Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/251232717?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Friday, September 28, 2012
Thursday, September 27, 2012
State Duma weighs law protecting religious sentiment ? RT
A worship cross, dedicated to the memory of victims of political repressions in Arkhangelsk, cut down by unidentified vandals. (RIA Novosti)
As many countries face public unrest over alleged insults to religious sentiments by the authors of the controversial video ?Innocence of Muslims,? the Russian Lower House took the first move to outlaw insults to religions.
The State Duma approved a special address ?On protection of the religious feelings of the citizens of Russia,? which was submitted jointly by all four parliamentary parties.
When MP Yaroslav Nilov of the LDPR party, the head of the Lower House?s Legislative Committee, presented the document, he cited a number of ?sacrilegious, outrageous, obscurantist situations and events? that took place in 2012.
Among these, the parliamentarian listed ?the situation with Pussy Riot,? the desecration of icons, Nazi and Satanist graffiti painted on churches and synagogues and the assassination of two Muslim clerics in Russia?s internal republics of Tatarstan and Dagestan.
At least two churches were destroyed in the Russian Federation in 2012: The burnt Orthodox Church in Krasnodar and the razed Pentecostal Church in Moscow, Nilov said. The MP argued that a campaign of cross-cutting was especially worrying, as bounty lists were published on the Internet for various acts of sacrilege.
He argued that Russia was facing a campaign aimed at destabilizing the country, and called for the Lower House to take urgent measures to curb the growing problem.
Dmitry Sablin of the parliamentary majority United Russia supported the proposal, and said that the address would strengthen the church, which he called ?an inseparable part of our people?s culture.? The statement demonstrated that Russian society is united in its support of traditional values, he said.
?We want to stress the fact that those who cut crosses and defile the holy places do not express the position of the part of the society that is at least slightly significant,? Sablin said.
United Russia MP Sergey Zheleznyak, Deputy Chair of the State Duma, claimed that it was necessary to institute specific punishments for insulting believers on the Internet, especially on blogs and social networks.
?We have to increase the efficiency of legal practice in order to duly block the unlawful information in the information networks,? he said. ?I think that the courts must be allowed to consider such cases in a fast mode to prevent the spreading of the illegal and dangerous content.?
But well-known political scientist Dmitry Oreshkin argued that the document allows the government to punish any criticism of religion, and likened officials who supported the initiative to Soviet-era apparatchiks.
?There is a group of people in power who switched from one ideological service (to the bright Communist future) to another ? to the service to the Russian Orthodox Church,? Oreshkin said.Passage of such legislation will spark a deeper crisis, as it lays the foundation for conflicts between Russia?s many different religions and denominations, he said.
So far, the profile committee of the Lower House suggested administrative offenses for insulting believers? feelings, punishable by fines of 100,000 to 200,000 rubles ($3,000 to $6,000). Russia already considers vandalism, the defiling of graves and inflicting damage to cultural objects to be criminal offenses; these articles of the code do not cover damages to feelings or sentiments, however, only damage to material objects.
Source: http://rt.com/politics/duma-approve-address-religious-935/
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Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Opinion - The Chronicle of Philanthropy
The city of Denver is trying to solve a problem others could only dream of: how to allocate a surplus of $57-million for cultural projects that was raised in the 2007 Better Denver bond approval but never spent, writes the Denver Post.
Although there are few limits on how the money can be spent, one requirement is that it must go toward existing, city-owned facilities.
Eleven Denver cultural groups, including the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Denver Botanic Gardens, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra,? the Museum of Nature and Science, and the National Western Complex, are among the institutions vying for a portion of the money.
To be eligible to receive the money, a nonprofit must be committed to raising funds that would match the city?s allocation. Proposals from nonprofits will be evaluated by a group of leaders representing local foundations, public works, corporations, and city government.
Five years ago voters approved a bond measure to support the Colorado Symphony Orchestra?s plans to make repairs to its concert hall. The symphony was unable to raise the required matching funds for the project, however, so the city is now free to use the money for other cultural endeavors.
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Google Play celebrates 25 billion app downloads with 25 cent app promotion
Google has announced that its Google Play app store has delivered its 25 billionth app download, up from the 20 billion figure quoted at Google I/O in June. To celebrate, it's launching another app sale, where this time you'll be able to pick up a selection of popular titles from developers like Gameloft, Electronic Arts, Rovio, runtastic and Full Fat for just 25 cents over the next five days. In addition, Google is promising special collections of content in the near future, including "25 movies you must own, 25 banned books and 25 albums that changed the world."
Google Play, which launched a little under four years ago as the Android Market, as grown considerably in the past year, adding movies, TV, music and magazines, and becoming a fully-fledged content platform. And in under twelve months, it's gone from a total of 10 billion downloads to today's 25 billion milestone. The total app count now sits at 675,000, up from 600,000 in June.
Right now we're not seeing any 25 cent apps on Google Play on our devices, but we'll keep you posted when they start to appear. In the meantime, let us know in the comments if you spot any bargains.
Source: Official Android Blog
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/98fS3_ZWAGU/story01.htm
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Tuesday, September 25, 2012
What Makes A Good Therapy Dog? - Retirement Homes
Therapy dogs are known for for working with elderly, disabled people, and children.
In Aiken, SC, a film ?Paw Prints: Serena?s Story,? will premiere on Oct. 11 at the Aiken Center for the Arts. It?s the story of a stray German shepard whose special demenor has helped bring joy into the lives of local schools, hospitals and therapeutic counseling centers.
Serena?s owners, Steve and Doris Briggs, adopted the stray from a local shelter, according to the AikenStandard.com, they soon noticed five special qualities as a therapy dog.
- She possesses a calm demeanor
- She possesses the temperament and discipline needed to work in highly active environments with distractions and unanticipated interactions.
- She is able to connect with different people: Serena travels to VA Hospitals to visit wounded veterans, and places to visit children and families at risk, among others.
- She possesses special qualities to advance human health and well-being through positive interactions.
- She is able to be touched by people and remain calm and alert. Children will go up to Serena and touch her eyes, her nose. They connect with her in a special way.
Therapy dogs are popular guests at Assisted Living and Continuing Care residences in North America.
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Source: http://www.retirementhomes.com/library/what-makes-a-good-therapy-dog/
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Report: Premium hikes for top Medicare drug plans
FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2008, file photo, a shopper walks toward the pharmacy at a Little Rock, Ark., Wal-Mart store. A study says seniors in seven of the 10 most popular Medicare prescription drug plans will be hit with double-digit premium hikes next year if they don?t shop for a better deal. The report by Avalere Health is a reality check against the Obama?s administration?s upbeat pronouncements. Back in August 2012, officials had announced that the average premium for basic prescription drug coverage would stay the same in 2013, at $30 a month. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2008, file photo, a shopper walks toward the pharmacy at a Little Rock, Ark., Wal-Mart store. A study says seniors in seven of the 10 most popular Medicare prescription drug plans will be hit with double-digit premium hikes next year if they don?t shop for a better deal. The report by Avalere Health is a reality check against the Obama?s administration?s upbeat pronouncements. Back in August 2012, officials had announced that the average premium for basic prescription drug coverage would stay the same in 2013, at $30 a month. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Seniors enrolled in seven of the 10 most popular Medicare prescription drug plans will be hit with double-digit premium hikes next year if they don't shop for a better deal, says a private firm that analyzes the highly competitive market.
The report Monday by Avalere Health is a reality check on the Obama's administration's upbeat pronouncements. Back in August, officials had announced that the average premium for basic prescription drug coverage will stay the same in 2013, at $30 a month.
The administration's number is accurate as an overall indicator for the entire market, but not very helpful to consumers individually since it doesn't reflect price swings in the real world.
"The average senior is going to benefit by carefully scrutinizing their situation, because every year the market changes," Avalere President Dan Mendelson said. Avalere crunched the numbers based on bid documents that the plans submitted to Medicare.
The report found premium increases for all top 10 prescription drug plans, known as PDPs. However, the most popular plan ? AARP MedicareRx Preferred ? is only going up 57 cents per month nationally, to $40.42 from the current $39.85.
The seven plans with double-digit premium increases were: the Humana Walmart-Preferred Rx Plan (23 percent); First Health Part D Premier (18 percent); First Health Part D Value Plus (17 percent); Cigna Medicare Rx Plan One (15 percent); Express Scripts Medicare-Value (13 percent); the HealthSpring Prescription Drug Plan (12 percent); and Humana Enhanced (11 percent).
Another two plans in the top 10 also had single-digit increases. They were the SilverScript Basic (8 percent) and WellCare Classic (3 percent).
On the plus side for consumers, a new low-cost plan entered the market. Premiums for the AARP MedicareRx Saver Plus Plan will average $15 a month nationally, although it won't be available everywhere. That's $3.50 less than the current low-cost leader, the Humana Walmart plan, whose premiums are rising to $18.50.
The new AARP plan is run by UnitedHealth Group Inc., the nation's largest health insurance company. United pays AARP for the right to use its name on a range of Medicare insurance products, a successful business strategy that has proven lucrative for both partners. When Humana and Walmart teamed up to offer their low-cost plan in 2011, United felt the competition.
"There is a real focus on the premium in this market," Mendelson said. "If a plan fields an offering with a low premium, it knows it can capture a significant number of customers."
Medicare spokesman Brian Cook did not dispute the Avalere estimates. "We continue to encourage seniors to shop around and find the plan that works best for them," he said.
Medicare's open enrollment season starts Oct. 15, and beneficiaries have a wide variety of choices of taxpayer-subsidized private prescription plans. Seniors and family members can use the online Medicare Plan Finder to input individual prescription lists and find plans in their area that cover them.
About 90 percent of Medicare's nearly 50 million beneficiaries have some form of drug coverage, with more than 17 million enrolled in private plans through the prescription drug program.
President Barack Obama's 2010 health care law is improving prescription drug plans by gradually closing the coverage gap known as the doughnut hole for those with high prescription drug costs.
The Avalare numbers did have one silver lining for the Obama administration. When the projections are tweaked to account for seniors switching to lower-cost coverage, premiums for 2013 are likely to remain steady.
Separately, the administration recently announced that average premiums for Medicare Advantage insurance plans will barely inch up next year on average, while enrollment in the private medical plans will continue to rise. Many Medicare Advantage plans also combine prescription drug coverage in one package deal.
But the biggest premium announcement is yet to come. Virtually all seniors pay the Part B premium for outpatient care, including those with traditional Medicare as well as those in private plans. Currently $99.90 a month, the Part B premium it is expected to rise next year by less than $10.
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Online:
Avalere study: http://tinyurl.com/8j9g5mm
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SF could OK among tiniest apartments in US
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? San Francisco may soon give new meaning to the word "downsizing."
Supervisors are set to vote on Tuesday on a proposed change to the city's building code that would allow construction of among the tiniest apartments in the country.
Under the plan, new apartments could be as small as 220 square feet (a little more than double the size of some prison cells), including a kitchen, bathroom and closet, the Los Angeles Times reported (http://lat.ms/QOriDh ).
Current regulations require the living room alone to be that size.
Schematics for 300-square-foot units planned for San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood include window seats that turn into spare beds and beds that turn into tables.
Proponents say the smaller apartments would provide a cheaper option for the city's many single residents, who have been priced out of the rental market as the region experiences a resurgent technology industry.
San Francisco apartments rented for an average of $2,734 in June, up 13 percent from a year ago, according to the research firm, RealFacts.
The micro-units, in contrast, are expected to rent for $1,200 to $1,500 a month, San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener told the Los Angeles Times. Wiener drafted the legislation for the smaller apartments.
It allows them to accommodate up to two people and requires an additional 100 square feet of space for each occupant above that number.
"Although in our fantasy world everyone would live in a single-family home or a huge spacious flat, the reality of life is that not everyone can afford that," Wiener said.
But critics counter that the units wouldn't help families and could boost population density, straining public transit and other city services.
"This has to be a pilot project and allow for further study before we end up like Singapore," said Sara Shortt, executive director of the tenants' rights group, Human Rights Committee of San Francisco.
Singapore authorities recently raised minimum dwelling sizes because of concerns about congestion. Some critics want San Francisco to follow the example of New York City and first test a small number of the units. New York City's micro-units also have a higher minimum-size requirement.
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Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com
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