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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

[OOC] We'll Meet Again, Some Sunny Day

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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.

"Vera! Vera! What has become of you?" :)

I may be interested in this roleplay. Can you tell me a little bit more about the plot?

Ita, ibi stabamus, et... Oh, ignosce mihi, was I speaking Latinam iterum? So sorry, ego really must work in ille. Anyway, back to fabulam meam, So, we were standing ibi, et...

FalloutRomanae: Member for 1 years

Could I get a hold on female 3 please?

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It's just that yours is stupid.
?I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.?
?I guess I just prefer to see the dark side of things. The glass is always half empty. And cracked. And I just cut my lip on it. And chipped a tooth.?

Lux_Disraeli: Member for 1 years

Very surprised at the response for this! Okay so since there's one place left then If you could send in your characters then I'll choose which one I like best but I may yet expand the character spots but first need to get some guy spots filled.

Calvazara: Member for 1 years

I noticed you make historical role plays, which I absolutely love...maybe I will reserve one of the male characters

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. (H.P. Lovecraft "The Call of Cthulhu")

girlwt: Member for 3 years

History is my passion! And it would be great if you could!

Calvazara: Member for 1 years

My character is done I hope she's alright.

snipergirl24: Member for 1 years

An interesting concept. A couple of questions though before I'm convinced:

1) Can we get a map or geographical description Bedford Falls, SC? I've looked online and found no such town in SC so therefore I must assume it to be fictional and therefore its physical make up is up to the will of the GM.

2) Are there any factories, mines, shipyards, or any other industrial facilities in the area? Is Bedford Falls a farming town? What is the lifeblood of this place?

3) You mentioned swearing and violence are allowed but considering the nature of the time frame and the location, there is another issue that we should be exploring. Are we permitted to explore the nature of racism at the time?

4) Will this RP actually pursue the course of WWII post-American entry?

"There comes a time in the affairs of men when he must prepare to defend not only his home alone but the tenets of faith and humanity upon which his church, his government, his very civilization are founded."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1941

Hadespwr: Member for 1 years

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Reynolds to star in "Big Eyes" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES, Jan 22 (TheWrap.com) ? Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Reynolds will play Margaret and Walter Keane in an indie biopic about the couple whose art -- especially paintings of doe-eyed children -- became a pop phenomenon in the 1950s and 1960s.

While their art was reproduced and marketed around the country, their home life was unhappy: Margaret Keane was the artist, but her husband took credit. In fact, it carried Walter Keane's name, rather than the shy Margaret's.

When the two divorced, both claimed rights to the paintings. Ultimately -- in federal court -- Margaret Keane painted a picture to prove that she was, in fact the artist. When the judge asked Walter Keane to paint, he declined, saying his sore shoulder prevented him from painting.

The judge found for Margaret Keane.

Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski wrote and will direct the film. Tim Burton is producing through his Tim Burton Productions. Lynette Howell and Jamie Patricof are producing through their Electric City Entertainment.

"We are ecstatic to have this dream cast for our dream project," the directors said in a written statement. "Walter is a larger-than-life antihero -- charming, funny, dangerous and a little crazy. Ryan will knock it out of the park. As for Reese, she will be perfect as Margaret -- soulful, decent, transforming from vulnerability to learning to fight for herself."

Alexander and Karaszewski know their biopics: They wrote "Ed Wood," "The People vs. Larry Flint" and the Andy Kaufman biopic "Man on the Moon."

With Burton, they're working on a new version of "The Addams Family."

"Big Eyes" has been on Alexander and Karaszewski's to-do list since at least 2009.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/film_nm/us_reesewitherspoon

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Q+A: Romney's tax return: What might it say? (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney promises to unveil his 2010 tax return on Tuesday, a filing his rivals will scrutinize for insights into how he became one of the wealthiest people to run for president in U.S. history.

Romney, who earned most of his wealth after co-founding private equity firm Bain Capital, bowed to weeks of public pressure when he said he would disclose at least his 2010 return and possibly a tax estimate for 2011.

Last week he estimated he pays an actual tax rate of about 15 percent. His estimated net worth is up to $270 million.

Here are some key questions about Romney's taxes.

WHAT WILL THE RETURN SHOW - AND WHAT WILL IT NOT?

It is unclear how much depth of information the 2010 return will provide. Romney's surging rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Newt Gingrich, released a form 1040 -- the standard income-reporting form for American taxpayers -- with attachments last week, showing his income for the year was about $3.1 million. But some sources of Gingrich's income were unclear because he earns most of his wealth through a holding company for enterprises such as his consulting and production companies.

"If he just releases a 1040, that tells you nothing," said Joe Thorndike, a tax historian who works for the trade publication Tax Analysts.

"We are not going to know everything about Romney's financing -- tax returns don't do that," Thorndike said.

Much of Romney's wealth is held in an Individual Retirement Account and a blind trust - two things that may not show up on his personal federal tax return.

WHAT ABOUT HIS YEARS AT BAIN CAPITAL?

Romney co-founded Bain Capital in 1984 and worked there until 1999. Tax returns from those years might show how Romney built an estimated $200 million of his fortune and would provide a more comprehensive picture of his wealth but they are not expected to be released.

WHAT IS ROMNEY'S "EFFECTIVE" TAX RATE?

The effective tax rate is the actual tax rate paid after accounting for deductions, credits and the like. An individual might make enough to place among the richest Americans taxed at 35 percent but with deductions and alternative types of income, the actual rate paid can be much lower.

That will surely be the case with Romney, given his public estimate.

WHAT ABOUT HIS PRIVATE EQUITY OR "CARRIED INTEREST" INCOME?

Much of Romney's fortune likely qualifies as what is known as "carried interest," a share of profits earned by private equity managers taxed at the 15 percent capital gains tax rate rather than the 35 percent wage rate.

Critics say the lower rate is an unfair tax break because investment managers are providing a service that should be taxed at the higher rate paid by wage earners.

Democrats in Congress have come close to raising the rate to have it equal the rate paid on "ordinary" or wage income but fierce lobbying has paid off so far for the private equity, venture capital and hedge fund industries.

It likely will not be clear how much of Romney's income qualifies for carried interest.

"Everyone will speculate it is due to carried interest but there is nothing on the return that absolutely tells you it is a carried interest," said Terence Floyd Cuff, a private equity attorney for the wealthy in California.

Individuals also can defer taxes on their carried interest income, a benefit not allowed for wage and salary earners.

Americans on average pay an effective individual income tax rate of 9 percent but that figure includes the elderly and very poor who may get federal money back through child credits.

There also are wide fluctuations within income groups, whereby some millionaires pay a lower rate than some in the middle class.

WHAT ABOUT GIFT TAXES?

Romney has a $100 million trust set up for his five sons. How Romney handles this trust would be described in gift tax returns. Presumably the trust is funded somewhat using carried interest profits. Some wealthy Americans have undervalued gifts to trim their gift tax rates.

A 35 percent gift tax now applies to transfers of property -- including money -- after an annual exclusion of $13,000. The rate has been higher, and the exclusion lower, in years past.

OFFSHORE INCOME

A slew of Romney's investment funds run through Bain are in tax havens such as the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, a practice that is legal and common but that has come under some criticism during the campaign.

The Romney campaign's answer to questions on this front has been that he does not control the makeup of the funds because they are run as blind trusts.

Some of these investments also are held through two Individual Retirement Accounts and investing IRAs offshore can eliminate all taxes until withdrawals are made.

CHARITABLE DEDUCTIONS

As a devout Mormon, Romney gives away at least 10 percent of his income to the Mormon Church, a practice known as tithing. He uses stock holdings from his time at Bain Capital and this practice makes him eligible for big tax deductions.

(Additional reporting by Lynnley Browning; Editing by Howard Goller and Bill Trott)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/pl_nm/us_usa_taxes_romney

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Tablet ownership nearly doubles in January (Digital Trends)

using-ipad

According to new information from the?Pew Research Center?s Internet and American Life Project, tablet ownership has jumped from about 1 out of every 10 Americans to approximately 19 percent. The previous study was conducted around the middle of December, thus the massive increase in tablet ownership can likely be attributed to the holiday shopping season. While Apple?s iPad definitely helped boost that percentage, less expensive tablets like Amazon?s Kindle Fire and?Barnes and Noble?s Nook Tablet were also partial contributors. Analysts have estimated that Apple sold approximately 13 million iPads over the holiday season while Amazon sold between four to five million Kindle Fire tablets.?In addition to tablet ownership increasing rapidly, e-book reader ownership also spiked from 18 percent in December 2011 to 29 percent in January 2012.?

teacher-ipad With Apple making a big push into the education market with the iBooks 2 application and its partnerships with textbook publishers, it?s clear that the company is interested in expanding beyond selling the tablet to the mainstream consumer during 2012. According to a report from Global Equities Research, Apple has seen?approximately?350,000 textbook downloads?in the first three days of release. While the $15 price of a textbook on the iPad seems?detrimental?to publishers, production costs are cut by up to 80 percent and the publishers don?t have to deal with third parties in order to get the textbook into educational retailers. With over 5 million in textbook sales in the first three days, publishers are likely encouraged by the potential of more educators adopting the platform.

Apple?s efforts are also likely to be encouraged by the findings of a recent year-long study that discovered students were able to produce higher math scores by using an iPad application over a traditional textbook. ?According to a recent study conducted by PBS LearningMedia, over four out of five teachers believe that tablets enrich the classroom experience, yet only 22 percent of teachers reported that they have the right kind of technology in the classroom. The study also found that teachers working in?affluent school districts are twice as likely to have access to tablets like the iPad. ?

If?Apple has plans to become an influential force in the education system with iBooks 2, the company will have to work with school districts on providing iPad hardware for students either through the school system or encouraging parents to purchase the tablet. However, many teachers have already began an effort to obtain iPads and other tablets through sites like?DonorsChoose.Org. According to a recent Forbes article, the dollar amount for requests of Apple products rose from $50,000 over the?2009-2010 school year to?$800,000 during the following school year. While some of the requests were for Macbook laptops and the iPod Touch, the vast majority of Apple requests were related to the iPad. Officials at?DonorsChoose.org said that the company plans to distribute 40 million dollars between?80,000 classroom project requests during 2012.

At the?Menlo School in Atherton, California, the private school has been operating a?pilot program with iPads for the last year as reported by Venturebeat. According to school officials, students in the eighth and tenth grade are given an iPad to carry use during the entire school year. While the expensive tablets are still owned by the school, the student is free to take the iPad home in order to complete homework. According to Menlo School?director of technology?Eric Spross, he stated ?We choose iPads because they?re lightweight, portable, have a long battery life, and are self-service. They?re easier to support.?

However, the situation for public schools is vastly different from the Menlo School.?Beyond monetary deficits for technology like tablets, public schools also have to deal with regulations from?state and federal entities in regards to what technology the school is allowed to purchase. These same regulations dictate which textbooks have to be purchased, thus a textbook on the iPad platform may not be authorized. ?

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

Monday, January 23, 2012

Gaddafi supporters seize control of Libyan town (Reuters)

TRIPOLI (Reuters) ? Fighters loyal to Libya's overthrown leader Muammar Gaddafi took control of a town south-east of the capital on Monday, flying their green flags in defiance of the country's fragile new government.

The fightback by Gaddafi supporters defeated in Libya's civil war, though unlikely to spread elsewhere, added to the problems besetting a government which in the past week has been reeling from one crisis to another. Gaddafi himself was captured and killed in October after weeks on the run.

Accounts from the town of Bani Walid, about 200 km (120 miles) from Tripoli, described armed Gaddafi supporters attacking the barracks of the pro-government militia in the town and then forcing them to fall back.

"They control the town now. They are roaming the town," said a fighter with the 28th May militia, loyal to Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC), which came under attack.

The fighter told Reuters the loyalists were flying "brand new green flags" from the centre of town. The flags were symbols of Gaddafi's 42-year rule.

A resident said four people were killed and 20 wounded in the fighting, during which the sides used heavy weapons.

Bani Walid, base of the powerful Warfallah tribe, was one of the last towns to surrender to the anti-Gaddafi rebellion last year. Many people there oppose the new leadership.

A Libyan air force official said war planes were being mobilized to fly to Bani Walid. A spokesman for the military council in Zawiyah, near Tripoli, said a 1,500-strong force, drawn from militias across western Libya, was on stand-by.

"If the situation in Bani Walid is still complicated , we will go there," the spokesman, Ayad Laaroussi, said.

But it was not immediately clear what the government in Tripoli could do. It has yet to demonstrate that it has an effective fighting force under its command and Bani Walid, protected behind a deep valley, is difficult to attack.

EMBATTLED GOVERNMENT

The uprising in Bani Walid could not come at a worse time for the NTC. In the past week its chief has had his office overrun by protesters angry at the slow pace of reform and the second most senior official has quit, citing what he described as an "atmosphere of hatred."

During Libya's nine-month war, anti-Gaddafi rebels tried to take Bani Walid but did not progress much beyond the outskirts of the town. It later emerged that Saif al-Islam, one of Muammar Gaddafi's sons who was captured in the Sahara desert in November, had been using Bani Walid as a base.

Soon before the end of the conflict, with Gaddafi's defeat unavoidable, local tribal elders negotiated an agreement under which forces loyal to the NTC were able to enter the town without a fight.

Relations have been uneasy since then and there have been occasional flare-ups of violence.

The resident, who did not want to be identified, said Monday's violence began when members of the May 28 militia arrested some Gaddafi loyalists.

That prompted other supporters of the former leader to attack the militia's garrison.

"They massacred men at the doors of the militia headquarters," said the resident.

A militia based in Tripoli said its fighters had captured 17 people who, it said, were part of a network trying to smuggle arms to Gaddafi loyalists in Bani Walid and elsewhere. The militia said in a text message that the weapons included Russian-made Grad rockets.

FRAGILE GRIP ON POWER

The NTC still has the backing of the NATO powers who, with their diplomatic pressure and bombing campaign, helped push out Gaddafi and install the new government.

But questions are now being raised inside some Western governments about the NTC's ability to govern Libya effectively and secure its borders against al Qaeda, arms traffickers and illegal migrants trying to get into Europe.

The NTC was pitched into its worst crisis since the end of the civil war at the weekend when a crowd of protesters in the eastern city of Benghazi stormed the council's local headquarters when NTC chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil was inside.

The protesters, who supported the revolt against Gaddafi, were angry that more progress had not been made to restore basic public services. They also said many of the NTC's members were tarnished by having served in Gaddafi's administration.

Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, deputy head of the NTC and target of some of the protests, said he was resigning. Abdel Jalil warned that the protests could drag the country into a "bottomless pit."

(Additional reporting by Ali Shuaib; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/wl_nm/us_libya_fighting

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Illinois Considers Ban on All Cellphone Use While Driving (ContributorNetwork)

According to Fox News, a statewide ban on operating a motor vehicle while using a handheld cellphone has been proposed in the Illinois House of Representatives. State Rep. John D'Amico, D-Chicago, has proposed the bill that would make holding a cellphone, specifically to make calls, illegal and would require the use of headsets or other hands-free systems if drivers want to talk on their phone.

Driving while holding a cellphone is illegal in Chicago and the suburbs of Evanston and Highland Park. Here are some statistics about cellphone driving and efforts to reduce this safety hazard:

* ABC Local reported that Illinois' ban on texting while driving, which includes sending and reading texts, went into effect on Jan. 1, 2010, and stood alongside a ban on all handheld cellphone conversations while driving through construction and school and school zones.

* The texting ban also includes strict penalties resulting in marks against a driver's record with three marks leading to a suspended driver's license in addition to fines ranging from $75 to $150.

* Statistics collected from Nationwide indicate that distraction from a cellphone while driving impairs a driver's reaction as much as having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08, the legal limit.

* The No. 1 source of driver distraction is the use of a wireless device and people operating a motor vehicle while using cellphones are four times as likely to get into serious enough crashes to injure themselves.

* In 2010, Chicago Police Department officers issued 23,393 tickets for using a mobile device while driving, which was the highest number of tickets handed out in a single year for the offense and in total the tickets brought the city $2.2 million in revenue, noted the Chicago Tribune.

* The Windy City has become more proactive about issuing tickets to drivers violating the cellphone ban and the tickets, notorious for being extremely hard to fight, come with $500 fines.

* On Jan. 1, 2010, Illinois also adopted a law against using a cellphone in both school zones and construction zones as a way to decrease traffic accidents in these areas, according to the Journal Star.

* Talking or texting on a cellphone while driving through these restricted zones faces an automatic $74 ticket even when pedestrians or construction workers are not present.

* The Chicago Sun-Times added the Chicago City Council also passed an ordinance in October prohibiting bicycle riders from texting and talking on the phone while riding and fines range from $20 to $500 depending on the offense and if it also involves a traffic accident.

* The purpose of the cellphone ban for bicycle riders was to level the playing between riders and other motorists while also aiming to keep city streets safer.

Rachel Bogart provides an in-depth look at current environmental issues and local Chicago news stories. As a college student from the Chicago suburbs pursuing two science degrees, she applies her knowledge and passion to both topics to garner further public awareness.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120121/pl_ac/10862821_illinois_considers_ban_on_all_cellphone_use_while_driving

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Texans To Compare Health Insurance | Find Dental Health Insurance

Posted on 21 January 2012. Tags: dental expenses, health insurance, health insurance policies, health insurance policy, health insurance quotes, medical ailments, texas health insurance

The internet offers quite a few convenient ways to buy and compare health insurance plans. They are also known as mediclaim policies which come with Texas health insurance quotes. The health insurance quotes make sure that every Texan knows about the basic features of the health insurance plans. The basic features that are mentioned in the quotes are the price of the health insurance, some basic details about the insurer age, gender, and areas that are covered under the plan. You always have the option of saving money whenever you choose to compare health insurance plans. This is because you do not end up buying an expensive health insurance policy that exceeds your budget.

Texas health insurance quotes clearly mention that a health insurance policy mainly covers the expenses caused by the major life-threatening medical ailments and procedures. An accidental death or a permanent disablement of an earning member of a family can result into a disruption in the functioning of the family. The various insurance companies
in Texas offer a huge amount of benefit once you experience a diagnosis for a particular illness that is covered under the terms of the insurance. If you compare health insurance plans offered by the various companies you should select a plan that covers unexpected calamities, emergencies, dental expenses, drug requirements, custodial needs and other forms of disabilities, temporary or permanent.

There are many Texans who do not consider health insurance to be at all important. In that case they are strictly advised to at least go through the rules and regulations, with regard to the health insurance policies. In that process they must also compare health insurance plans to select the appropriate health insurance policy covering pre- and post-hospitalization charges, day care procedures, cashless claims and tax benefits. Texas health insurance quotes provide several options for students, small families and for employees of an organization. One should carefully go through the terms and conditions mentioned in the policy and consult an expert before signing the papers.

There are several websites that present details from four or more insurance companies when you mention your age, email, locations, and type of insurance. I used EasyToInsureME

Source: http://www.projektgenerika.org/texans-to-compare-health-insurance.html

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