Reid: U.S. is poised to go off fiscal cliff

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (R) (D-NV) hugs Speaker of the House John Boehner as Senate Minority Leader Mitch??With a deal to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff" nowhere in sight, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday predicted a compromise would not be reached in time to avert the tax increases and automatic spending cuts set to be triggered on January 1. Reid also criticized Republican House Speaker John Boehner in unusually personal terms, accusing him of running the House as a ?dictatorship? and blasting him for letting lawmakers out for vacation.

Boehner will be to blame ?if we go over the cliff, and it looks like that?s where we?re headed,? Reid insisted as the Senate returned to work for a post-Christmas session focused on disaster relief for Sandy victims and renewing key government surveillance powers.

Reid's speech on the Senate floor came shortly before President Barack Obama returned to Washington from Hawaii to resume discussions of how to avoid the fiscal cliff. White House Spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said Obama had spoken to Reid, Boehner, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell Wednesday evening.

Reid, a Nevada Democrat, repeatedly pressed Boehner to have the House take up a Senate-passed bill extending income tax cuts on income under $250,000, calling that measure the only ?viable escape route.? House Republicans have thus far balked at raising taxes at all.

?The Speaker just has a few days left to change his mind,? Reid said. ?But I have to be very honest?I don?t know, time-wise, how it can happen now.?

"Speaker Boehner should call members of the House back today," Reid said, adding that the Ohio Republican "seems to care more about keeping his speakership" than pushing his party to accept a deal that would avert a tax increase for all but the highest income taxpayers. Democrats have repeatedly leveled that charge at Boehner, whose reelection on January 3 is not seriously in doubt despite ever-louder conservative grumbling.

Reid also accused Boehner of operating a "dictatorship" that had shut out House Democrats and all but the most conservative voices in the GOP, saying that the Senate-passed bill would pass with mostly Democratic votes but some Republican support as well.

?Nothing can move forward in regards to our budget crisis unless Speaker Boehner and Leader McConnell are willing to participate in coming up with a bipartisan plan,? Reid warned. ?Speaker Boehner is unwilling to negotiate, we?ve not heard a word from Leader McConnell, nothing is happening. Democrat?s can?t put together a plan on their own,? he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/reid-says-fiscal-cliff-dive-likely-blasts-boehner-171600314--politics.html

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Israel pushes on with east Jerusalem building plan

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel on Monday said it was pushing forward with plans to build hundreds of homes in a Jewish settlement of east Jerusalem, risking renewed tensions with the Palestinians and its Western allies over the contentious project.

The announcement was part of a new Israeli settlement push announced earlier this month as retaliation for the Palestinians' success in winning U.N. recognition for a state at the United Nations. Israel was widely criticized internationally for the settlement plans, though actual construction would be far in the future.

An Interior Ministry committee on Monday approved an intermediate stage of planning for the construction of 1,500 apartments in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, a part of the city Palestinians claim for a future capital. The plan had been in the pipeline since it was first announced in 2010 during a visit to Israel by Vice President Joe Biden, causing a major diplomatic rift with Washington that took months to mend.

Ministry spokeswoman Efrat Orbach said the project still must go through several additional planning stages, and it could be years before final approval and construction.

Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the move, calling it a "stark challenge to the entire international community."

There was no immediate American reaction.

Israel announced plans early this month to build thousands of settlement homes, including in Ramat Shlomo, in response to the U.N. General Assembly's recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. The U.S., Israel's closest ally, condemned the construction plans, and several European allies summoned Israeli ambassadors to lodge formal protests.

Israel strongly objected to the Palestinian's U.N. bid, saying it was an attempt to bypass negotiations. Israel rejects a return to its 1967 lines.

Israel annexed east Jerusalem following the 1967 war and claims the area, home to sensitive Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites, as an inseparable part of its capital. The Palestinians also claim east Jerusalem as the capital of their hoped-for state. About 200,000 Jews and roughly 250,000 Palestinians live in east Jerusalem.

While Israelis consider its east Jerusalem enclaves to be neighborhoods like others in the city, the international does not recognize Israel's annexation of the area and rejects the sections as illegal or illegitimate settlements.

Abbas has refused to negotiate with Israel so long as settlement construction continues, leading to a four-year lull in talks. Abbas has said that a stalemate in talks urged him to turn to the U.N.

Support is growing for his political opponents, Gaza's militant Islamic Hamas rulers, following eight days of fighting with Israel last month. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh might defeat Abbas if an election were held today for the presidency, according to a poll published Monday by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research.

The survey said Haniyeh would receive 48 percent of the Palestinian vote and 46 percent for Abbas, a virtual tie. Just three months ago, Abbas received the support of 51 percent and Haniyeh 40 percent.

The poll surveyed 1,270 Palestinians and had a margin of error of three percentage points.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israel-pushes-east-jerusalem-building-plan-161754847.html

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Tina Simpson 'Furious' Over Joe's Life Insurance Policy For ...

Getty/Splash News

By Jon Boon - Radar Reporter

Joe Simpson secretly took out a $4.5 million life insurance policy in daughter Jessica?s name with himself listed as the sole beneficiary, a source tells RadarOnline.com exclusively.

The policy was drafted around 8 years ago, the source says, and The Dukes Of Hazzard star and her mom Tina only found out about its existence last week.

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Tina?s attorneys at Dunnam & Dunnam were made aware of the policy's existence in a meeting with the Simpsons' business manager, David Levin, and the source says that both Jessica and Tina are "furious" that Joe had done such a thing without the knowledge of either of them.

?Tina found out about yet another one of Joe?s secrets and couldn?t believe what she was hearing,? the source, who is close to the Simpson family, tells RadarOnline.com.

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?It came out in a meeting with David and her attorneys last week that Joe set up a life insurance policy for Jessica 8 years ago that made him the sole beneficiary.

?It was pointed out to Tina that as Jessica's manager Joe wasn't doing anything underhanded by taking out a policy to protect his biggest income source, but she was absolutely furious that Joe did it without consulting her or Jessica.

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?Joe?s actions have put a massive strain on the family, and it?s only getting worse. It?s hard to see that Tina and Joe will ever be amicable with each other again and the divorce case is shaping up to be very messy,? the source says.

Meanwhile, as RadarOnline.com previously reported, Jessica and Joe seemed to put their differences aside, at least for a few hours, after they were spotted chatting at the wedding of Jessica's best friend, Cacee Cobb, and actor Donald Faison.

?

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Source: http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/12/joe-simpson-jessica-life-insurance-policy-source-says-tina

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A sobering moment from outer space

NASA

The northeastern U.S., including Connecticut and Massachusetts' Cape Cod, are seen in a photo taken on the International Space Station on June 27, 2011.

By Alan Boyle

From a cosmic perspective, our planet has a peaceful beauty ? no matter what tumult is raging far below. That's the message NASA astronaut Ron Garan wanted to send with this picture of the northeastern United States. Today, if you could zoom in far enough on this view today, you could see the anguish left behind in the wake of Friday's horrible school shooting in Connecticut.

"When we look at Earth from space, we are faced with a sobering contradiction," Garan writes on his Google+ page. "On the one hand is the beauty of our planet, on the other is the unfortunate reality of life on our planet for many of her inhabitants. Our prayers are with the victims and families in Connecticut.?#LoveConquersAll"

You can count on Garan to bring a wider-angle view to whatever is happening here on Earth. He spent five months aboard the International Space Station last year, and since he returned, he has been sharing the glories of our blue planet via Google+ as well as Twitter, Facebook and the Fragile Oasis website. This particular picture was snapped from the space station during Garan's stint in orbit. To learn more about the image, check in with NASA's Earth Observatory or the Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.

Garan wasn't the first human to reflect on the cosmic perspective produced by outer-space views: Astronauts and philosophers have long talked about the "Overview Effect," the sense of planetary unity that arises when you see Earth as an object suspended in space. Just this month, a group known as Planetary Collective unveiled an online video documentary exploring the phenomenon.

And then there's Carl Sagan, the famous astronomer and writer who passed away 16 years ago this month. He helped persuade NASA to turn the camera on its Voyager 1 deep-space probe back toward Earth in 1990, to capture a priceless picture of our "pale blue dot" as a speck in outer space.

"There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world," Sagan wrote. "To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

Amen.

You can watch a video about the pale blue dot, or a brand-new animation that brings Sagan's words to life. These sobering moments from space serve as today's offering from the Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar, which highlights views of our planet every day from now until Christmas. Click on the links below for more moments:

---

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other science and space news coverage, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered via email. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about dwarf planets and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/15/15930928-a-sobering-moment-from-space?lite

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Skydiver eyes record-breaking jump over NM

ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) ? Experienced skydiver and extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner hopes to take the leap of his life on Tuesday, attempting the highest, fastest free fall in history.

If he survives, the man dubbed "Fearless Felix" could be the first skydiver to break the sound barrier. If he doesn't, a tragic fall could be live-streamed on the Internet for the world to see.

Rigged with cameras, the 43-year-old former military parachutist from Austria is scheduled to jump from a balloon-hoisted capsule 23 miles near Roswell on Tuesday morning. He wants to break the record set in 1960 by Joe Kittinger, who jumped from an open gondola at an altitude of 19.5 miles. Kittinger's speed of 614 mph was just shy of breaking the sound barrier at that height.

Baumgartner, who has been preparing for the jump for five years, has made two practice runs from the Roswell area, from 15 miles high in March and 18 miles in July.

And while he and his team of experts recognize the worst-case scenarios ? including "boiling" blood and exploding lungs ? they have confidence in their built-in solutions. Those solutions are something NASA is watching closely. The space agency is interested in the potential for escape systems on future rocket ships.

Baumgartner's top medical man is Dr. Jonathan Clark, a former NASA flight surgeon whose wife, astronaut Laurel Clark, died in the space shuttle Columbia accident in 2003. Clark is dedicated to improving astronauts' chances of survival in a high-altitude disaster.

The No. 1 fear is a breach of Baumgartner's suit, which could cause potentially lethal bubbles to form in his bodily fluids, a condition known as boiling blood. There are also risks he could spin out of control, causing other problems.

This death-defying venture is being sponsored by energy drink maker, Red Bull, which has funded other extreme athletic events. The project's team of experts has a plan for almost every contingency. The spacesuit and capsule were tested in the early skydiving practice runs. The company won't say how much the project, called Stratos for stratosphere, is costing.

But whether Baumgartner can make what he vows will be his final jump depends on the weather. A cold front that brought winds to the area this weekend prompted the team to move the planned Monday jump to Tuesday. Even the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, 200 miles to the north, was forced to cancel its opening mass ascension of more than 500 balloons on Saturday morning because of the high winds. Those balloons took off Sunday, but winds in the 9 mph range and above remain in the forecast for Roswell all week, and the jump can only be made if winds on the ground are less than 2 mph.

Still, Baumgartner's team remained optimistic about getting the mission off the ground.

"From what we are looking at so far, we are on schedule (for Tuesday)," meteorologist Don Day said at a media briefing Sunday.

Weather permitting, Baumgartner will be lifted into the stratosphere around 7 a.m. MDT by a helium balloon that will stretch 55 stories high. Once he reaches his target altitude, he will open the hatch of his capsule and make a gentle, bunny-style jump. Any contact with the capsule on his exit could break open the pressurized suit that will protect him from temperatures as low as minus 70 and a lack of oxygen. He hopes to reach a speed of 690 mph to break the sound barrier.

Baumgartner, who has made more than 2,500 jumps from planes, helicopters, landmarks and skyscrapers over the past 25 years, promises this jump will be his last.

He says he plans to settle down with his girlfriend and fly helicopters on mountain rescue and firefighting missions in the U.S. and Austria.

___

Online:

Red Bull Stratos: http://www.redbullstratos.com

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force: http://tinyurl.com/2dsnn6

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-10-08-Supersonic%20Skydiver/id-afcb6a4b27664a6bafa3f09d1a4ed40e

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Motorola confirms acquisition of facial-recognition tech company Viewdle

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The economics and planning involved with relocating in Canada ...

As Canada continues to be a hot spot for relocation both for foreigners and those relocating within the country, many useful pieces and stories have been published with advice where in the country exactly to relocate to.

One such piece that focuses on the financial impact of relocation was a particular good read and one that I felt deserved further analysis. The story speaks about, among other things, how popular Western Canada has become due to its abundance of natural resources, Alberta?s disproportionate percentage of the country?s employment growth in the past year and the varying real estate prices to take into account when considering relocation.

Another very interesting point that was brought up for people thinking of relocating to or within Canada: when considering employment the oil, gas and mining sectors are by far the most in demand. The industry boasts a ridiculous just over 1 job seeker per job as compared to the national average of just over 3 job seekers per job in all industries.

The bottom line: Canada is a hot destination for people looking to relocate. There are lots of job opportunities in various industries, affordable housing for people willing to do their geographical research and check out all communities in the country and an overwhelmingly positive reputation of some of the friendliest people on earth.

Clearly the recent surge in immigrants to Canada is not a fluke and the numbers can be expected to keep on rising.

Visit www.Shipping2Canada.com when relocating to, from or within Canada and get the lowest quote.

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 10th, 2012 at 10:03 am and is filed under Shipping to Canada. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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