carrier will stop... Read more...Source: http://www.ktar.com?nid=22&sid=1652171
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Prosecutors: Woman had soda can with green paint
WASHINGTON (AP) ? A woman charged with defacing the Washington National Cathedral had a soda can of green paint with her when she was arrested, and she has been linked to at least four other incidents of vandalism, including at the Lincoln Memorial, according to prosecutors and court documents.
Jia M. Tian, 58, appeared alongside a Mandarin translator on Tuesday in D.C. Superior Court, where a judge ordered her held pending a hearing later this week. Police had previously identified her as Jiamei Tian.
Tian was arrested Monday at the cathedral, where she is accused of using green paint to deface an organ and decorative woodwork in two separate chapels. She's been charged with destroying private property, a crime that carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
The cathedral has said the damage to its chapels, including to a gilded wood altarpiece, will cost thousands of dollars to fix.
Authorities believe the green paint vandalism was part of a pattern of similar acts. Green paint was discovered splattered onto the Lincoln Memorial early Friday morning, and symbols were later found painted in green on a statue outside the Smithsonian headquarters on the National Mall.
The woman, who has a Chinese passport, arrived in Washington a few days ago and was traveling on an expired visa, prosecutors said. Police said she had no fixed address but that she told officers she lived in Los Angeles. She refused to give her phone number, email address or home address, police said, and a language barrier complicated initial efforts to interview her.
Prosecutors asked the judge to keep Tian locked up, calling her a flight risk and a danger to the community. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Chambers said there was no way to guarantee her presence at future court appearances without jailing her.
"While that danger to the community is not violent, it is nonetheless serious," he said.
Tian was arrested inside the cathedral's Children's Chapel on Monday afternoon, shortly after the still-wet green paint was discovered there. When a police officer approached her, she walked away and placed the soda can with green paint inside one of three bags that were sitting on chairs in the chapel, documents show. She also had green paint on her clothing, shoes and body, authorities say.
She was wearing a multicolored sock on her right arm, and a similar sock was found in a trash can in a bathroom at the cathedral on top of a can of green paint, according to the documents. The bags placed in the chapel also had cans of green paint in them, police said.
Tian is also suspected of vandalizing a statue of Martin Luther on Thomas Circle in downtown Washington, which was also hit with green paint, prosecutors say.
Following her arrest, a witness contacted police and reported that the woman had been seen attending a service at a church less than a block from Thomas Circle, according to court documents. The witness reported that the woman was carrying three bags with her. After she left, the witness found that a pipe organ in the church had been splattered with white paint, urine and feces, police say.
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said Tuesday on a news talk show on NewsChannel 8 that the incidents all appear to be connected. She said Tian has "mental health issues" and it's still not clear what inspired the vandalism.
"What the motive is for the incidents, we don't really know," she said. "I guess that will all start to unfold as we go through the courts."
A lawyer for Tian argued that her client could be appropriately dealt with by immigration authorities instead of going to jail, but Chambers disagreed.
"We have her here now," he said. "We want her to answer for these alleged offenses."
Cleanup crews have been working for the past few days to remove the paint from the Lincoln Memorial. An estimated $15,000 in repair work has already begun at the Episcopal cathedral, which serves as the nation's spiritual home and has hosted state funerals and inaugural prayer services.
___
Associated Press writer Ben Nuckols contributed to this report.
___
Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at https://twitter.com/etuckerAP
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/prosecutors-woman-had-soda-green-paint-200722343.html
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Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Afghanistan War: Troops risking their lives for a chance of normality
Afghanistan War: Troops risking their lives for a chance of normality
6:00pm Monday 29th July 2013 in News 
By Tom Jennings, covering Witney and West Oxfordshire. Call me on 01865 425403
Vehicles from Abingdon?s 3 Close Support Logistic Regiment in Afghanistan
ONE of the most dangerous jobs in Afghanistan at the moment is carried out by men and women from Abingdon-based 3 Logistic Support Regiment.
The regiment, which is known as 3 Close Support Logistic Regiment (CSLR) in Afghanistan, transports equipment and supplies in convoys of up to 100 heavily-armoured and armed vehicles back and forth between Camp Bastion and outlying bases.
Between April 1 and July 1 this year alone, personnel from 3 CSLR have travelled 121,705 miles ? equivalent to around the world five times ? to deliver equipment including 1.8m litres of bottled water and enough fuel to travel to the moon and back six times.
The convoys are led by three Mastiffs or Ridgebacks and backed by another two. The vehicles feature distinctive bars to protect from rocket attacks, a bomb-proof undercarriage and vehicle-mounted heavy machine guns that are accurate up to two kilometres.
But the job is nonetheless one of the most exposed and dangerous at present because UK infantry have handed over to the Afghan National Army and are no longer carrying out so many patrols.
The men and women from 3 CSLR told of being attacked by small arms fire, woken by rockets and hearing threats of suicide bombers over the radio, all while working in 50C or more in vehicles for days.
Commander follows dad?s footsteps
Lieutenant Sarah Dunn, 24, was brought up in Bloxham and has followed her father into the Army. She now commands a troop and is one of the few women in 3 CSLR.
The former Bloxham School student said: ?My father was in the forces and I always thought it would be an exciting job. I get to travel and I get the responsibility.
?I have 30 people in the camp to command and 16 vehicles that I have to maintain. I don?t know many other 24-year-olds who can say that.?
Lt Dunn is in charge of where the vehicles are, where they are going and what they are carrying. She also manages the drop-off when the vehicles arrive at their destination.
She added: ?Everyone?s got this sort of romantic idea of going to war. I?m almost glad I can go home and say I have experienced it, but then the other side is that people have died and it?s very serious.?
She has witnessed a fatal attack while monitoring overhead cameras and has come under rocket and small arms fire herself, but she said one of the biggest dangers was maintaining focus while working for hours at a time.
She said: ?We have had people go to sleep and go off the road and when you?re on top cover for 15 hours in the heat and you?re tired, that?s when people stop looking. That?s the hardest, to motivate yourself when you?re in the same state, and to motivate everyone else.?
But Lt Dunn also faces the challenge of being one of the few women working in 3 CSLR.
She said: ?Sometimes when you are working with the interpreters they make comments to the other lads asking if I?ve got a boyfriend, and one of the local shopkeepers wanted to buy me because he wanted to get back to the UK.
?But I don?t see anything different.
No-one is trying to prove themselves out here, we are just out doing a job like everyone else ? you?re either good or you?re not.?
Sense of humour is key but safety is paramount
Corporal Darran Price, 32, commands the vehicle second from the front of 3 CSLR?s huge convoys, but he cannot wait to return home to his wife and four children in Abingdon.
He said: ?We have a laugh on operations. It is a lot of fun ? the squaddie sense of humour ? but we get the job done and don?t want to let each other down.
?We are the main guys on the ground now because the infantry are in Forward Operating Bases.
?That?s why there has been a lot less causalities recently ? the Taliban don?t want to mess with a Mastiff. We do get pot shots but the boys have got bigger answers on these.
?We have had a few contacts where they have fired at us, otherwise they?ve put in IEDs (improvised explosive devices) knowing we?re going back that way.
?In Nad Ali (a district in Helmand province) there is always small arms fire, and we have had threats of suicide IEDs.?
Cpl Price, who is originally from Blackwood in South Wales, has a wife, Nikki, and four children, Shauna, 13, Ellie, 10, Kayden, six, and Rose, one.
He said: ?It gets hard, to be honest with you. I miss them a lot, I really do. When you come out to places like this it makes you think what you have really got back home and what life really means. I have got R&R (rest and recuperation) in two weeks and I can?t wait.
?We have just had the garden done at home and I?m going to sit in the garden and play with the kids, and then take Rose to the beach for the first time.?
But Cpl Price said he planned to stay in the Army for another nine years and, when asked if he ever felt like leaving, said: ?This is what I know. I joined up at 16 and it?s all I have ever done.?
Private Daniel Beesley, 20, joined the Army to make his father proud and is now a driver and gunner for 3 CSLR in Mastiffs or Ridgebacks.
He said: ?It?s very difficult at times, especially when you?re driving these at night because the visibility is not very good.
?The roads in Afghanistan are not like what they are in the UK.?
He said that during his first operation his vehicle almost ended up in the river after the back wheel skidded on mud as he tried to pass over a gap.
He said: ?We were near on 45 degrees.
We were looking towards the river alongside us and thinking that was a bit sketchy.?
But Pte Beesley said he felt safe within the vehicle, adding: ?As long as you?re in the vehicle and in your kit and seatbelt, nine times out of 10 you will be okay.
?They might blow up the vehicle but everyone inside should be okay.
?We?ve been shot at before and the rounds hit the vehicle but they don?t penetrate it.?
He added: ?I appreciate if people haven?t been out here before they don?t know what it is like and don?t understand it, but it?s one of those things.
?We don?t live in fear, we just go about our daily business.?
Pte Beesley, who is originally from Yorkshire, joined the Army four years ago, aged 16.
Asked why he had signed up, he said: ?My old man. He was a police officer for about 15 years.
?My brother went into the police, one of my sisters went into the Navy, and my dad, ever since I was young, thought I would suit the Army. It was his call.?
Asked if he had joined to make his father proud, he said: ?Yes.?
Lance Corporal Ian Hughes, 31, dedicates his time in the UK to fostering children with his wife, but in Afghanistan he commands the third vehicle leading the 3 CSLR convoys.
He described the operations as ?chatting sessions? of talking, taking the mickey out of each other and pulling pranks such as gluing money to the footwells of the vehicles. But he said during an incident the mood would change, adding: ?Everyone gets serious then.
?For instance, last time when we went out we saw an IED planted. We went out and blew it up ? that?s what we?re trained to do.?
He said the convoys were most frequently attacked by groups of young children throwing stones.
He said: ?These guys are extremely accurate. The kid looks seven years old but he can chuck it right into the turret.
?I think they think it?s a game. It makes a loud noise and they think it?s funny as hell. If you?re sat in the wagon you are laughing as well, but if you?re on top cover you?re ducking and diving.
?But it?s better that than them not being there. If they disappear, you tense up.
?If there?s no-one around the village or it?s quiet, that?s when you know something is planned or going to happen.?
L Cpl Hughes, who is originally from South Africa, has been fostering children with his wife, Fleur Hughes, in Abingdon for the past two years.
He said: ?It?s my contribution to living in the UK, but it has stopped for six months because I?m out here and she?s doing a music therapy degree.
?It?s rewarding to look after them and it takes your mind away from?working. When I get back we are going for long-term placement so we can start building that relationship. If it goes well then adoption might become available as well.?
Padre swaps his home church pulpit for the God quad
Padre Giles Allen, 43, is attached to Saints Peter and Paul?s Church in Wantage in the UK, but in Afghanistan he is the chaplain for 3 CSLR.
He said: ?The most important thing a padre does is pray for the troops.
?We still have our priestly discipline, morning and evening prayers every day and duties in the chapel, but on a nice, quiet week we spend most of our time visiting troops.
?At the moment it seems to be mostly family issues ? there are a number of people whose wives are pregnant so they are coping with that ? but at the beginning of the tour it was bereavement, people whose grandparents or parents had died.?
Padre Allen, who has been in the Territorial Army (TA) for five years and became a regular in October, volunteered to join troops in Afghanistan.
He said: ?If you had seen me when I was 20 years old I wouldn?t have dreamed I would be sitting here in uniform. I thought I would be a parish priest for the rest of my life.
?But I sincerely believe it?s divine intervention and inspiration. We think we are living in our comfortable little world, doing what God wants us to do, and then something comes into your mind and won?t go away.
?I really do think God has taken me out of my comfort zone.?
He added: ?It is a great privilege to be here. When you are in the barracks you are with soldiers Monday to Friday, 8am until 5pm, but out here you are living with them, eating with them, working with them. You see them in the highs and the lows.
?I suppose I do feel a bit responsible for them ? I love them, I care for them.
?Like any person, they make
you worried and you despair sometimes, but you are always concerned and thinking of them.?
Padre Allen, like other padres in theatre, has a quad bike to get around Camp Bastion ? dubbed a God Quad ? and hands out sweets donated by the Wantage congregation to the troops.
?It is amazing how a simple
little sweet will put a smile on faces.?
Padre Allen lives in Didcot when he is in the UK with his wife, Fiona, and their two children, Joe, 13, and Martha, four.
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