'DWTS' pros question impact of voting snafu

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Michael Maloney TODAY contributor

18 hours ago

Traditionally, the celebrities and pros from "Dancing With the Stars" do interviews immediately after the finale. But runner-up pro Val Chmerkovskiy left the studio Tuesday night right after the live broadcast, passing on doing any post-show talks with the media.

The official word from ABC was that Chmerkovskiy had to go home and pack for his overnight flight to New York City, where he, other finalists and champions Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough were expected to do a round of television interviews. Pickler, Hough and the others were on hand after the show.

Still, reporters in the post-show press line were left to wonder if Chmerkovskiy was avoiding being asked to speculate on whether or not he and Zendaya could have been the victors on Tuesday, had the usual online voting option at ABC.com worked after Monday?s performance show.

?It?s really unfortunate,? pro Sharna Burgess, former partner of Andy Dick, told TODAY.com. ?That?s how a lot of international people vote. That changes things quite a bit.?

Burgess noted that younger viewers (who are arguably more likely in the fan demographic of Disney star Zendaya) tend to vote using the Web.

?Kids are Internet savvy, and they don?t call in or text,? Burgess mused. ?Did it play on the results? Of course ? but whether it affected (the final result) I don?t know.?

?It?s a little sad,? said Karina Smirnoff, who danced alongside finalist Jacoby Jones. ?God works in mysterious ways. We can?t control that. We?ll let the Lord take care of that. All we can control is what we put out on the dance floor."

?It is what it is,? said Olympian Aly Raisman, who, along with pro partner Mark Ballas, came in fourth place. ?I?m so happy for Kellie and Derek. The most important thing for me was that I had fun. I got fourth, and that?s okay.?

None of this is to say that Pickler and Hough didn?t earn their win. In fact, many felt that their victory was a done deal after the pair performed their emotion-packed freestyle routine on Monday, arguably one of the top showstoppers in "Dancing" history. The routine not only earned the duo a perfect score of 30, but fans also selected it as the finale encore dance.

?(Winning) all depends on the freestyle,? Cheryl Burke, a two-time champion, explained. ?I've experienced losing the competition because of my freestyle, and I've experienced winning it because of the freestyle. It doesn?t matter what you?ve done in the last nine weeks. It?s all about your final week.?

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/dancing-pros-question-impact-sad-unfortunate-voting-snafu-6C10019239

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Pinpointing how nature's benefits link to human well-being

May 22, 2013 ? What people take from nature -- water, food, timber, inspiration, relaxation -- are so abundant, it seems self-evident. Until you try to measure how and to what extent they contribute to humans.

Scientists at Michigan State University's Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, in two parallel papers published in this week's journal PLOS ONE, develop a new integrated approach to measure human dependence on ecosystem services and human well-being so as to promote the understanding of the linkages between them -- an important step toward improved understanding, monitoring and management of coupled human and natural systems.

"Climate change, energy and food insecurity, biodiversity loss and water shortages all have raised the stakes," said Jianguo "Jack" Liu, Rachel Carson Chair in Sustainability and CSIS director. "If we can't quantify the complex relationships between ecosystem services and human well-being, both ecosystems and humans will suffer and will not be sustainable."

Wu Yang, a CSIS doctoral student, created two new index systems for measuring human dependence on ecosystem services and human well-being from ecosystem services. The trick, he said, was to come up with ways to represent the benefits people gained from these resources, as well as any socioeconomic benefits that are not gained specifically from nature. On the other hand, it was to design a reliable instrument to quantify different components of human well-being that could be linked and integrated with the index of dependence on ecosystem services in models.

"If you don't understand the linkages, you're not going to be able to sustain the flow of those benefits to human society," Yang said. "Thus, we've developed and validated our new methods. We made them as general as possible so they can be applied to many other coupled human and natural systems across the globe."

China's Wolong Nature Reserve served as an excellent laboratory to study coupled human and natural systems. The reserve was particularly suited for testing the new methods because it was close to the epicenter of a devastating earthquake in 2008, which dramatically changed local households' dependence on ecosystem services and human well-being in a short time. Because CSIS scientists had studied the area for almost two decades, they had rich long-term data and local knowledge to evaluate the relationships between people and ecosystem services.

Additional researchers contributing to the papers include Liu; Thomas Dietz, MSU professor of environmental science and policy, sociology, and animal studies; Wei Liu, former CSIS doctoral student now a postdoctoral fellow at IIASA in Laxenburg, Austria; Junyan Luo, CSIS research associate; Daniel Kramer, MSU associate professor in fisheries and wildlife and James Madison College; Xiaodong Chen, former CSIS doctoral student now on faculty at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, NASA, MSU AgBioResearch, MSU Graduate Office, and the MSU Environmental Science and Policy Program.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/y_LFFTwrwME/130522180317.htm

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Agent smartwatch launches with Kickstarter campaign, promises 'unparalleled battery life'

There are few gadgets more associated with crowdfunding than smartwatches, due largely to the millions raised by Pebble. Now, you can add one more competing for your attention (and your backing). A Kickstarter campaign for the Agent smartwatch kicked off today, promising to deliver a device with better battery life than its competitors and a developer-friendly environment to attract some all-important apps (it's using the .NET Micro Framework, with apps able to be written in in C# using Visual Studio 2012).

As for the watch itself, it packs a 1.28-inch memory display with anti-glare glass, an ARM Cortex-M4 processor (which promises to help on the power-consumption front), Qi wireless charging, motion and light sensors, and a water-resistent design with replaceable wrist straps. If all goes as planned, the company intends to begin full production of the watch in December of this year, with the final MSRP running $249 (or $299 including a Qi charger). Some of the Kickstarter options will get you one for less than that, although many of those have already been claimed.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/H4b2GD26YcE/

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ZAGG introduces a pair of new iPad Mini keyboards with backlit keys

Accessory maker ZAGG has introduced a pair of keyboard covers for the iPad Mini that work great in low light, as both come with backlit keys. A physical keyboard is a great accessory to have for anyone who does anything constituting work on their iPad, and these new options from ZAGG look promising.

The ZAGGkeys Cover claims to be the thinnest iPad keyboard on the market, coming in at just 6.3mm. Coming with a 'unique hinge' that allows the iPad to be positioned at virtually any viewing angle, as well as being reversible for a kickstand like effect for viewing. The backlit keys come with 7 different color options and 3 different lighting levels, and the cover boasts battery time of 3 whole months. And, as is the norm for iPad cases, it's magnetic so it snaps shut over your iPad Mini's display. Retail price for the ZAGGkeys cover is set to be $99.99 and will be available in silver or black.

The ZAGGkeys Folio takes the same ideas as the Cover, and turns it into a full body protecting case. It features the same hinge design, colors for the backlight on the keys, and it too will carry you through 3 months on a full battery charge. The price is also the same, at $99.99.

Both are expected to be available sometime during the summer, though no indication exactly when. If you've been looking for a great keyboard for your iPad Mini, would you be considering picking one of these up?

Source: ZAGG (Businesswire)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/VpUVgosXHG0/story01.htm

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Pentagon seeks $450M for Guantanamo

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Pentagon is asking Congress for more than $450 million for maintaining and upgrading the Guantanamo Bay prison that President Barack Obama wants to close.

New details on the administration's budget request emerged on Tuesday and underscored the contradiction of the president waging a political fight to shutter the facility while the military calculates the financial requirements to keep the installation operating.

The budget request for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 calls for $79 million for detention operations, the same as the current year, and $20.5 million for the office of military commissions, an increase over the current amount of $12.6 million. The request also includes $40 million for a fiber optic cable and $99 million for operation and maintenance.

The Pentagon also wants $200 million for military construction to upgrade temporary facilities. That work could take eight to 10 years as the military has to transport workers to the island, rely on limited housing and fly in building material.

The facility at the U.S. naval base in Cuba currently holds 166 prisoners, and hunger strikes by 100 of them over their indefinite detention and prison conditions prompted Obama to renew his effort to close Guantanamo. The president is expected to discuss the future of the facility in a speech on counterterrorism on Thursday.

"Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe," the president said at a White House news conference last month. "It is expensive. It is inefficient. It hurts us in terms of our international standing. It lessens cooperation with our allies on counterterrorism efforts. It is a recruitment tool for extremists. It needs to be closed."

Since his inauguration in January 2009, Obama has pushed for shutting the prison, signing an executive order for closure during his first week in office. He has faced resistance in Congress with Republicans and some Democrats repeatedly blocking efforts to transfer terror suspects to the United States.

The law that Congress passed and Obama signed in March to keep the government running includes a longstanding provision that prohibits any money for the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the United States or its territories. It also bars spending to overhaul any U.S. facility in the U.S. to house detainees.

That makes it essentially illegal for the government to transfer the men it wants to continue holding, including five who were charged before a military tribunal with orchestrating the Sept. 11 attacks.

Lawmakers have cited statistics on terror suspects striking again and argued that Obama has failed to produce a viable alternative to Guantanamo.

Some members of Congress counter that U.S. maximum security prisons currently hold convicted terrorists and can handle such suspects. Among those in U.S. prisons is Zacarias Moussaoui, who planned the Sept. 11 attacks.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., said he favors closing Guantanamo for several reasons, including the expense. Money in a time of deficits could be a factor for other lawmakers, including fiscal conservatives in Congress.

Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Obama on Tuesday offering his help to get the facility closed.

Until it is, Smith wrote, "it will continue to symbolize an unjust attempt to avoid the rule of law and to undermine the United States' moral standing in defending its values and protecting human rights."

Smith said al-Qaida continues to use Guantanamo to rally violent extremists to its cause.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pentagon-wants-450m-guantanamo-prison-221620893.html

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Stephen King's decision to skip the e-book format gets renewed attention

Stephen King said his new novel, 'Joyland,' will be released in paper format only. 'Let people ... go to an actual bookstore,' said King.

By Molly Driscoll,?Staff Writer / May 20, 2013

Stephen King's new novel 'Joyland' centers on a teenage carnival worker who learns about a never-solved murder case.

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Legendary author Stephen King?s decision not to released his new novel ?Joyland? in e-book format is getting renewed attention as the book's June 4 publication date draws near.

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?I have no plans for a digital version," King told the Wall Street Journal about his "Joyland." "Maybe at some point, but in the meantime, let people stir their sticks and go to an actual bookstore rather than a digital one.?

King has already made a name for himself as a maverick where e-books are concerned. In 2000 he made headlines when he released a shorter work titled ?Riding the Bullet? in e-book format only, making "Riding the Bullet" the world's first mass-market electronic book.

?Joyland? follows a 1970s college student who is employed at a carnival in North Carolina one summer and finds out about a murder that occurred several years ago and was never solved.

The book?s tagline on the front cover, ?Who dares enter the funhouse of fear?,? is reminiscent of some of King?s early horror works.

?Joyland? is being published by Titan Books imprint Hard Case Crime.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/pQNESZGRV-s/Stephen-King-s-decision-to-skip-the-e-book-format-gets-renewed-attention

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Maldives Green Fund to merge ?scattered? climate finance | Minivan ...

Transparency Maldives has called for stronger anti-corruption climate finance safeguards, following the government?s declaration it would establish a ?green fund? that would merge all climate change, conservation, and sustainable development project trust-funds.

President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik?s cabinet proposed a Maldives ?Green Fund? be established, which would merge all the currently established trust funds in accordance with the government?s Biosphere Reserve sustainable development policy.

The purpose for merging the funds would be to enable cost reductions and strengthen operational efficiency for foreign investments for waste management, water management and renewable energy projects.

Shortly following this April 30 announcement, Transparency Maldives called for ?stronger anti-corruption safeguards in climate finance? as part of the civil society recommendations presented to the Minister of Environment and Energy Dr Mariyam Shakeela during the ?NGO Forum on Environment and Sustainable Development 2013? held May 5.

During the NGO forum, Transparency Maldives Chairperson Mohamed Rasheed Bari called on the government to strengthen governance mechanisms by including stronger standards of transparency, accountability and integrity.

Currently, climate funds are ?scattered? because there is no consolidated national governance mechanism with a proper internationally governed governance structure in the Maldives, Transparency Maldives Climate Governance Senior Project Manager Azim Zahir told Minivan News today (May 19).

?In principle establishing a ?green fund? to consolidate climate change mitigation and adaptation money is ?ok? as long as it adheres to international best practices and good governance standards,? said Zahir.

The Environment Ministry had not responded to inquiries at time of press.

No overarching climate policy

?The government lacks an overarching climate change policy,? a civil society source familiar with the challenges facing climate governance in the Maldives, told Minivan News. ?There are no specific goals, which has resulted in project-based, ad hoc and climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives.?

The source explained that conflicting ministerial mandates and unclear rules have created redundancies and left civil servants ?confused?.

?The root cause of the problem is administrative ? the lack of clear mandates between who is doing what,? the source said. ?There are also ministerial rivalries regarding certain projects because clear mandates are lacking.?

?I find it strange the Ministry of Environment does not have a climate change department, considering they are the people in charge of the entire amount of funds,? the source added.

?One person is in charge of massive [amounts] of funds. There is a lack of human resources within the Environment Ministry. Only a couple of people have dominated [climate change projects] since the 1990?s,? claimed the source.

Some people within the ministry working on foreign aid projects write themselves in as project staff as well to in order supplement their ?really low? monthly government salaries of MVR 6000 to MVR 8000 (US$ 389 to US$ 519), alleged the source.

?The same people work on each project, they don?t have new people,? the source claimed.

?These senior civil servants say the Environment Ministry lacks capacity and young people with knowledge and technical skills, however they are not providing training and opportunities [to the newer civil servants].

?They have a complete monopoly on knowledge? which is not being properly diffused, the source added.

Politics and bureaucracy

After the Foreign Ministry has signed a bilateral agreement the funds are transferred to the Finance Ministry, which then allocates the money to the applicable ministry or government agency, according to the source.

Most climate projects were handled under the Ministry of Housing and Environment during former President Mohamed Nasheed?s administration, the source explained. Additionally, the President?s Office also undertook many climate change initiatives and established the Presidential Advisory Council on Climate Change in 2009.

?The council still exists on paper and while some people within the President?s Office said the council members have been changed [following the controversial transfer of power February 7, 2012], no one has been informed if they have been fired. They have no idea what?s going on,? alleged the source.

Additionally, the National Planning Council (NPC) ? chaired by the president and consisting of various ministers and civil society representatives ? was formed in February 2009 to coordinate equitable sustainable development nationwide.

Currently the NPC website states: ?Due to the change of the Government , the work of the National Planning Council is currently under reform. Therefore all proposals and issues submitted to Department of National Planning/ National Planning Council is on hold for the time being.?

Under President Waheed?s government the Ministry of Housing and Environment was split to form two new entities, the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure as well as Energy and Environment.

Due to the these changes and ongoing government instability ?There has been a significant change in the process of how the project [cycle] works,? explained the source.

?For various political reasons ? and the delicate nature of politics since February 2012 ? climate?change funds have not been consolidated,? the source continued. ?It takes a lot of work to channel climate funds. Even under Nasheed?s previous administration there were the same problems.?

An additional reason Waheed?s administration ?differs? from Nasheed?s is the current government ?has not been ?very keen? on cooperating with civil society,? alleged the source.

?Previously they behaved really unprofessionally toward certain NGOs, however since the latter half of 2012, the government has started to try and engage NGOs and civil society ? maybe to increase the administration?s legitimacy,? the source continued.

?A positive is the Environment Ministry under Waheed?s administration has been very active. They actually try to do things,? the source noted.

?However, the government consults civil society stakeholders after they?ve already decided everything. They invite NGOs to listen to their opinions, but do not seek their input during the project planning phase,? the source added.

?Ultimately, most [climate finance] problems apply to both administrations, under Nasheed and Waheed,? the source added.

Existing trust funds

?There are three umbrellas ? the Maldives Environmental Management Project (MEMP), the Climate Change Trust Fund (CCTF), the Sustainable Renewable Energy Project (SREP) ? under each there are different components,? Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environment and Social Safeguards Coordinator Ibrahim Mohamed told Minivan News earlier this month.

?The idea is that these projects be developed in such a way that the entire nation becomes a biosphere reserve, that?s the overall goal,? he added.

The MEMP umbrella is a US$ 13.88 million World Bank loan, approved in 2008 and set to close in 2014.

?The MEMP is a soft loan in the sense the interest is very less, and this project also has several components,? said Mohamed.

?Only one component is solid waste management, focused in Ari Atoll. Other areas include environmental monitoring, training and capacity building, and a bachelor of environmental science was established at the Maldives National University (MNU),? he continued.

?There is also a renewable energy component to install solar roofing of public buildings on Thinadhoo [Island in Huvadhoo Atoll], so at least 25 percent of their energy will come from solar. That component also has awareness and training on energy efficiency and conservation of energy.

The US$ 9.5 million CCTF picks up where MEMP left off, according to Mohamed.

?Under the CCTF umbrella we have three components: clean energy for climate mitigation, wetland conservation and coral reef monitoring, as well as solid waste management,? Mohamed explained.

?The World Bank is managing the donor money from the CCTF. They don?t finance directly to the government, because they want it to be managed by a reliable, transparent, international fiduciary system.

?The CCTF idea is that the project(s) we develop becomes an exemplary example for other small island states,? he added.

The CCTF was established in 2010 after the signing of an MOU between the Maldives government, the World Bank Group and the European Union with the aim of targeting solid waste management, capacity building for environmental management, and technical assistance for monitoring and managing key natural assets.

The US$138 million SREP was established in 2012 to generate 16 megawatts of renewable energy on 50 islands in the next five years.

The SREP scheme was directly related to the Scaling-up Renewable Energy Program (SREP) originally planned to be submitted to the World Bank in February 2012, but was not due to the political upheaval that resulted from Nasheed?s controversial resignation February 7, 2012.

Additionally, the Maldives has received Global Environment Facility (GEF) grants totaling US$14,443,426 ? that leveraged US$35,176,820 in co-financing resources ? for 10 national projects, four regional projects, and eight small grants. The project areas focus on climate change, biodiversity, international waters, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants, and the ozone layer.

The GEF is an independently operating financial organisation that supports national sustainable development initiatives and addresses global environmental issues by working in partnership with the United Nations, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Asian Development Bank (ADB) as well as civil society organisations and the private sector.

The GEF ?unites? 183 countries with these actors and claims to be the largest public funder of projects to improve the global environment.

?The EU has suggested that the Maldives? government look at one atoll with the potential for populations to move and to live and do more projects there ? such as waste management, clean energy, protection, preservation, adaptation ? all things in one big area, so that these things will be more visible,? said Mohamed.

?If all the components go into one atoll they will become more climate resilient,? he added.

Source: http://minivannews.com/politics/maldives-green-fund-to-merge-scattered-climate-finance-58141

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