Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/284146818?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Monday, February 11, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Who Cares About Jobs When You Can Regulate Happy Meals ...
I wish Obama and the Democrats could be as passionate about jobs as they are about, say, the contents of Happy Meals. Or the dust from cement factories. Or the habitat of the red-cockaded woodpecker.
While the wizard of DC remains a master of illusion and delusion, focusing everyone?s attention on the man behind the curtain- and his 20 Little Martyrs- the jobless recovery now enters its fifth year with no signs that hiring will be picking up soon.
So instead of worrying about the peckers, I wonder about the 12 million martyrs who remain unemployed. And the 3.6 million martyrs who are not in the labor force. And the 8 million martyrs who can only find part-time work. That?s almost 24 million martyrs, plus their families.
Jobless claims went up fractionally last week, showing little progress in tackling unemployment. Jobs numbers for December weren?t even enough to cover those entering the workforce.
This is exactly what we?ve come to expect under Obamanomics, which has dumbed-down our economy like it was Greece or California.
According to the BLS household data, 192,000 people entered the workforce in December while only 155,000 jobs were created. Those numbers are consistent with trends established in 2011 and in 2012.
?December's overall figures were only slightly better than 2012's average growth of 153,000 per month,? says CNN Money, ?which mirrored the 2011 pace. That's not enough to make a significant dent in the unemployment rate, economists said.?
And that has a negative effect on the net economy.
Yet still CNN files the story under ?America?s Comeback.?
At average weekly wages of $818.69, that?s about $13 billion of immediate spending and investment missing from our economy every week or nearly $700 billion per year.? And that?s not counting the underemployed workers working just part-time.
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Injection-free vaccination technique could address global vaccine challenge for HIV, malaria
Injection-free vaccination technique could address global vaccine challenge for HIV, malaria
Tuesday, February 5, 2013Scientists at King's College London have demonstrated the ability to deliver a dried live vaccine to the skin without a traditional needle, and shown for the first time that this technique is powerful enough to enable specialised immune cells in the skin to kick-start the immunising properties of the vaccine.
Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers say although it is an early study this important technical advance offers a potential solution to the challenges of delivering live vaccines in resource-limited countries globally, without the need for refrigeration. A cheaper alternative to hypodermic needles, it would also remove safety risks from needle contamination and the pain-free administration could lead to more people taking up a vaccination. The researchers add that it could have an impact beyond infectious disease vaccination programmes, for example managing autoimmune and inflammatory conditions such as diabetes.
HIV, malaria and TB represent major global health challenges. Although promising research is underway to develop vaccines for these diseases, considerable stumbling blocks remain for countries where transporting and storing live vaccines in a continuously cold environment (around 2?C to 8?C or below) would not be possible. If a cold chain cannot be maintained for a live vaccine there is a high risk it could become unsafe and lose effectiveness.
The team at King's used a silicone mould developed by US company TheraJect to create a microneedle array ? a tiny disc with several micro-needles made of sugar which dissolve when inserted into the skin. The team formulated a dried version of a live modified adenovirus-based candidate HIV vaccine in sugar (sucrose) and used the mould to create the microneedle array. They found that the dried live vaccine remained stable and effective at room temperature.
To test the effectiveness of the microneedle array, they applied it to mice. Using imaging (in collaboration with Professor Frederic Geissmann, King's College London) they observed how the vaccine dissolved in the skin and were able to identify for the first time exactly which specialised immune cells in the skin 'pick up' this type of vaccine and activate the immune system. The researchers found the first evidence that a sub-set of specialised dendritic cells in the skin were responsible for triggering this immune response.
When compared with a traditional needle vaccine method, the immune response generated by the dried microneedle vaccine (kept at room temperature) was equivalent to that induced by the same dose of injected liquid vaccine that had been preserved at -80?C.
Dr Linda Klavinskis from the Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology at King's College London, said: 'We have shown that it is possible to maintain the effectiveness of a live vaccine by drying it in sugar and applying it to the skin using microneedles ? a potentially painless alternative to hypodermic needles. We have also uncovered the role of specific cells in the skin which act as a surveillance system, picking up the vaccine by this delivery system and kick-starting the body's immune processes.
'This work opens up the exciting possibility of being able to deliver live vaccines in a global context, without the need for refrigeration. It could potentially reduce the cost of manufacturing and transportation, improve safety (as there would be no loss in potency), and avoids the need of hypodermic needle injection, reducing the risk of transmitting blood-borne disease from contaminated needles and syringes.
'This new technique represents a huge leap forward in overcoming the challenges of delivering a vaccination programme for diseases such as HIV and malaria. But these findings may also have wider implications for other infectious disease vaccination programmes, for example infant vaccinations, or even other inflammatory and autoimmune conditions such as diabetes.'
###
King's College London: http://www.kcl.ac.uk
Thanks to King's College London for this article.
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Friday, February 1, 2013
UBC Film student produces Hollywood animated feature | ArtsWIRE
While the challenge to juggle work and school is not unique to university students, few have been as industrious as UBC MFA Film Production student Luke Carroll has for the past three years.
Since 2009, Carroll has been trying to strike a balance between his commitments at grad school and producing what could be Hollywood?s next 3D animated blockbuster.
Escape From Planet Earth, scheduled for release on Feb. 14, comes from The Weinstein Company, the studio behind such films as Django Unchained, The King?s Speech and Inglorious Basterds. The 3D animated film, directed by Cal Brunker (Horton Hears a Who!), features the voice talents of Brendan Fraser, Rob Corddry, Jessica Alba, William Shatner and Sofia Vergara.
ArtsWIRE spoke with the 41-year-old Carroll about how he got attached to the star-studded feature, and how he managed to juggle a demanding production schedule with his academic commitments at UBC.
Q: What has your experience with the UBC Film Production program been like? When do you graduate???
Carroll: I have thoroughly enjoyed the program and would highly recommend it to others. Juggling a job and the program has been quite the challenge but it was the highlight of the week to be able to go up to the UBC campus and attend class. I especially enjoyed the writing classes with Maureen Medved (writing for film) and Maggie de Vries (writing for children) as well as a wonderfully dense screening and lecture series given by Mark Harris. There are so many incredible courses to choose from, my only regret is not being able to attend more of them!
Having started in 2006 it will be a delight and a pleasure to finally graduate in April 2013.
Q: What prompted you to pursue a career in animation?
Carroll: I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time. After directing live action short films a friend offered me a chance to direct an episode of an animated television show at what was then Mainframe Entertainment, and now is Rainmaker Entertainment, the studio that produced Escape from Planet Earth. I really enjoyed the experience, and fortunately there were more projects available at the studio that ultimately led to producing Escape.
Q: How did you go about pursuing it?
Carroll: At the end of the day I was lucky and happened to know the right person at the right time to get my foot in the door. However to be given that opportunity I had to have something to show my abilities, so I suppose I went about pursuing the chance by continuing to work on independent projects that could show case what I had to offer.
Q: How did you get involved in the Escape from Planet Earth production?
Carroll: After directing for Mainframe Entertainment I was offered the opportunity to combine my live action experience with my animation experience to work in the relatively new industry of Motion Capture. I proceeded to direct and then produce the motion capture for numerous films, television shows and video games. This led to producing multiple animated Direct-to-Video projects for Mattel Inc. that have sold over 15 million units worldwide. By this time Rainmaker had signed on to produce Escape from Planet Earth and I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to line-produce the project and ultimately become the producer.
Q: What was it that attracted you to the project?
Carroll: The chance to work on an animated theatrical feature in Vancouver with The Weinstein Company as your client and an amazing crew. Good times!
Q: For readers who would like to know more about the role of a film producer, what has a typical workday been like for you on this project?
Carroll:? Busy. No one day is the same. As the Producer, your responsibility is to do whatever it takes to keep the show moving forward. Jobs included building the crew, motivating the crew, dealing with problems before they become problems, stopping the show from falling off the tracks and ultimately keeping the client happy. Basically making sure it gets done and trying to have a good time doing it!
Q: The film has a lot of great, recognizable voice talent attached to it. Did your team create these characters with voices in mind?
Carroll: On the whole the characters were designed before the voices were cast, but there are certain personality traits that lend themselves to certain actors so trying to match them up afterwards is a fun task.
Q: How did your team convince the actors to sign on to the project?
Carroll: It is a cool project and The Weinstein Company has a lot of connections.
Q: Creativity seems to have a higher bar in 2013 as the quality of animation seems to improve with each new major production. Animation must have been a tough business before computers ? but is it also tough today because of the high level of talent to compete with?
Carroll: Yes it is tough but at its core it is still about telling a great story that connects with an audience.
Q: What is the formula behind making a good animated film?
Carroll: Storytelling is definitely a critical element ? there is not one particular formula that creates success, but a strong team, a great script and wonderful artistic talent are important building blocks.
Q: You started work on this project in 2009. Are you excited for the film to finally get a release??
Carroll: Yes. It was a very challenging show to get to the finish line and we are all delighted with how it turned out.
Q: Do you see yourself in another position within the film industry? Are there other roles that interest you?
Carroll: I?m interested in any role that works with great people, helps to make the story the best it can be and supports the film getting to the finish line.
Q: Do you know yet what your next project will be?
Carroll: Finishing my thesis film by April!
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Luke Carroll is expected to graduate UBC in Spring 2013 with a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Film Production.
A trailer for Escape from Planet Earth can be seen below.
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Source: http://wire.arts.ubc.ca/featured/ubc-film-student-produces-hollywood-animated-feature/
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Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Money fears vs. real benefits in Medicaid choice
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama thinks his health care law makes states an offer they can't refuse.
Whether to expand Medicaid, the federal-state program for the poor and disabled, could be the most important decision facing governors and legislatures this year. The repercussions go beyond their budgets, directly affecting the well-being of residents and the finances of critical hospitals.
Here's the offer:
If states expand their Medicaid programs to cover millions of low-income people now left out, the federal government will pick up the full cost for the first three years and 90 percent over the long haul.
About 21 million uninsured people, most of them adults, eventually would gain health coverage if all the states agree.
Adding up the Medicaid costs under the law, less than $100 billion in state spending could trigger nearly $1 trillion in federal dollars over a decade, according to the nonpartisan Urban Institute.
"It's the biggest expansion of Medicaid in a long time, and the biggest ever in terms of adults covered," said Mark McClellan, who ran Medicare and Medicaid when George W. Bush was president.
"Although the federal government is on the hook for most of the cost, Medicaid on the whole is one of the biggest items in state budgets and the fastest growing. So there are some understandable concerns about the financial implications and how implementation would work," McClellan said.
A major worry for states is that deficit-burdened Washington sooner or later will renege on the 90-percent deal. The regular Medicaid match rate averages closer to 50 percent. That would represent a significant cost shift to the states.
Many Republicans also are unwilling to keep expanding government programs, particularly one as complicated as Medicaid, which has a reputation for being inefficient and unwieldy.
Awaiting decisions are people such as Debra Walker of Houston, a part-time home health care provider. She had a good job with health insurance until she got laid off in 2007.
Walker was recently diagnosed with diabetes, and she's trying to manage by getting discounted medications through a county program for low-income uninsured people.
Walker estimates she earned about $10,000 last year, which means she would qualify under the income cutoff for the Medicaid expansion. But that could happen only if Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, reconsiders his opposition.
"I think that would be awesome if the governor would allow that program to come into the state," Walker said. "That would be a help for me, robbing Paul to pay Peter for my medicines."
She seems determined to deal with her diabetes problem. "I don't want to lose a limb later on in life," said Walker, 58. "I want to beat this. I don't want to carry this around forever."
As Obama's law was originally written, low-income people such as Walker would not have had to worry or wait. Roughly half the uninsured people gaining coverage under the law were expected to go into Medicaid. The middle-class uninsured would get taxpayer-subsidized private coverage in new insurance markets called exchanges.
But last year the Supreme Court gave states the right to opt out of the Medicaid expansion. The court upheld the rest of the law, including insurance exchanges and a mandate that virtually everyone in the United States have health coverage, or face a fine.
The health care law will go into full effect next Jan. 1, and states are scrambling to crunch the numbers and understand the Medicaid trade-offs.
States can refuse the expansion outright or indefinitely postpone a decision. But if states think they'll ultimately end up taking the deal, there's a big incentive to act now: The three years of full federal funding for newly eligible enrollees are only available from 2014 through 2016.
So far, 17 states and the District of Columbia have said they'll take it. That group includes three Republican-led states, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer was prominent among GOP leaders who had tried get the law overturned.
An additional 11 states, all led by Republicans, say they want no part of it. Perry says it tramples states' rights.
The remaining states are considering options.
In some cases, GOP governors are trying to persuade balky legislatures led by Republicans. Hospitals treating the uninsured are pressing for the expansion, as are advocates for the poor and some chambers of commerce, which see an economic multiplier from the infusion of federal dollars. Conservative foes of "Obamacare," defeated at the national level, want to hold the line.
The entire debate is overshadowed by some big misconceptions, including that the poor already have Medicaid.
Many of them do, but not all. Medicaid generally covers low-income disabled people, children, pregnant women and some parents. Childless adults are left out in most states.
The other misconception is that Medicaid is so skimpy that people are better off being uninsured.
Two recent studies debunked that.
One found a 6 percent drop in the adult death rate in states that already have expanded Medicaid along the lines of the federal health care law. A second looked at Oregonians who won a lottery for Medicaid and compared them with ones who weren't picked and remained uninsured. The Medicaid group had greater access to health care, less likelihood of being saddled with medical bills, and felt better about their overall health.
Skeptics remain unconvinced.
Louisiana's health secretary, Bruce D. Greenstein, is concerned that the Medicaid expansion could replace private insurance for many low-wage workers in his state, dragging down quality throughout the health care system because the program pays doctors and hospitals far less than private insurance. He says the Obama administration and Congress missed a chance to overhaul Medicaid and give states a bigger say in running the program.
"Decisions are made by fiat," he said. "There is not any sense of a federal-state partnership, what this program was founded on. I don't feel in any way that I am a partner." The Obama administration says it is doing its best to meet state demands for flexibility.
But one thing the administration has been unwilling to do is allow states to partly expand their Medicaid programs and still get the generous matching funds provided by the health care law.
That could have huge political implications for states refusing the expansion, and for people such as Walker, the diabetes patient from Houston.
These numbers explain why:
Under the new law people making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line, about $15,400 for an individual, are eligible to be covered by Medicaid.
But for most people below the poverty line, about $11,200 for an individual, Medicaid would be the only option. They cannot get subsidized private coverage through the new health insurance exchanges.
So if a state turns down the Medicaid expansion, some of its low-income people still can qualify for government-subsidized health insurance through the exchanges. But the poorest cannot.
In Texas, somebody making a couple of thousand dollars more than Debra Walker still could get coverage. But Walker would be left depending on pay-as-you-go charity care.
"It's completely illogical that this has happened," said Edwin Park, a health policy expert with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which advocates for low-income people.
Federal officials say their hands are tied, that Congress intended the generous federal matching rate solely for states undertaking the full expansion. States doing a partial expansion would have to shell out more of their own money.
"Some people are going to be between a rock and a hard spot," said Walker.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/money-fears-vs-real-benefits-medicaid-choice-153041942.html
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Saturday, January 26, 2013
Spouses club relents, accepts lesbian Army wife
Courtesy Ashley Broadway
Ashley Broadway, left, is pictured with her wife, Lt. Col. Heather Mack and their 2-year-old son.
By Bill Briggs, NBC News contributor
Hours after same-sex Army wife Ashley Broadway was named Fort Bragg's 2013 ?spouse of the year,? the on-base spouses club???that has for two months rebuffed Broadway's bid to join?? fully reversed course and invited her "to become a full member," according to emails sent to NBC News and Broadway.
The decision comes one week after the Association of Bragg Officers' Spouses (ABOS) extended Broadway???who is married to Army Lt. Col. Heather Mack???a "special guest membership," an invitation she declined and called "extremely demeaning."
"After further reviewing the (club's) constitution, by-laws and internal procedures, the ABOS Board felt that in order to immediately support all military Officer spouses who are eligible for ABOS membership a more inclusive definition of spouse was needed. Therefore, any Spouse of an active duty commissioned or warrant Officer with a valid marriage certificate from any state or district in the United States is eligible for ABOS membership," the club's board said in a statement.
"ABOS does not discriminate based on race, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, creed, or sexual orientation. ABOS would like to publicly invite Ms. Broadway to apply for full membership to ABOS. It is and always has been our mission to support all military families."
In an email to Broadway ? shared with NBC News???the club said, "We would like to offer you to become a full member of ABOS."
"I will go ahead and submit my application," Broadway said in response to the invitation. "I need to educate some of the naysayers that are in that group and show them my family is just like their family."
In the online election held Tuesday, Broadway captured the Fort Bragg vote ?by a country mile,? said Babette Maxwell, founder of Military Spouse magazine and the Military Spouse of the Year award. Ballot totals were not revealed.
As one of the 154 base-level winners, Broadway now is eligible to be nominated for Army ?spouse of the year.?
?A lot of people who voted never me met or talked to me or knew me from Adam. I know it was a statement to the Obama Administration, to Secretary (of Defense Leon) Panetta, to Senator (Chuck) Hagel ? if he is confirmed (as defense secretary) ? to the Pentagon and, really, to America that, yes, she is a military spouse and she needs to be recognized,? Broadway told NBC News.
?There are things the government can do right now to make life a hell of a lot easier than what it is currently for those who are in same-sex marriages in the military,? she added. ?It was a lot of people saying, ?Enough?s enough.? ?
Broadway?s rejection from the Fort Bragg officers? spouses club sparked the U.S. Marine Corps to issue on Jan. 9 a pro-gay, branch-wide directive. On Jan. 16, her bid drew the Pentagon?s attention. The next day, the?on-base spouses club offered Broadway a "special guest membership" ? an invitation she declined, calling it ?extremely demeaning.??
Broadway married Mack, her 15-year companion, in November ? their first chance to hold a formal ceremony after?the 2011 repeal of ?Don?t Ask Don?t Tell,??the policy that kept gays from openly serving in the military. The couple has a 2-year-old son and Mack gave birth to their second child, a daughter, on Tuesday.?
?People got one vote per email address ? one ballot for the person you wanted to represent you. I think people would be unwilling to, quote-unquote, throw their vote away on simply doing what was popular,? Maxwell said. ?There was a significant amount of meaning in what they were doing when they voted for Ashley.
?Removing her a bit from the press and recognition she?s received the last few months, Ashley???more importantly???has a platform to benefit a large number of spouses, and that?s what people want to see happen,? Maxwell added. ?The winners are chosen based on their merits, their accomplishments and what they intend to do for the community in the year to come.?
Broadway has volunteered to tutor soldiers? children in reading, briefed inbound Army families on local school districts, and helped transferring soldiers with housing-location decisions.
?When I was denied membership, I asked to speak to the club?s board. I was convinced that if they?d just sit down with me for half an hour, if I could talk to them about what I?ve been doing, what I?ll be doing in the future, they would see what an asset I would be to the group,? Broadway said.
The meeting was not granted.
?That was the most frustrating thing,? she said.
Before its decision late Friday to relent and offer Broadway full membership, the ABOS board had maintained Broadway was never rejected because ?a formal application was never filed,? and that she simply had inquired about the eligibility of a same-sex spouse and was told the club would need ?time to look at the issue.??
Online voting for the next round of the 2013 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year???the branch level???will take place Feb. 5. The overall winner, elected from the branch finalists, will be revealed May 9.
"I never thought in a million years I would be the one to advance the cause. If that?s what it?s going to take to get attention for all the military same-sex spouses, then so be it," Broadway said. "But I do take this (Bragg 'spouse of the year' award) very seriously. And we'll see where it goes from here."?
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Court says EPA overestimates biofuels production
WASHINGTON (AP) ? A federal appeals court has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency is overestimating the amount of fuel that can be produced from grasses, wood and other nonfood plants in an effort to promote a fledgling biofuels industry.
At issue is a 2007 renewable fuels law that requires a certain amount of those types of fuels, called cellulosic biofuels, to be mixed in with gasoline each year. Despite annual EPA projections that the industry would produce small amounts of the biofuels, none of that production materialized.
There have been high hopes in Washington that the cellulosic industry would take off as farmers, food manufacturers and others blamed the skyrocketing production of corn ethanol fuel for higher food prices. Those groups said the diversion of corn crops for fuel production raised prices for animal feed and eventually for consumers at the grocery store. Lawmakers hoped that nonfood sources like switchgrass or corn husks could be used instead, though the industry hadn't yet gotten off the ground.
The 2007 law mandated that billions of gallons of annual production of corn ethanol be mixed with gasoline, eventually transitioning those annual requirements to include more of the nonfood, cellulosic materials to produce the biofuels. As criticism of ethanol has increased, lawmakers and even Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have talked of the cellulosic materials as the future of biofuels.
But the cellulosic industry stalled in the bad economy and still hasn't produced much. According to final EPA estimates, no cellulosic fuel was produced in 2010 or 2011. Last year's estimates aren't yet available.
"What you have in our industry is a technology that is ready to go but has had a hard time punching through commercially because of a very challenging global financial climate," said Brooke Coleman of the Advanced Ethanol Council, which represents companies trying to produce cellulosic fuel. Coleman said there are better hopes for 2013 as several plants are coming online.
The court faulted the EPA for setting last year's projections at 8.7 million gallons even though the two previous years had shown no production, and also for writing in the rule that "our intention is to balance such uncertainty with the objective of promoting growth in the industry."
Judge Stephen Williams on Friday threw out the too-high EPA estimates in response to a challenge filed by the American Petroleum Institute, which represents the oil industry.
Williams, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, said the law was not intended to allow the EPA "let its aspirations for a self-fulfilling prophecy divert it from a neutral methodology."
The court rejected the oil industry's arguments that the EPA also should have lowered the total production requirement for renewable fuels once the cellulosic goals were not met, saying the EPA had authority to decide to maintain those requirements.
An EPA spokeswoman would only say the agency will "determine next steps." The oil industry praised the decision.
"The courts have reined in a mandate for biofuels that don't exist," said Bob Greco of the American Petroleum Institute. "It's a voice of reason."
___
Associated Press writer Matthew Daly in Washington and AP Energy Writer Jon Fahey in New York contributed to this report.
___
Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick
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