circulatory cure

fulkmy00

[Warning: Spoilers ahead for last Sunday's episode of Homeland, "Game On"]

After watching the last scene of Sunday's Homeland, the fourth outing in its third season, many viewers may want to revisit the last few episodes. "I'm hoping that's the general consensus," executive producer and showrunner Alex Gansa tells The Hollywood Reporter. "This should answer some questions for people."

Carrie (Claire Danes) finally made her way out of her forced institutionalization -- and though circumstances seemed to be pushing her toward turning her back on the CIA, the last scene of the episode reveals that she and Saul (Mandy Patinkin) have actually been working together all along. Carrie and her mentor choreographed her second turn being thrown under the bus by her employers in an attempt to bring down the terrorist network involved in the bombing.

Q&A: Damian Lewis Talks Brody's 'Homeland' Return, Rock Bottom and TV Fatherhood

Gansa, who chatted with THR about the big twist, explains that the unseen wheels were set in motion as soon as the second season faded to black, where Homeland is shifting its attention now, and how Brody (Damian Lewis) will fit in down the road.

How long have Saul and Carrie been in cahoots?

We started the year by talking about what had happened at the end of season two. Carrie and Saul are together, standing there with all of the bodies around them. Clearly, they are culpable for what happened -- Saul and Carrie together. As intelligence officers, the first thing that they would try to do is to turn this tragedy into something positive. That's what they went to work on the day after the bombing. How were they going to catch the guys responsible for this? A plan was hatched quite quickly in the aftermath of the attack on the CIA.

Does this mean the CIA fallout will play a lesser role now?

We view season three in three movements -- each being four episodes -- with this being the end of the first movement. It was a long con that they played in order to draw out this Iranian intelligence officer, Majid Javadi [Shaun Toub].

The cast and producers were very candid about a lot of early season-three plot points during in the summer. Was that intended to play up the red herring?

We were also playing a bit of a con here from the story room. That said, one of the thing we've learned from our CIA consultants is that the most successful intelligence operations are 95 percent true -- and the 95 percent that's true, in this case, is that Saul and Carrie were culpable and that, largely, the CIA as an organization would look for a scapegoat to lay the blame on. Saul and Carrie were playing on that natural, institutional inclination to find a scapegoat. They used that, but when you go back to the first three episodes, you can see the toll that it's taking on both of them. The con also has its consequences.

PHOTOS: 'Homeland': Portraits of the Emmy-Winning Cast and Creators

Like that moment between Carrie and Saul in the hospital at the end of the second episode.

It comes down to the line toward the end of this episode when she says, "You really should have gotten me out of the hospital." That was one step too far. That was the part of her role-playing that hit too close. Although they are in this ruse together, it's painful for Carrie to admit that she's to blame for what happened and to think that because she was on her meds, she missed stopping the attack. All of that is true and playing through her head.

What does the next movement focus on?

They are now in the process of luring him out into the open and landing this guy. That's the substance of the second movement.

How will Brody figure in to all of this?

I will say that Brody becomes a principal player in the architecture of the last sweep of episodes. His predicament down in Caracas and his separation from Carrie and Saul is really paramount as we move into the next two movements of the season.

Did you have any reservations about having an episode ("Tower of David") that was almost exclusively from Brody's point of view?

It was really a function of how much story was to be told there. Just anecdotally, some people felt we were with him too much and others felt we were with him too little. It felt right to us to establish his predicament and to parallel his plight with Carrie's. These are two people in some very desperate circumstances. The show has paralleled their stories before and some of the most successful episodes that we have done have drawn comparisons between their predicaments.

Stylistically, the episode was very different from the rest of the series.

I sort of leave it to the audience to tell us if we were successful or not, but it's fun for us to mix up the show a little bit and not tell the same story over and over again -- to take a risk here and there. We also teased the audience by not having Brody in the first two episodes, so we gave them a healthy dose of him in number three.

Q&A: 'Homeland' EP Alex Gansa Talks Season 3, Benghazi and Demedicating Carrie -- Again

The Brody family storyline has really been dominated by Dana (Morgan Saylor) this season. When did you decide you'd focus so much on her?

Because Brody was not onscreen and not part of the story in those first couple of episodes, we really wanted to tell the aftermath of the bombing in a more personal way. The relationship between Dana and her father is very strong. It's stronger than his relationship with Jessica [Morena Baccarin] and certainly stronger than his relationship with Chris [Jackson Pace]. Going back to the first season … the first time that Brody came back from captivity, he gives his wife a hug -- but it's kind of a tentative one. The first time we see him open up, it's in response to his daughter. That led to the end of season one, when she talks him off the ledge when he's about to explode that vest inside the bunker with the vice president. Her role grew through season two, and she just felt like the logical person. For the weight of what her dad did, it just landed on her in a more profound way.

How much does the story stick with Dana moving forward?

You'll see in the next four episodes, and certainly the last four, that she doesn't play as big of a role. She's not physically onscreen a lot, but her presence is there in a profound way for Brody and for Carrie.

How was all the secret-keeping for you personally?

We've taken a degree of pleasure in it. I was an amateur magician when I was a kid, and for me, the best tricks were the ones where the magician convinces the audience that he's made a mistake – only to prove at the end that he's been ahead of them all along. We've been leaning into that idea a little bit, and hopefully it will have paid off in episode four.

E-mail: Michael.OConnell@THR.com
Twitter: @MikeyLikesTV

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/news/~3/MFWwXqOzP7E/homeland-showrunner-alex-gansa-big-649562
Similar Articles: john lennon philadelphia eagles yom kippur danity kane amanda bynes

fulkmy00

By Susan Askew

131018135343-men-in-suits-620xa FORTUNE -- I am one of the 32% -- the 32% of the Wall Street Journal readers that are women. For many years, I have faithfully read the financial news and, not so faithfully, looked at the ads. But sometimes an oversized or provocative ad will catch my eye ... as in the case of one recent full-page splash for a private equity conference sponsored by Dow Jones. The ad prominently displayed the photos of 10 featured speakers. All men. Huh, I thought. What happened there?

Shortly after, another full-page ad in the Journal for its own Heard on the Street Live conference on "Investing in an Age of Easy Money" hosted by three male editors and featuring nine male speakers. Within days, a half-page ad appeared for Barron's "The Art of Successful Investing" conference. Ten speakers. One woman.

By this point, my incredulity was a bit strained. As the saying goes: Once is an anomaly. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is a pattern.

Twenty years ago, as a novice entrepreneur looking for financial backing for a "women's website," an investor asked me "Is this a social cause, are you asking me for a donation?" I learned very fast that it wasn't about mission. It was about money. So, let's talk numbers.

In 2007, the most recent year for which IRS data are available, there were an estimated 1.3 million men and 1 million women with assets of $2 million or more.

The Boston Consulting Group reports that in 2009 women controlled 27% of the world's wealth, 33% of financial assets in North America, "meaning that they decide where the assets are invested." Within the next decade, private wealth in the United States is expected to reach $22 trillion with half of it controlled by women.

In a BCG survey of women with bankable assets of more than $250,000, 42% reported their wealth was self-earned, coming from salaries and bonuses.

Looking to the future, due to longer lifespans, women are expected to control a large portion of what Boston College researchers say will be an estimated $42 trillion wealth transfer by 2052.

According to the IRS data, women are more likely to hold publicly traded stocks and other assets such as bonds vs. the "closely held stock and business assets" that make up a greater portion of men's portfolios. That means women should be in the sweet spot for the organizers of conferences, like Barron's, that target individual investors.

MORE: The 50 Most Powerful Women in business

The Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst conference targets "investors in private equity and venture capital transactions." The WSJ conference is for fund managers and financial advisors. While, admittedly, this audience is dominated by men, the Center for Venture Research reports a significant increase in the number of women angel investors, growing from 12.2% of the market in 2011 to 21.8% in 2012.

At the same time, there are women in private equity with something to add to the dialog. A report earlier this year from Rothstein Kass indicated hedge funds owned by women outperformed the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index in the third quarter of 2012, netting an 8.95% return vs. 2.69%. I would think these women fund managers would have something of interest to say to the audiences at the Dow Jones and Wall Street Journal conferences.

While women control a significant amount of wealth, surveys indicate they don't have a gender preference when it comes to financial managers, but they do want to be respected. Invisibility of half the population on the dais at financial conferences is the height of disrespect.

Including female voices in financial conferences isn't just good policy, it's good business.

Susan Askew is a former staffer to Delaware Governor Mike Castle, is a recent graduate of the George Mason University BIS program with a concentration in Latin American Finance, and a new Gender Avenger (genderavenger.com).

Source: http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/10/18/women-finance/
Related Topics: pirate bay january jones Nick Pasquale alyssa milano VMA 2013

fulkmy00

U.S Ambassador to France Charles H. Rivkin, right, leaves the Foreign Ministry in Paris, after he was summoned Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. The French government had summoned the ambassador to explain why the Americans spied on one of their closest allies. Le Monde newspaper said Monday, Oct. 21, 2013 that documents leaked by Edward Snowden show that the U.S. National Security Agency swept up 70.3 million French phone records in a 30-day period. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)

U.S Ambassador to France Charles H. Rivkin, right, leaves the Foreign Ministry in Paris, after he was summoned Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. The French government had summoned the ambassador to explain why the Americans spied on one of their closest allies. Le Monde newspaper said Monday, Oct. 21, 2013 that documents leaked by Edward Snowden show that the U.S. National Security Agency swept up 70.3 million French phone records in a 30-day period. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

FILE - In this March 8, 2013 file photo, U.S Ambassador to France Charles H. Rivkin, stands as the US national anthem is played aboard US aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, in Marseille, southern France. Le Monde newspaper says Monday, Oct.21, 2013 that documents leaked by Edward Snowden show that the U.S. National Security Agency swept up 70.3 million French phone records in a 30-day period. The French government has summoned the Rivkin to explain why the Americans spied on one of their closest allies.(AP Photo/Claude Paris, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The French government summoned U.S. Ambassador Charles Rivkin on Monday to explain a French newspaper report that the National Security Agency swept up 70.3 million French phone records in a 30-day period.

The French government called the practice "totally unacceptable" and wanted to know why the U.S. spied on one of its closest allies.

Spying among allied countries is common, but the scope of the NSA surveillance, as revealed by leaker Edward Snowden, was larger than expected.

Similar U.S. spying programs have been revealed in Britain, Brazil, Mexico and Germany.

"The ambassador expressed his appreciation of the importance of the exchange, and promised to convey the points made back to Washington," a statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Paris said.

Rivkin assured Alexandre Ziegler, chief of staff to Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius that "our ongoing bilateral consultations on allegations of information gathering by U.S. government agencies would continue," the embassy statement said.

The report in Le Monde, co-written by Glenn Greenwald, who originally revealed the surveillance program based on leaks from former National Security Agency contractor Snowden, found that when certain numbers were used, the conversations were automatically recorded. The surveillance operation also swept up text messages based on key words, Le Monde reported, based on records from Dec. 10 to Jan 7.

The French government, which wants the surveillance to cease, also renewed demands for talks on protection of personal data.

"This sort of practice between partners that invades privacy is totally unacceptable and we have to make sure, very quickly, that this no longer happens," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said during a meeting in Luxembourg with his European counterparts. Fabius said the U.S. ambassador had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry.

The most recent documents cited by Le Monde, dated to April 2013, also indicated the NSA's interest in email addresses linked to Wanadoo — once part of France Telecom — and Alcatel-Lucent, the French-American telecom company. One of the documents instructed analysts to draw not only from the electronic surveillance program, but also from another initiative dubbed Upstream, which allowed surveillance on undersea communications cables.

The U.S "gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations," said Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council at the White House. "We've begun to review the way that we gather intelligence, so that we properly balance the legitimate security concerns of our citizens and allies with the privacy concerns that all people share."

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-10-21-US-NSA-Surveillance/id-abafa29af1954958954031b16d9f306d
Tags: randall cobb Presidents Cup Cnn.com ben affleck school shooting

fulkmy00

In this image made from video released by WikiLeaks on Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, former National Security Agency systems analyst Edward Snowden speaks during a presentation ceremony for the Sam Adams Award in Moscow, Russia. Snowden was awarded the Sam Adams Award, according to videos released by the organization WikiLeaks. The award ceremony was attended by three previous recipients. (AP Photo)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former National Security Agency systems analyst Edward Snowden says that he did not take any secret NSA documents to Russia and that intelligence officials in China as well as Russia could not get access to the documents he had obtained before leaving the United States.

In an interview with The New York Times, Snowden said he handed over all the documents he had obtained to journalists during his stay in Hong Kong. The newspaper posted its story on its website Thursday.

Snowden said he did not retain copies of the documents and did not take them to Russia "because it wouldn't serve the public interest," the Times reported. He said his familiarity with China's intelligence abilities allowed him to protect the documents from Chinese spies while he was in Hong Kong.

"There's a zero percent chance the Russians or Chinese have received any documents," he said.

Snowden's leaks of highly classified material have resulted in numerous news stories about U.S. surveillance activities at home and abroad and sparked debate about the legality of those activities and the privacy implications for average Americans.

The Times reported that in the interview, which it said took place over several days in the last week and involved encrypted online communications, Snowden asserted that he believed he was a whistle-blower who was acting in the nation's best interests by revealing information about the NSA's surveillance dragnet and huge collections of communications data.

Snowden said that he had helped U.S. national security by prompting a badly needed public debate about the scope of the intelligence effort. "The secret continuance of these programs represents a far greater danger than their disclosure," he said.

Snowden faces espionage charges in the U.S. On Aug. 1 he was granted asylum in Russia, which is allowing him to remain there for one year.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-10-17-US-NSA-Surveillance-Snowden/id-4f057cdb51194bd292a67bb704aa47ea
Tags: ny giants Cameron Bay nfl scores NFL.com Rihanna

fulkmy00

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Security Agency has been extensively involved in the U.S. government's targeted killing program, collaborating closely with the CIA in the use of drone strikes against terrorists abroad, The Washington Post reported after a review of documents provided by former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden.

In one instance, an email sent by the wife of an Osama bin Laden associate contained clues as to her husband's whereabouts and led to a CIA drone strike that killed him in Pakistan in October 2012, the Post reported in its online edition Wednesday night.

While citing documents provided by Snowden — the American is hiding out in Russia after being granted asylum there — the Post reported that it was withholding many details about the drone-strike missions at the request of U.S. intelligence officials. They cited potential damage to ongoing operations and national security for their request, the paper reported.

The documents make clear that the CIA-operated drone campaign relies heavily on the NSA's ability to vacuum up enormous quantities of e-mail, phone calls and other fragments of signals intelligence, or SIGINT, the newspaper said.

The NSA created a secret unit known as the Counter-Terrorism Mission Aligned Cell, or CT MAC, to concentrate the agency's vast resources on hard-to-find terrorism targets, the Post reported.

The documents provided by Snowden don't explain how the bin Laden associate's email was obtained or whether it was obtained through the controversial NSA programs recently made public, including its metadata collection of numbers dialed by nearly every person in the United States.

Instead, the Post said its review of the documents indicates that the agency depends heavily on highly targeted network penetrations to gather information that wouldn't otherwise be trapped in surveillance nets that the NSA has set at key Internet gateways.

The U.S. has never publicly acknowledged killing bin Laden associate Hassan Ghul, according to the Post. The al-Qaida operative had been captured in 2004 and helped expose bin Laden's courier network, a key development in the effort to locate bin Laden. Ghul then spent two years in a secret CIA prison and returned to al-Qaida after the U.S. sent him to his native Pakistan in 2006.

U.S. forces killed bin Laden at his Pakistan hideout in 2011. That same year, the Treasury Department named Ghul a target of U.S. counterterrorism sanctions after he had helped al-Qaeda re-establish logistics networks, enabling al-Qaida to move people and money in and out of the country. The Post said an NSA document described Ghul as al-Qaida chief of military operations and detailed a broad surveillance effort to find him.

Obtained during a monthslong effort to find Ghul, the email from his wife erased doubts U.S. forces had found him, the Post said.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-10-17-NSA-Drone%20Strikes/id-c1990a2e3aaa475585d553ce45877b72
Category: big bang theory seattle seahawks Johnny Galecki remembering 9/11 diana nyad

fulkmy00

Looking gorgeous while out and about in the Big Apple, Bar Refaeli strolled in Soho on Friday (October 18).

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition covergirl wore a green jacket over her green top and white skinnies as she chatted on her phone outside.

Recently, the Israeli stunner talked with the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth about being single, lamenting, "I don't understand it."

Mystified, she continued, "I’m okay. I look great. I’m cool. I like going out. I like being at home, I like movies, I like eating. So what’s wrong with me? Why am I alone?”

However, her expectations may be pretty high. "I’m looking for someone serious, who I can set up home with. Someone who comes from a warm, loving family like mine, who has values like mine. I’m very interested in going out with someone who is big and strong and famous.”

Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/bar-refaeli/bar-refaeli-bafflled-her-single-status-so-whats-wrong-me-946167
Category: Kenichi Ebina world war z freedom tower Million Muslim March backstreet boys

fulkmy00

Actress Aimee Carrero has landed a recurring role on FX’s The Americans, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.

Carrero, who was a series regular on the Cartoon Network live-action series Level Up, will play Chena, a smart yet impulsive Sandinista freedom fighter who “will go to any lengths to support her cause.” The casting indicates that the United States’ assistance of the Nicaraguan Contras will be among the historical events of the 1980s that the FX political drama will explore in its second season, which premieres in January.

PHOTOS: 'The Americans': Exclusive Portraits of Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys on Set

Carrero has also been cast in Young and Hungry, a multi-camera comedy pilot from ABC Family and CBS Studios. Carrero will play Tessa, the best friend of series protagonist Gabi (Emily Osment) in the project from executive producers Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, Ashley Tisdale and Jessica Rhoades. Tessa is described as an ambitious banking intern who is always hustling to make ends meet. If the pilot is picked up, it will be a series regular role.

Carrero’s credits include Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel and Blue Lagoon: The Awakening as well as guest spots on Greek, Lincoln Heights and Hannah Montana. She is repped by Innovative, 3 Arts and attorney Bill Skrzyniarz at Skrzyniarz & Mallean.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/television/~3/Eyy1ehrp788/story01.htm
Related Topics: Bum Phillips justin timberlake green bay packers evelyn lozada H&m

fulkmy00

Reputation:
Words written:
Words per post:
Joined:
Last visit:
Location:
Website:

WIP.

Owner:

Game Masters:

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.

First post:
•
2 posts
• Page 1 of 1

Can I reserve the district 12 female?

There is no method except to be very intelligent.
- T. S. Eliot

Adelphia: Member for 0 years

First post:
•
2 posts
• Page 1 of 1

Post a reply

RolePlayGateway is a site built by a couple roleplayers who wanted to give a little something back to the roleplay community. The site has no intention of earning any profit, and is paid for out of their own pockets.

If you appreciate what they do, feel free to donate your spare change to help feed them on the weekends. After selecting the amount you want to donate from the menu, you can continue by clicking on PayPal logo.

Our Sponsors

RolePlayGateway is proudly powered by obscene amounts of caffeine, duct tape, and support from people like you. It operates under a "don't like it, suggest an improvement" platform, and we gladly take suggestions for improvements or changes.

The custom-built "roleplay" system was designed and implemented by Eric Martindale as of July 2009. All attempts to replicate or otherwise emulate this system and its method of organizing roleplay are strictly prohibited without his express written and contractual permission; violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/w191D8PIvCo/viewtopic.php
Tags: Beyond Two Souls Gareth Bale auburn football syria the bachelorette

fulkmy00

Washington State has finalized rules for recreational marijuana sales, joining Colorado in beginning to create a legal framework for the pot industry. Randy Simmons, deputy director of the Washington Liquor Control Board, says other states and even other countries are watching Washington's developing system very closely.

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=238548242&ft=1&f=1003
Category: Susan Bennett Dallas Latos Miss World 2013 veep Ezra Is A

fulkmy00

House Republicans said Tuesday that they were planning their own bill to end the shutdown and raise the debt limit — one that makes changes to President Obama's health care law.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene.

This morning began with the U.S. Senate appearing close to a deal that could solve two problems at once: end the government shutdown and prevent a default on U.S. debt. The solution would only be temporary, bringing another set of confrontations soon. There's bipartisan support for the deal in that chamber. The question was whether the Republican-led House would sign on. Well, the answer came a short while ago, with reports that House Republicans are pushing their own plan, one that changes the president's health care law, something the White House says is a non-starter. Let's bring in NPR's Tamara Keith, who joins us from the Capitol.

Tam, good morning.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Good morning.

GREENE: So, what exactly would this House version do to Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act?

KEITH: In terms of Obamacare, it makes changes to the Senate plan. So, instead of what the Senate was doing, it would delay the medical devices tax for two years. This is something that they've been targeting recently, and has some Democratic support. And it also includes something called the Vitter amendment, which would take away the employer match - which has sometimes been described as a taxpayer subsidy - from the health care that members of Congress and Executive Branch employees get. Notably, it does not take away the employer match from Hill staffers, which is something that, in the past, has been part of this amendment.

GREENE: But this is something that, if you take it away, Republicans who support taking it away said it would both save money and make things more fair, that these people would be treated like other Americans. But a lot of Democrats have said this is a political move by Republicans.

KEITH: And, in fact, have said it's the employer match. Why would you take that away?

GREENE: Well, health care provisions aside, Tamara, do these two bills - the one in the House and the one in the Senate - seek to do the same thing when it comes to the partial government shutdown and the debt ceiling deadline that's looming?

KEITH: Yes. They have the same date. So it would reopen the government through the middle of January. It would lift the debt ceiling through early February, though the House version would make that a hard stop and not allow the Treasury to use any extraordinary measures to extend it. And it also would set up a House-Senate conference committee to talk about larger budget issues and hopefully bring an end to all this back-and-forth fighting that we've had for years.

GREENE: Well, Speaker John Boehner and his leadership have had trouble getting the Tea Party conservatives in his party to go along with a number of bills this year. Do they think that this one that they've come up with this morning could pass the House?

KEITH: I can tell you that they are speaking right now, and I am quite certain that they are expressing confidence. However, as I stood outside of this closed-door meeting where they unveiled their plan to the rank-and-file, a number of House Republicans came out and said, oh, we don't really like this thing. It doesn't really do that much. Others came out and said they were confident. So it's a real mix. I asked Darrell Issa, who's a California Republican, whether there was unanimous support for this in the conference, and he said: We're Republicans. We don't do unanimous support.

GREENE: Wow, that - well, that's telling. So the ones who say it doesn't do enough, that they want more changes to the Affordable Care Act, probably.

KEITH: Exactly. They feel like this just does not - you're not doing this much, here. You're nibbling around the edges. These are folks who want the law to go away.

GREENE: And in the bit of time we have left, any word yet from the White House and Democrats as to whether they could swallow any of these types of changes to Obamacare that are being proposed?

KEITH: The White House issued a statement that was not very favorable, and Senate - or, House Democrats are going to be meeting at the White House with the president later today. One high-ranking Democrat put out a tweet saying that this is reckless.

GREENE: All right. NPR's Tamara Keith, joining us from Capitol. Tamara, thank you.

KEITH: You're welcome.

Copyright © 2013 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/15/234690444/house-gop-to-present-a-plan-to-reopen-government?ft=1&f=3
Similar Articles: marshawn lynch Julius Thomas

fulkmy00

Luca Pacioli is the one on the left. (Nobody knows who the guy on the right is.)

Museo di Capodimonte

On the show today, the story of an innovation that changed the way the world works, and of the man who made this innovation possible. Luca Pacioli was a monk, a mathematician, a magician and possibly, the boyfriend of Leonardo da Vinci.

Jane Gleeson-White, author of Double Entry: How the Merchants of Venice Created Modern Finance, tells us the story of Pacioli and how his book on mathematics changed business across the planet.

Note: This episode was originally posted last year.

Download the Planet Money iPhone App. Music: Noah & The Whale's "Tonight's the Kind of Night." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Spotify/ Tumblr

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/10/18/237169497/episode-407-a-mathematician-the-last-supper-and-the-birth-of-accounting?ft=1&f=
Similar Articles: Roosevelt Field Mall Nexus 4 al jazeera

fulkmy00

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index moved slightly lower in early trade on Thursday as investors seemed unimpressed with the short-term deal reached to avoid a U.S. debt default and concerned about the after-effects of a two-week government shutdown.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index <.gsptse> was down 1.17 points at 12,956.04 shortly after the open. It had opened in positive territory.

(Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tsx-may-open-lower-investors-cautious-shutdown-effects-122802076--sector.html
Similar Articles: national coffee day cher Americas Cup pharrell cedar point

fulkmy00

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first month alone, the Obama administration projected that nearly a half million people would sign up for the new health insurance markets, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. But that was before the markets opened to a cascade of computer problems.

If the glitches persist and frustrated consumers give up trying, that initial goal, described as modest in the memo, could slip out of reach.

The Sept. 5 memo, for Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, lists monthly enrollment targets for each state and Washington, D.C., through March 31, the last day of the initial open enrollment period under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

The new online insurance markets, called exchanges in some states, are supposed to be the portals to coverage for most of the nation's nearly 50 million uninsured people. Middle-class people without job-based coverage can shop for subsidized private plans, while low-income people are steered to an expanded version of Medicaid in states that have agreed to expand that safety net program.

Although the Oct. 1 launch of the markets was a top priority for the White House, the rollout was quickly overwhelmed by computer problems, and many potential customers still have not been able to enroll. Insurers say signups are coming through, but slowly. The administration has refused to release enrollment numbers.

A surge of interest by consumers going online appeared to trigger the problems, which also seem to involve underlying software flaws and design shortcomings undetected or overlooked in testing. The administration is holding the explanation close, while working feverishly to fix the glitches — with incomplete results so far.

In Cincinnati on Wednesday, Sebelius urged Americans to keep coming back to healthcare.gov if they can't get through. "Prices don't change and the product doesn't run out," she said.

In the memo, officials estimated that 494,620 people would sign up for health insurance under the program by Oct. 31. And that was portrayed as a slow start.

"We expect enrollment in the initial months to be low," said the memo titled "Projected Monthly Enrollment Targets for Health Insurance Marketplaces in 2014."

A big jump was expected after Thanksgiving, since Dec. 15 is the last day people can sign up so their coverage will take effect Jan. 1. Starting in the new year, the health care law requires virtually all Americans to have insurance or face fines. At the same time, insurance companies will be forbidden from turning away people in poor health.

The memo projected enrollment would reach 3.3 million nationally by Dec. 31.

Signups were expected to spike again in March, as procrastinators noticed the approaching end of open enrollment season. "We anticipate a surge of enrollment in December and March," the memo said.

By the end of March, total enrollment through the markets was expected to surpass 7 million, an estimate originally from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and then used by the administration as the foundation for its projections.

"These numbers are one projection of how the CBO's estimate of 7 million enrollees in year one could break down," HHS spokeswoman Joanne Peters said in a statement. "Projections are constantly changing based on experience. We are focused on reaching as many people as possible in each state."

The Obama administration has promised enrollment numbers by the middle of next month for the 36 states where the federal government is taking the lead in running the markets.

The 14 states running their own markets, along with Washington, D.C., have released some data. But it's hard to discern a clear pattern, since the reporting dates are different from state to state.

California reported 16,300 applications processed as of Oct. 5. The memo projects 91,000 people will enroll in the state by the end of the month.

Kentucky reported 18,351 applications processed as of Oct. 9. That would exceed the memo's projection of 15,400 for the month.

Washington state reported 24,949 applications processed as of Monday, a little more than the memo's October projection of 23,800.

Maryland reported 566 applications processed as of Oct. 6, compared with 10,500 projected for the month by the memo.

There are several reasons why enrollment numbers are important for the overall success of the law.

Most people spend relatively modest amounts on medical care each year, and a small proportion of patients accounts for the overwhelming majority of costs. Since older, sicker people are expected to enroll as the law lifts barriers that now keep them from getting insurance, premiums from lots of younger, healthier people are needed to help offset those costs.

Also, state numbers are as important as national totals. That's because each state's insurance market will remain separate under the law. "Obamacare" doesn't create a one-size-fits-all national program — like Medicare — but a bunch of state programs. That means lots of young healthy people signing up in California, for example, cannot cross-subsidize older, sicker people in another state.

"You can bust through these targets, but if it's mostly older and sicker people, then you are not in good shape," said Larry Levitt, a health insurance expert with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.

___

Associated Press writer Lisa Cornwell in Cincinnati contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-health-target-500-000-signups-oct-31-192353854--politics.html
Related Topics: Supernatural how i met your mother derek hough North West true blood

fulkmy00

Congress set a limit on how much debt the U.S. Treasury could accrue back in 1917.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Congress set a limit on how much debt the U.S. Treasury could accrue back in 1917.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Political battles over the debt limit have been around nearly as long as the law passed by Congress in 1917 that set a statutory limit for how much debt the Treasury could accrue.

Since then, Congress has had to increase that limit on more than 100 occasions — and 40 of those times, lawmakers have tried to tie strings to raising the debt ceiling. In the last few years, though, there's been a marked escalation in those demands.

When Treasury Secretary Jack Lew went before the Senate Finance Committee late last week, he put President Obama's Republican adversaries on notice: "We cannot have the debt limit be something that's a threat to the economy unless policy concessions are made — that's not how our democratic system works. A minority can't do that."

Oh, yes, it can, countered Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Senate's GOP minority. On the Senate floor, McConnell said Obama's refusal to make concessions in this standoff breaks with tradition.

"It's not the way presidents of both parties have dealt with this problem in the past," he said. "Reagan negotiated. Clinton negotiated. And if President Obama wants America to increase the credit limit, he'll negotiate, too."

In fact, Obama tried to negotiate with House Speaker John Boehner in the summer of 2011 to raise the debt ceiling. The president's lingering exasperation with that episode in many ways echoes one of his Republican predecessors.

In a 1987 White House radio address, President Ronald Reagan complained about a debt-ceiling deal that congressional Democrats had just muscled through.

"Congress consistently brings the government to the edge of default before facing its responsibility," Reagan said. "This brinkmanship threatens the holders of government bonds and those who rely on Social Security and veteran benefits."

But economist Alice Rivlin, a veteran of some of those earlier debt-ceiling battles, says they were tame compared to what's going on now.

"The mood is very different, the depth of the antagonism is very different and the risk-taking is different," she says.

Rivlin was White House budget director during the Clinton administration, a time she says when there was no talk of defaulting on the debt.

"Nobody thought in the '90s that we would breach the debt ceiling," she said. "There were attempts to attach things, but it was really much more symbolic than real."

Early in 2006, as the Iraq War raged, a Republican-led Senate voted on raising the debt ceiling, and along with every other Democrat, then-Sen. Barack Obama voted no. The only thing attached to that measure was the Democrats' disapproval.

Five years later, as president, Obama told ABC that no vote was a mistake.

"As president, you start realizing, 'You know what? We can't play around with this stuff. This is the full faith and credit of the United States,' " he said. "And so that was just a example of a new senator, you know, making what is a political vote as opposed to doing what was important for the country. And I'm the first one to acknowledge it."

Obama recently told reporters that by raising the debt ceiling, Congress is simply allowing financing for spending it has already approved. But it's still a tough vote.

Allen Schick, a congressional budget expert at the University of Maryland, says it has always been a challenge for either party to round up enough votes to boost the debt limit — which is why Congress found various ways over the past quarter century to avoid holding actual votes on raising the debt ceiling.

"The issue then was really different than it is now," he says. "Then it was an issue — 'We're short of votes.' Now there's an issue of demands made by the two parties which are not acceptable to one another."

Rep. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, says the debt ceiling has simply become an opportunity for Congress to make mischief.

"It's a nuclear-tipped leverage point," he says. "And this year, of course, the Tea Party folks are using it. But if this becomes a legitimate tactic, you might find a Democratic faction three or four years from now saying they want to use it. My view: We should disarm."

Welch co-sponsored a bill this year to abolish the debt ceiling. So far it's gone nowhere.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/14/231636943/how-the-debt-limit-became-a-nuclear-tipped-leverage-point?ft=1&f=1014
Category: tom brady Tami Erin

fulkmy00

Killer whales may have menopause so grandma can look after the kids

Public release date: 16-Oct-2013
[

| E-mail

|

Share

]

Contact: Harriet Jarlett
harrle@nerc.ac.uk
44-017-934-11939
Natural Environment Research Council

A new grant will help uncover why killer whales evolved a menopause

Killer whales are just one of three species we're one of the others - that continue to live long after they've stopped reproducing. But scientists still don't know why these three alone evolved this unusual menopausal trait.

In a bid to find out, NERC has agreed to fund a project worth nearly 500k to look at why killer whales stop reproducing a third of the way through their lives, dedicating the rest of their lives to protecting and caring for children and grandchildren.

The researchers suspect that the menopause, which the whales experience in their 30s or 40s, is related to the animals' social structure.

"Killer whales have a very unusual social system whereby sons and daughters don't disperse from their social group but instead live with their mother her entire life. As a female ages she shares more genes with group members, and theory predicts that older females can benefit more from helping their offspring and grand offspring than reproducing themselves," says Dr Darren Croft of the University of Exeter a lead investigator on the study.

"The situation with killer whales is quite different to humans. When a killer whale couple reproduces, the male will go to another group to mate with a female there. But, unlike the human population, he will later return to the group where his mother is. So in whales we have different ideas for why older females maybe have more pressure to look after their offspring, and grand-offspring," says Dr Dan Franks of the University of York a lead investigator on the study.

To discover why the menopause developed in the whales, the team will use information collected over the last 30 years about two populations of killer whales with over 550 individuals between them. The unique dataset includes birth and death dates as well as more complex data, like the genetic and social relationships between the different animals.

"One way we will approach the analysis of this data is to use a method similar to insurance companies where they give you a quote on life insurance based on the suspected survival of an individual. If a human smokes, is old, or is a heavy drinker then their insurance premium will go up as their chance of survival is less," explains Croft. "We can ask, since this calf's mother or grandmother is alive, how does that affect its chances of survival."

From preliminary work the scientists expect to show that having a female around who no longer reproduces greatly increases the chances of children and grandchildren surviving.

In addition to the benefits to children and grandchildren, theory predicts that competition over resources may also have contributed to the evolution of menopause.

"There is often a conflict over resources between offspring of different generations," Franks says. "If an older female gives birth at the same time as one of her daughters then the two calves will be in competition. Theory predicts that the calves of the older mother should lose out in this competition. So it makes sense for the older female to give up her reproductive rights and instead help raise the younger generation's offspring."

They will then look at how a female who has undergone menopause helps offspring survive. They suspect it is because older females take a leadership role in the social group and have more knowledge on where and when food is available.

While human menopause is fairly well understood, the scientists hope to be able to assess their findings against the human menopause and provide greater insight into this unusual animal trait.

"I wouldn't be surprised if through this project we learn more about the evolution of human menopause. Much of what we're proposing is inspired by research on human menopause, and we expect our research to lead to new ideas that will allow us to ask more questions about human evolution." says Franks.

###

[

| E-mail

|

Share

]

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.