Honestly, do those who entertain at Walmart shareholders' meetings ...

Honestly, do those who entertain at Walmart shareholders? meetings really deserve all the press coverage they receive?

Posted by Richard Drake on Sun, May 19, 2013 at 11:34 AM

Local media - especially television news, which greets each new Walmart press release as though it were manna from Heaven - has never had a particularly critical eye when it comes to the behemoth of the retail world.

Never is that adulation more in play than during the annual shareholders? meeting, when thousands of Walmart employees are trundled together to hear inspiring messages of hope and faith from those at the top of the Walmart food chain, and be entrained by various entertainers.

The pep talks from top management never fail to make it onto the news, as if somehow the folks at Walmart have said said something new, and wondrous.

But the performers? Really? Honestly?

It has always been sort of difficult to take someone like past Walmart entertainer Celine Dion seriously at the best of times, especially after the grotesque performance she gave on Larry King a few years ago, when she warbled a few lines to inspire the folks who were stuck in New Orleans because of Hurricane Katrina.

That most of them didn?t have electricity, and probably weren?t listening to her song of hope went completely over her head.

Leaving the unfortunate Ms. Dion aside, this year's shareholders? meeting will be chock-full of such entertainers - who will receive top coverage from Walmart?s handmaidens in the media.

But just imagine how much cheering might fill Bud Walton Arena should Walmart decide to follow the example of competitor Costco, and pay a starting wage of $11.50, or if the Walton family decided to take a stand to raise the minimum wage in this country.

Now, that would be worthy of front page news.

******

Quote of the Day

I never knew how soothing trees are - many trees and patches of open sunlight, and tree presences; it is almost like having another being. - D.H. Lawrence

rsdrake@cox.net

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Bloomberg: Dish offers $2 billion for LightSquared's wireless spectrum

The last few years have been a tumultuous time for LightSquared, with the company's LTE plans facing one hurdle after another that eventually led to a bankruptcy filing. It looks like at least one company is now looking to buy its most valuable asset, though, with Bloomberg reporting that Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen has put a $2 billion offer on the table for the company's wireless spectrum. That's yet to be confirmed by either party, and Bloomberg reports that the offer is a so-called stalking horse bid, which could still let others put in a higher offer of their own. As Bloomberg also notes, this all comes at the same time that Dish is looking to buy Sprint for over $25 billion, both of which would need regulatory approval before going through.

Filed under: Wireless

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Source: Bloomberg

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/20/dish-lightsquared-wireless-spectrum-offer/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Shatner's seatmate in iconic 'Twilight Zone' dies

Celebs

Randee Dawn TODAY contributor

5 hours ago

CBS via Getty Images

Christine White and William Shatner in "Nightmare At 20,000 Feet" in 1963.

Christine Lamson White may have had a career in Hollywood spanning over 20 years, but to many she'll always be known as "the woman on the plane next to William Shatner."

The actress starred alongside Shatner in the iconic "Twilight Zone" episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," in which he believes he sees a gremlin tearing up the wing of the plane.

Lamson died on April 14 at Brinton Woods Nursing Home in Washington, D.C., as her death notice in the Carroll County Times reports. She was 86.

Washington, D.C. native White was born in 1926 and acted in plays while studying English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She also earned a Masters degree in speech and drama from Catholic University. By the 1950s she had relocated to Hollywood and appeared in series including "Perry Mason," "The Loretta Young Show" and "Bonanza." According to the New York Times, she appeared in more than 50 television shows and movies during her acting career.

Eventually she left acting to return to Washington, D.C to help care for her aging mother, and wrote, produced and distributed quarterly bulletin called "The Rampart Papers."

Her obituary indicated that she "became acquainted with several celebrities" including James Dean; in a biography of the actor by Val Holley White admitted their relationship "did become romantic at times." She appeared in a 1976 dramatization of Dean's life, "James Dean" as a secretary; according to the IMDb it was her last acting credit.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/christine-white-seatmate-william-shatner-iconic-twilight-zone-dies-86-1C9989314

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Breakaway Scotland to face high saver protection costs - UK study

By William James

LONDON (Reuters) - The cost of protecting Scottish savers would prove difficult to bear if the country broke away from the rest of the UK, a study by the Treasury said on Monday.

The findings come in the latest paper from the British government on how independence would impact the country. On Sunday the Treasury said an independent Scotland would have a huge financial sector relative to its economy, leaving it vulnerable to a Cyprus-style banking crisis.

Existing schemes to provide a deposit guarantee to British savers and protect pension payouts would not cover Scotland if its voters decide to break away from the UK in a referendum due to be held next September, the Treasury said on Monday.

"Arrangements that protect UK savers from financial shocks could be difficult and expensive to maintain in an independent Scotland," the report said.

The UK currently guarantees bank deposits up to 85,000 pounds ($129,100), paid for by a levy on its financial sector. However the likely structure of the Scottish banking industry would prove less suited to such a system.

"The retail deposit market in a separate Scotland would be dominated by only two large banks and, if one of these were to fail, the costs for compensating the depositors would fall almost entirely on the one remaining bank," a Treasury statement accompanying the report said.

The Scottish National Party which controls Scotland's devolved government and is behind the independence campaign has dismissed the Treasury report and is due to issue its own study on Tuesday, highlighting the benefits of a split from Britain. ($1 = 0.6582 British pounds)

(Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/breakaway-scotland-face-high-saver-protection-costs-uk-000605832.html

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Idaho man charged in Uzbekistan terrorism plot

BOISE, Idaho (AP) ? He was a Russian-speaking truck driver in Idaho, among hundreds of Uzbekistan natives for whom the state has become a sanctuary from violence in their home country in the past decade.

But federal officials say in an indictment that Fazliddin Kurbanov also was teaching people to build bombs that would target public transportation.

It's unclear whether those alleged targets were domestic or abroad ? or even how far Kurbanov would have gone. Prosecutors said Friday only that they believe he is no longer a threat.

Kurbanov, 30, was arrested Thursday during a raid of his small apartment south of Boise's downtown.

Prosecutors charged him with felonies in Idaho and Utah after an extensive investigation into his activities late last year and this year. They allege those activities included assisting a militant group in his home, Uzbekistan, a Central Asian country with a southern border with Afghanistan.

"Given his arrest, we believe any potential threat he posed has been contained," U.S Attorney Wendy Olson said. She noted the investigation is ongoing but declined to say whether federal agents are pursuing additional arrests.

Kurbanov said little Friday during his first court appearance, where he pleaded not guilty with help from an interpreter and a federally appointed defense attorney. Kurbanov, who wore a jail jumpsuit, had dark hair and a beard that was much shorter than the one pictured in his Idaho driver's license.

Kurbanov lists Uzbek as his first language and Russian as his second in court documents. Federal officials said they will enlist the help of an interpreter again Tuesday when he appears for his detention hearing.

Until then, Kurbanov will be held in the Ada County Jail. His trial on the three counts filed in Idaho is scheduled for July 2.

Richard Rubin, Kurbanov's lawyer, declined to comment.

Uzbeks began coming to Idaho's two refugee settlement centers, in Boise and Twin Falls, in 2003, said Jan Reeves, director of the Idaho Office for Refugees. The centers connect them with services such as language classes and help finding work.

There are now about 650 Uzbeks living in Idaho, largely split between the two cities.

Reeves declined to comment on Kurbanov but said the flow of immigrants from Uzbekistan escalated around 2005, when a violent clash between protesters and the government left several hundred dead.

Kurbanov was issued a Social Security number in Idaho in 2009. He has been living in the United States legally, federal officials said, but his immigration status and his reason for being in Idaho is unclear.

Kurbanov told authorities he had a job driving trucks and listed his only assets as used cars and a small amount of cash in checking and savings accounts.

On Friday, the apartment where he is believed to have lived had a sign on the door saying "Please respect our privacy." Nobody responded to a knock. Many immigrants from numerous countries live in the apartment complex, a series of two-level buildings across from a public high school.

Olson said she has seen Internet comments blaming Idaho's Muslim community since Kurbanov's arrest, something she called inappropriate. "These charges shouldn't be seen as a reflection on that community," Olson said.

About 90 percent of Uzbeks in their home country are Muslim.

Representatives of the Islamic Center of Boise, a meeting area for the region's Muslim community, didn't immediately return a phone call Friday.

The Idaho indictment charges Kurbanov with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and possession of an unregistered explosive device.

It alleges that between August and May, he knowingly conspired with others to provide resources, including computer software and money, to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which the U.S. has identified as a terrorist organization. The group's purpose is to overthrow the government of Uzbekistan, said David B. Barlow, U.S. attorney in Utah. The alleged co-conspirators were not named.

The indictment also alleges Kurbanov provided material support to terrorists, knowing it was to be used in preparation for a plot involving the use of a weapon of mass destruction.

On Nov. 15, Kurbanov possessed a series of parts intended to be converted into a bomb, including a hollow hand grenade and aluminum powder, according to the indictment.

A separate federal grand jury in Utah charged Kurbanov with distributing information about bombs. For 10 days in January, Kurbanov taught and demonstrated how to make an "explosive, destructive device and weapon of mass destruction," the document states.

The Utah indictment, to be handled separately after the Idaho prosecution is resolved, alleges Kurbanov provided recipes for how to make improvised explosive devices and went on instructional shopping trips in Utah to help illustrate how to make the devices, Barlow said. Kurbanov also showed Internet videos on the topic, Barlow said.

Although the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan started in the 1990s with the stated aim of overthrowing the Uzbek regime and establishing an Islamic government, its goals have expanded to create a broader Islamic influence in Central Asia.

The movement's fighters have a presence in Afghanistan's northern provinces and in Pakistan's Waziristan province. U.S. and Afghan officials say al-Qaeda has been building ties with the IMU.

Last year, an Uzbek named Ulugbek Kodirov was sentenced to at least 15 years in prison in Alabama for plotting to shoot President Barack Obama. Kodirov pleaded guilty, saying he was acting for the IMU.

Two other Uzbek nationals were arrested in 2012, one in Colorado and another in Pennsylvania, on what the FBI said were related terrorism charges.

According to Idaho's courts, Kurbanov has no criminal convictions but was ticketed for speeding violations twice last year.

___

Associated Press writers Todd Dvorak in Boise, Brady McCombs in Salt Lake City and Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/idaho-man-charged-uzbekistan-terrorism-plot-133009483.html

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Bradley has 3-stroke lead after 2 rounds at Nelson

Keegan Bradley lines up his putt on the ninth green during the second round of the Byron Nelson Championship golf tournament Friday, May 17, 2013, in Irving, Texas. Bradley ended the day at 11 under par for the tournament. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Keegan Bradley lines up his putt on the ninth green during the second round of the Byron Nelson Championship golf tournament Friday, May 17, 2013, in Irving, Texas. Bradley ended the day at 11 under par for the tournament. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Keegan Bradley watches his shot off the 16th fairway during the second round of the Byron Nelson Championship golf tournament on Friday, May 17, 2013, in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, watches his shot off the first tee during the second round of the Byron Nelson Championship golf tournament Friday, May 17, 2013, in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Tom Gillis follows his shot off the fourth fairway during the second round of the Byron Nelson Championship golf tournament Friday, May 17, 2013, in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

John Huh lines up his putt on the 18th green during the second round of the Byron Nelson Championship golf tournament Friday, May 17, 2013, in Irving, Texas. Huh bogeyed the hole. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

IRVING, Texas (AP) ? The last thing Keegan Bradley wanted to do at the 18th hole with a cozy lead was flirt with the water on the left.

Bradley's drive on his final hole Friday was nowhere close to getting wet. He instead went well right under trees while bogeying No. 18 for the second day in a row, this time closing a 1-under 69 Friday that gave him a three-stroke lead after two rounds.

"I'm going to hit good ones on Saturday and Sunday. I'm due, I don't know when the last time is I hit the fairway," Bradley said. "It's just a matter of commitment. ... For me, I got to take it a little over the edge of the water. So, it's difficult because you know you have that bailout and I got a four-shot lead, so the last thing I wanted to do was plop it in the water."

Bradley bogeyed Nos. 1 and 18 again, just as he did during an opening 60 that set the TPC Four Seasons course record when his only bogeys came in the middle of that round.

In between the bogeys Friday, in tougher conditions, Bradley had another bogey at No. 6, four birdies and several nice par-savers. There was a two-putt from 35 feet after driving into the trees at No. 14 and a blast to 4 feet of the hole from a greenside bunker at No. 15.

"I'm almost more proud of this round than (Thursday) because I didn't feel comfortable all day," Bradley said. "I don't know what it was, I can't put my finger on it, but, you know, I bogeyed the first hole. I was a little uncomfortable and then I settled in and hit some really good shots."

Bradley's 11-under 129 is the lowest 36-hole total at the Nelson since 2001.He got his first PGA Tour victory as a rookie there two years ago, then followed that by winning the PGA Championship later that year and the World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational last season.

Tom Gillis, who shot 63 in the first group of the day off the No. 10 tee, and Sang-Moon Bae (66), the 26-year-old South Korean who has 11 international victories but none on the PGA Tour, were tied for second place.

A stroke further back were 2012 PGA Tour rookie of the year John Huh (64), Ryan Palmer (68) and 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel (70). Schwartzel had an opening 63 and was the closest to Bradley after the first round.

"It was a bit up and down out there," said Schwartzel, who had three birdies and three bogeys. "Bit of a frustrating day, but I suppose it's the mix."

Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old amateur from China, missed the cut with rounds of 70 and 77.

After driving into the rough and then hitting into two bunkers for a double-bogey 6 at No. 12, his third hole Friday, Guan had a 19-foot birdie putt on the following par 3. He then had five consecutive bogeys.

Guan last month made the cut at the Masters and then again in New Orleans, becoming the youngest player to make the cut on the PGA Tour. He said he "probably" would stay in the United States to play more golf, but wasn't specific about where or confirm if he would play in a U.S. Open sectional qualifier June 3.

Defending Nelson champion Jason Dufner, playing with good friend Bradley, had his second consecutive 70 to join 83 players making the cut of even par.

Gillis got rolling with three consecutive birdies, starting with a 13-foot putt at No. 12 before burying a 32-footer on the 180-yard par 3 right after that. His only bogey came at his closing hole, when he three-putted from 12 1/2 feet at the 427-yard ninth hole.

He had played an afternoon round Thursday, when 13 players shot 66 or better in the morning and the only one in the afternoon was Marc Leishman with a 66.

"It was easier, I think the wind was down and I was hoping that we would get a fair shot like they had (Thursday) morning just to see what it would be like," Gillis said. "Definitely, I thought it played better than in the afternoon."

Two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton matched Gillis for the best round Friday, his 63 a nine-stroke improvement from the opening round to put him in a tie for 13th.

Gillis had missed his last five cuts with 12 straight rounds without breaking 70 before his opening 1-under 69 even with bogeys on three of his last four holes.

Asked about what was different this week, Gillis said he was more relaxed after reuniting with his coach.

"Tried to do some things on my own and kind of got lost," Gillis said before explaining their separation. "We had disagreements on some things. ... You talk things out, work things out. People change. I think he was right all along, to be honest with you."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-05-18-GLF-Byron-Nelson-Championship/id-7a1d23cf911345b5835e86af52e01457

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Obama taps his point man on sequester to head IRS

President Barack Obama on Thursday appointed Danny Werfel, an official with the Office of Management and Budget, as acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. Werfel replaces Steven Miller, the acting commissioner forced to resign Wednesday over the IRS having targeted conservative groups for special scrutiny.

Werfel, whose appointment will be effective May 22, "will lead efforts to ensure the IRS implements new safeguards to restore public trust and administers the tax code with fairness and integrity," the White House said in a statement. He will serve through the end of the fiscal year.

?Throughout his career working in both Democratic and Republican administrations, Danny has proven an effective leader who serves with professionalism, integrity and skill," Obama added in the statement. "The American people deserve to have the utmost confidence and trust in their government, and as we work to get to the bottom of what happened and restore confidence in the IRS, Danny has the experience and management ability necessary to lead the agency at this important time."

Werfel has been serving as the administration's point-person on the sequester.

Obama announced Wednesday night that Miller was asked to resign following the revelations that IRS employees targeted conservative-sounding groups applying for tax-exempt status. And the president added at a press conference earlier on Thursday that a replacement was imminent.

"We will be putting in new leadership that will be able to make sure that?following up on the IG audit?that we gather up all the facts, that we hold accountable those who have taken these outrageous actions," Obama said at a Rose Garden press conference with the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "As I said last night, it is just simply unacceptable for there to even be a hint of partisanship or ideology when it comes to the application of our tax laws."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-choose-omb-official-danny-werfel-head-irs-191121420.html

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ENTER TO WIN: WiiU, Game, and $100 Snapfish Card From Bravo's ...

ENTER TO WIN: WiiU, Game, and $100 Snapfish Card From Bravo?s #RHONJFam Photo Contest

Posted on May 16, 2013 at 11:00 AM

Source: http://imnotobsessed.com/2013/05/16/enter-win-wiiu-game-100-snapfish-card-bravos-rhonjfam-photo-contest/

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Mozilla finalizes Firefox OS Simulator 3.0 for mass consumption

If you've yet to dabble around with Firefox OS, today would be a good opportunity to remedy that, because Mozilla has released the final version of Firefox OS Simulator 3.0. Building off of the preview release from mid-March, this version has been slimmed down with a smaller download size, faster startup time and plenty of bug fixes. The finalized release also contains newer versions of Firefox OS and the Gaia UI, and best of all, it's really easy to install -- merely add the extension within Firefox and you're off to the races. As a hint, you can switch between the four primary home screens by clicking and dragging, and from there, you'll realize there's plenty to play with. Think of it as the poor man's version of buying a new phone.

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Source: Mozilla, Firefox OS Simulator (Firefox Add-ons)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/KF7MCfVhgNI/

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Vega rocket poised for second launch

3 May 2013 Last updated at 07:10 ET By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News

Europe's new small satellite launcher, Vega, is about to make only its second outing from the Kourou spaceport.

Lift-off from French Guiana is scheduled for 23:06 local time on Friday (02:06 GMT, Saturday).

The mission is part of series planned by the European Space Agency (Esa) to demonstrate the rocket's capabilities.

Vega will loft the Proba-V satellite, which will collect data on land cover and vegetation changes over the entire globe every couple of days.

It will also drop off two secondary "passengers" - an Earth observation spacecraft for Vietnam and a "nanosatellite" built by students in Estonia.

"Esa continues to offer European states easy access to space. Last time, we had the first Polish satellite launched into orbit," said Antonio Fabrizi, who is the director of launchers at the European Space Agency. "This time it will be the case for Estonia to have a satellite in orbit."

Telemetry fix

To get the three satellites into their correct orbits, Vega will have to initiate a number of burns of its Avum fourth-stage.

Esa believes this flexibility of handling multiple missions at once will prove attractive to future commercial customers, not least because sharing a rocket ride helps to constrain costs for all the payloads onboard.

The agency's member states, together with their industries, are investing about a billion euros in the introduction of Vega.

The maiden outing in February last year was all but flawless, but some changes have been made for this second launch.

Engineers have written new flight software for the rocket. They have also had an additional ground station built in the north of French Guiana to improve the reception of telemetry sent down from the vehicle. Drop-out was experienced for a short period during the first launch.

"There are no modifications on the rocket design that resulted from the first flight," explained Stefano Bianchi, Esa's Vega programme manager.

"The only point we noticed during the first flight was that we had a problem with the link between the launcher and the ground during the operation of the second stage and the start of the third stage. It was a temporary shielding due the physical effect of the [rocket] plume, which has a high aluminium content."

Debris limitation

The 30m-tall Vega comprises four stages.

The first three burn a solid fuel. Its fourth and final stage uses liquid propellants.

It is the re-startable capability of this fourth segment that allows Vega not only to put several spacecraft in different orbits, but enables the rocket segment also to bring itself out of the sky at the end of the mission.

This ensures Vega does not add to the growing population of redundant objects that now litter the space environment.

Friday's launch is part of what Esa calls the Vega Research and Technology Accompaniment (Verta) programme - a series of flights designed to test all the new systems and move the rocket towards full commercial service.

VNREDSat-1, which is being launched for the Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology, represents the first fee-paying payload on Vega.

The spacecraft will return images of the Earth at a best resolution of 2.5m for environmental monitoring purposes in the Asian country.

Flight rate

The main payload, Proba-V, is an Esa mission. It carries a vegetation imager that will provide continuity of data for the researchers who have been using the French Spot 4 and 5 satellites. The Proba instrument is smaller than its predecessors.

"For scientists, it's very important to have continuity and long time-series, and to carry on beyond Spot 5's vegetation observations. But for the requirements of our Proba missions, there has to be some additional performance," said Frederic Teston, Esa's Proba programme manager.

As part of Proba's aim to push satellite equipment in new directions, the 140kg platform will demonstrate a number of technologies that are likely to fly on future missions. These include space radiation monitors, fibre-optic wiring, and an instrument to track aircraft from orbit.

Vega is now one of three rockets launching out of French Guiana. The South American country already hosts Europe's workhorse heavy-lift vehicle, Ariane-5, and the medium-class Russian-built Soyuz rocket.

The Kourou spaceport is managed by Arianespace. Speaking about Vega's potential to win business on the international launch market, Louis Laurent, a senior vice president with the company, said: "The core of this market is Earth observation, but we have also opportunities in telecommunications and science.

"Our target, and we think it is feasible, is to increase the launch rate of Vega up to three launches per year."

• Vega lifts off from a refurbished pad formerly used by the Ariane 1
• Its four stages and satellite payload are assembled on the launch site
• Satellites will weigh from a few 10s of kg up to a maximum of 2,500kg
• The "reference mission" is a 1.5t satellite in a 700km-high polar orbit

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22386621#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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