Jobless US vets say military experience not valued

Sat Oct 29, 2011 3:50pm EDT

* Vet jobless rate 2.6 pct higher than general population

* As wars wind down, lawmakers and groups focus on issue

By Roy Strom

NAPERVILLE, Ill, Oct 29 (Reuters) - When Matthew Burrell left the U.S. Army after eight years of service, he landed a job as a public relations contractor in Iraq. With a salary of $170,000, he figured military experience had finally paid off.

But five months after returning home to Chicago, 33-year-old Burrell is unemployed and his search for a job in the private sector has left him disheartened.

Despite having six years of experience as a public relations officer in the Army, he said he is treated as though he had just graduated from college.

"I can tell you for a fact that definitely in my field in public relations and marketing, private-sector companies do not value (military experience)," Burrell said.

Burrell, along with many of what the Department of Labor says are 235,000 unemployed veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, has run into a vexing problem.

Many U.S. companies, and sometimes veterans themselves, do not know how to translate military experience into civilian skills. There is a disconnect between companies demanding a college degree and veterans giving confusing descriptions of their military experience to civilian employers.

That disconnect has contributed to veterans having an unemployment rate 2.6 percent higher than the general population, according to September's Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment report.

As U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan winds down, lawmakers and organizations are starting to address the issue.

The Obama administration this week announced steps that include encouraging community health centers to hire 8,000 veterans over the next three years, and improving training opportunities for military medics to become physician assistants.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it hopes to get 15,000 veterans hired through 100 job fairs around the country for veterans this year. One of those job fairs was held recently in Naperville, a Chicago suburb, giving 86 companies the chance to meet more than 600 veterans.

'TONE THAT DOWN'

One problem is that veterans need to explain more clearly to companies the value of their experience, said Kevin Schmiegel, vice president of veterans' employment programs at the Chamber of Commerce.

Hiring managers who have not served in the military are often bewildered by the jargon used by soldiers and weapons specialists, said Becky Brillon, who heads a program at the Community Career Center in Naperville.

A military job title might be listed like this: "25 Romeo visual and media equipment operator and maintainer."

"If somebody was artillery, or a sharpshooter or a sniper, you have to tone that down in the civilian world. It's more about being detail-oriented, precise and focused," she said.

On the flip side, private employers should give more credit to the experience and skills veterans acquire in the military, Schmiegel said.

Some military jobs, like a mechanic or technician, are fairly easily adapted to the private sector. But military credentials and certificates for other forms of training do not seem to carry much weight.

Rick Combs, a 27-year-old who retired as a sergeant in the Army, says he was given management training in the military. So far that training has not translated into a comparable private-sector job.

"You can come in, and slap something down that says, 'Here, the military says I can lead people. Give me a department and I will make it dance for you,'" Combs said. "I haven't had the opportunity on the civilian side yet."

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/USmarketsNews/~3/9SNCqmQ3YM0/economy-jobs-veterans-idUSN1E79R24F20111029

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Review: Lambert blazes her own trail on new CD (AP)

Miranda Lambert, "Four the Record" (RCA Nashville)

Six years after Miranda Lambert torched a new path for country music with her debut album, "Kerosene," she continues to burn through the boundaries of Nashville's Music Row by experimenting with fresh sounds and unexpected themes.

Her fourth solo album, "Four the Record," opens with "All Kinds Of Kinds," a non-judgmental song which references a congressman who is a closeted transvestite and a pharmacist who secretly feeds herself and her family pills. Next comes "Fine Tune," a tale of erotic awakening that includes an electronically-processed vocal over a woozy, bluesy pop arrangement unlike anything in country music, past or present.

In other words, Lambert continues to follow her own muse and to grow creatively ? and both the Texas native and country music is better for it.

Whether she's singing about wild women ("Mama's Broken Heart," "Fastest Girl In Town"), deceitful lovers ("Same Old You," "Dear Diamond") or enduring love ("Easy Living," "Safe"), Lambert fills her new collection with bold songs that utilize sounds and images that mark her as an artist who refuses to play it safe.

But what makes "Four the Record" entertaining isn't just that Lambert is so daring; the album stands out because the chances she takes result in songs that connect on a deeper, more meaningful level than most of her contemporaries.

CHECK OUT THIS TRACK: On "Baggage Claim," a top 10 hit for Lambert, she shows off a strutting, soulful vocal that plays nicely off of Jay Joyce's slide acoustic guitar and Steve Winwood's Hammond organ. The result engagingly updates the southern soul of the 1960s.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111031/ap_en_ot/us_music_review_miranda_lambert

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iPad 2 Scheduled for Delivery to International Space Station Tomorrow

By Apple hot news, on October 29th, 2011

The iPad 2 will officially be the first tablet computer in space, as two units have already been stowed in the Progress 45 cargo craft along with three tons of food, water, oxygen, gear and fuel. Progress 45 sits atop a Soyuz booster at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, awaiting launch early Sunday morning. Astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS) will have the option of using the iPad 2 devices for entertainment when off duty.

Additional tablets will likely join the iPads in space next year, as NASA is still evaluating different models. The ISS already has two iPhone 4 units and several iPods on board, the latter was first introduced in 2005 for music listening in space. The Progress 45 mission is unmanned, however in November a three-man crew is set to travel to ISS on a Soyuz TMA-22.

read more

The iPad Guide ? iPad News, Info, Tips, How To Guide and Forums

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/applehotnews/posts/~3/fZSmMze45lQ/

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Video: Policy Aspirations vs. US Actions

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Zazzle Customized Doodle Speakers Review

I’m all about my Big Band music. I have an Mp3 player full of it. ?I stream it via Live 365 Internet Subscription radio. ?I even have vinyl records of old recordings, and I have stuff older than that. ?I can’t always play my records and in my area; Big Band music cannot be found [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/10/28/zazzle-customized-doodle-speakers-review/

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Jeff Danziger: Merkel, Sarkozy Default

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-danziger/merkelsarkozy-default_b_1033291.html

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Shares of defense companies fall on spending cuts (AP)

AP Business Writer ? Defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Northrup Grumman reported surprisingly strong third-quarter earnings Wednesday. But executives at those companies used the same discouraging word to describe what the future will look like: Flat.

The companies warned that government spending cuts in 2012 will pinch future sales. The warnings dragged down the stock prices of defense contractors after they reported earnings.

"It's certainly going to be a more challenging environment," Northrup Grumman CEO Wes Bush told analysts during a conference call Wednesday morning. Lockheed Martin Corp. sent the same warning, saying its future revenue looked "flattish."

Congress has already agreed to cut $1.5 trillion in spending over the next decade. A so-called "super committee" of legislators is debating the specifics of where those cuts will be made. If the committee can't agree on targeted cuts by the end of this year, many of the cuts will automatically be made to defense spending. At the same time, Congress hasn't even agreed on a budget for 2012, and is funding operations through a temporary resolution.

That leaves investors guessing if next year's spending will change, said Wells Fargo analyst Sam Pearlstein.

"There is clearly support for defense spending. I think exactly how those events (in Congress) shake out is still unclear," Pearlstein said.

It appears that even Lockheed and Northrop Grumman were surprised by the extent of spending cuts now being proposed in Washington. Military contractors rely on billions in annual defense spending on everything from unmanned aerial drones to fighter jets and training equipment.

Bush told analysts that Northrop has been relying on forecasts of government spending that now appear too optimistic. Bush said that based on what the company know now, fourth-quarter revenue should be roughly even with last quarter's $6.6 billion, which was down 5 percent from the year before.

Falls Church, Va.-based Northrop said it earned $520 million, or $1.86 per share, in the July-September quarter. That was up from $497 million, or $1.67 per share, during the same period last year.

The company said much of its profit growth came from earnings on its pension program. Such gains are really just an accounting adjustment showing the surplus of pension funds Northrop has compared with its liabilities, Pearlstein said.

Revenue fell 5 percent in Northrop's biggest division, aerospace, and dropped 8 percent in its information systems and 22 percent in its technical services businesses. Revenue rose 2 percent in its electronic systems unit.

Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin said its third-quarter net income jumped 25 percent on higher sales and profits in its aeronautics division. The company reported net income of $700 million, or $2.10 per share, for the quarter. That's up from $560, or 1.54 per share, a year earlier.

Also Wednesday, defense contractor General Dynamics Corp. said its third-quarter profit was relatively flat on lower revenue. The Falls Church, Va.-based company said its net income of $652 million, or $1.80 per share, up less than a percent from $650 million, or $1.70 per share, in the same quarter last year.

Revenue fell 2 percent to $7.85 billion from $8.01 billion.

Analysts were expecting profit of $1.77 per share $8.34 billion in revenue, according to a FactSet poll.

Shares of Northrop Grumman fell $1.31, or 2.3 percent, to $55.26 in midday trading. Lockheed Martin dropped $2.59, or 3.3 percent, to $76.30. General Dynamics shares fell $1.65, or 2.5 percent, to $63.61.

___

Find Christopher Leonard on Twitter at http://twitter.com/cleonardnews

Associated Press writer Tali Arbel in New York contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111026/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_defense

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Time to evaluate Grier (Offthekuff)

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DirecTV's iPad app updated with live TV streaming, as long as you stay at home

DirecTV debuted its iPad app in February with an impressive suite of remote control and content browsing options, but one of the few missing features was the ability to watch TV on it, which has now been added. Like similar apps from Cablevision and Time Warner Cable, v1.3.1 adds the ability to watch 38 channels live on the tablet, provided you're connected to the same home network as your DirecTV Plus HD DVR. That home restriction, plus being limited to only live TV streams and not DVRed programming separates it from Sling's apps, but at least it's still a free add-on. If you want to watch recorded shows or take them on the go you'll still need the Nomad box for that. Check below for a link to one of DBSTalk's usual thorough walkthrough PDFs breaking down the new features, a few screengrabs sent in by a reader, and the complete channel list after the break.

Gallery: DirecTV iPad app streaming live TV

[Thanks, Will & Jon]

Continue reading DirecTV's iPad app updated with live TV streaming, as long as you stay at home

DirecTV's iPad app updated with live TV streaming, as long as you stay at home originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tunisia's Islamists seek to reassure secularists

TUNIS?? Tunisia's moderate Islamist party on Tuesday claimed a thumping victory in the country's first election, sending a message to the region that once-banned Islamists are challenging for power after the "Arab Spring."

With election officials still counting ballots from Sunday's vote ? the first to follow as a result of the uprisings which began in Tunisia and spread through the region ? the Ennahda party said its own tally showed it had won. Several of its biggest rivals conceded defeat.

Ennahda was in talks with rivals on Tuesday about forming an interim coalition government to lead the birthplace of the Arab Spring through its transition to democracy.

Tunisia has a strong secular tradition, and Ennahda officials promised a broad-based coalition.

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Seeking to reassure secularists in Tunisia and elsewhere who see a threat to liberal values in the region, party officials said they would share power and would not try to push through radical measures.

"There will be no rupture. There will be continuity because we came to power via democracy, not through tanks," campaign manager Abdelhamid Jlazzi said at party headquarters.

Story: Tunisia police use teargas on Islamist protesters

"We suffered from dictatorship and repression and now is an historic opportunity to savor the taste of freedom and democracy," he said.

Shortly before he spoke, an Ennahda female candidate who does not wear the Islamic head scarf, or hijab, sang along to Lebanese and Tunisian pop songs on a stage. The party says her inclusion is proof of its moderate outlook.

In the only hint of trouble so far in the election, about 400 people protested outside the election commission building, alleging that Ennahda, led by the long exiled Rachid Ghannouchi, was guilty of vote fraud.

And despite party officials' assurances, supporters celebrating the win chanted "The people are Muslim," "We will not surrender," and "No to atheism," al-Jazeera English reported.

The protesters, encircled by police, carried banners saying: "What democracy?" and "Shame on you, Ghannouchi!"

Election officials say there were only minor violations and Western monitors applauded the election.

Ennahda, citing its own figures, said the election gave it 40 percent of the seats in the assembly which will draft a new constitution, appoint an interim government and set a date for new elections late next year or early in 2013.

That tally, if confirmed by the election commission counting the votes, would still require the party to form alliances with secularist parties if it is to have a majority. That is expected to dilute its influence.

Resonant win
The victory was the first in the Arab world for an Islamist party since Hamas won a 2006 election in the Palestinian Territories.

The election result is likely to resonate in Egypt, which starts voting in November in a multi-stage election. An Islamist party which shares much of the same ideology as Ennahda is predicted to perform strongly.

Tunisia became the birthplace of the "Arab Spring" when Mohamed Bouazizi, a vegetable seller in a provincial town, set fire to himself in protest at poverty and government repression.

His suicide provoked a wave of protests which forced autocratic President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee to Saudi Arabia in January.

Story: Tunisia Islamist party seeking coalition partners

The revolution in Tunisia, a former French colony, in turn inspired uprisings which forced out entrenched leaders in Egypt and Libya, and convulsed Yemen and Syria -- re-shaping the political landscape of the Middle East.

Only a trickle of official results has so far appeared -- unlike votes under Ben Ali when the outcome was announced straight away, probably because it had been pre-determined.

Ennahda won half of the 18 seats allocated to Tunisians abroad. Of the four electoral districts inside Tunisia that have so far declared, it led the field in two and was joint winner in the other two, officials said late on Tuesday.

Turkish model
Ennahda's leader Ghannouchi was forced into exile in Britain for 22 years because of harassment by Ben Ali's police. A soft-spoken scholar, he dresses in suits and open-necked shirts while his wife and daughter wear the hijab.

Ghannouchi is at pains to stress his party will not enforce any code of morality on Tunisian society, or the millions of Western tourists who holiday on its Mediterranean beaches. He models his approach on the moderate Islamism of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

The party's rise has been met with ambivalence by some in Tunisia. The country's strong secularist traditions go back to the first post-independence president, Habib Bourguiba, who called the hijab an "odious rag."

"I really feel a lot of fear and concern after this result," said Meriam Othmani, a 28-year-old journalist. "Women's rights will be eroded," she said.

"Also, you'll see the return of dictatorship once Ennahda achieves a majority in the constituent assembly."

Ennahda's win was a remarkable turnaround for a party which just 10 months ago had to operate underground because of a government ban which had put hundreds of followers in prison.

In a slick and well-funded campaign, the party tapped into a desire among ordinary Tunisians to be able to express their faith freely after years of aggressively enforced secularism.

Western diplomats say Ennahda is largely funded by Tunisian businessmen, which they say means the party will pursue pro-market economic policies.

It also sought to show it could represent all Tunisians, including the large number who take a laissez-faire view of Islam's strictures, drink alcohol, wear revealing clothes and rarely visit the mosque.

Secularist opponents say they believe this is just a cleverly constructed front that conceals more radical views, especially among Ennahda's rank and file in the provinces.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45038538/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Deluxe insurance was New Orleans criminal judges' illicit perk ...

Lots of light-fingered characters troop daily into the courthouse at Tulane and Broad, where some of them proceed to don robes. Technically, it has not yet been established that the title "criminal court judge" is apposite in more ways than one.

As David Caldwell, who heads up the public corruption unit for his dad, Attorney General Buddy, points out, "Sometimes things that are not legal are not necessarily criminal."

Let us not quibble. The popular prejudice runs strongly in favor of judges whose behavior is legal. Criminal or not, this bunch has been making off with our money sure as the most brazen mugger, and on a much larger scale. No mugger could hope for a haul of $2 million, which is what their honors are estimated to have spent illicitly in the last five years on deluxe life and health insurance.

Freeloading judges have for years been a staple of the local news, whether they sit on district, appeal, traffic or municipal court. The usual dodge is to travel, often to distant shores, on some flimsy pretext and stick it to the taxpayer for ritzy hotels, fancy cars and well lubricated meals. Criminal court judges are among our most dedicated junketers, but this appears to be the first time they have been discovered meeting household bills from the fees they impose on guilty defendants. The judges can stuff $2,000 for each felony, and $250 for a misdemeanor, into a fund that is supposed to cover court-related expenses.

Caldwell was wheeled out to investigate, after the legislative auditor questioned judicial perks, because DA Leon Cannizzaro was obliged to recuse himself. Cannizzaro "thinks" he got the insurance benefits himself when he was a criminal court judge. If he really is uncertain, it must be the first time in living memory. The notion that our driven and obsessive crime fighter is prone to absent-mindedness seems very droll.

Whether the judicial money-grab qualifies as criminal is a question that may not be worth settling. The cops are not going to swoop down and quote Miranda to the entire bench, and it seems unlikely that the attorney general would file charges. Still, the law is quite clear, and, if the judges did not know they were breaking it, they are in the wrong job.

Judges are forbidden to accept any "additional salary, compensation, emolument or benefit from the state or any of its political subdivisions." That would appear to cover it. There are a few exceptions, but life insurance is not one of them, and health insurance premiums are allowed only for "programs contributions to which" are "at the same rate as those paid by other state employees."

If everyone on the state payroll got the same coverage as the judges have awarded themselves, health insurance would eat up pretty much the entire budget. The judges even signed on with a company that specializes in high-end coverage for top executives, freeing them from the inconvenience of co-pays, deductibles and prescription costs.

The company, Exec-U-Care, believes its customers "deserve recognition for the contributions and sacrifices they make on a daily basis."

This must surely bring a smile to Cannizzaro's face after his repeated exhortations for the judges to try working hard for a change.

The judges are clearly embarrassed that their prodigality with the public dollar has come to light, for they have refused to provide records of how much the expense fund has paid for their benefits. Their attorney, Norman F. Pizza, told the newspaper its public records request was being denied on grounds that medical records are confidential.

Excuses don't come any more pathetic than that. Nobody is asking for information on the health of any judge. All that is requested is information on where public money has been spent, and it is pure effrontery to maintain the public is not entitled to it. The medical history of the judges is their business; the money they pay insurance companies is ours.

The law that established the judicial expense fund is pretty vague about what it may be used for, blessing "any purpose connected with, incidental to or related" to the court. It does, however, rule out salaries and can hardly be construed to authorize these monkeyshines, which clearly violate the general prohibition on supplementary compensation.

In truth, it is inaccurate to suggest that robes are the only difference between judges and the thieves whose cases they hear at Tulane and Broad. The judges, who make more than $130,000, are much better dressed overall.

???????

James Gill is a columnist for The Times-Picayune. He can be reached at jgill@timespicayune.com.

Source: http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2011/10/deluxe_insurance_was_new_orlea.html

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US senator talks about military options in Syria (AP)

SOUTHERN SHUNEH, Jordan ? U.S. Senator John McCain said Sunday that military action to protect civilians in Syria might be considered now that NATO's air campaign in Libya is ending.

However, President Barack Obama's administration has made clear it has no appetite for military intervention in Syria ? a close ally of Iran that sits on Israel's border ? and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton noted Sunday that the Syrian opposition has not called for such action as President Bashar Assad's regime.

"Now that military operations in Libya are ending, there will be renewed focus on what practical military operations might be considered to protect civilian lives in Syria," McCain said at the World Economic Forum in Jordan. "The Assad regime should not consider that it can get away with mass murder. Gadhafi made that mistake and it cost him everything," he added, referring to ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi who was captured and killed last week by fighters loyal to the new government.

"Iran's rulers would be wise to heed similar counsel," McCain said.

It was not clear whether the Republican senator from Arizona was referring to American or NATO military action against the Syrian regime, which has waged a 7-month crackdown on opposition protesters and killed about 3,000 people, according to the U.N.

However, international intervention, such as the NATO action in Libya that helped topple Gadhafi, is all but out of the question in Syria. Washington and its allies have shown little inclination for getting involved militarily in another Arab nation in turmoil. There also is real concern that Assad's ouster would spread chaos around the region.

Syria is a geographical and political keystone in the heart of the Middle East, bordering five countries with which it shares religious and ethnic minorities and, in Israel's case, a fragile truce. Its web of alliances extends to Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement and Iran's Shiite theocracy. There are worries that a destabilized Syria could send unsettling ripples through the region.

Most Syrian opposition groups, inside and outside Syria, also have said they oppose military intervention.

Mohammad Habash, a member of Syria's outgoing parliament, said such military action "will only bring catastrophes, wars and blood and this is what we don't wish at all."

"We believe that the best way to protect civilians is diplomatic pressure and pushing the regime to sit and talk with the opposition and pushing the opposition to sit with the regime," said Habash, who has been linked to the regime but has recently tried to position himself between the government and the opposition.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said on "Fox News Sunday" that Washington is "strongly supporting a change from Assad and also an opposition that only engages in peaceful demonstration." But she stressed that Syria's opposition has not called for the kind of outside intervention that Libya's opposition did.

McCain also warned Iran after it was accused in the United States of backing a plot never carried out to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S.

"Their plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington has only reminded Americans of the threat posed by this regime, how it is killing Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan, supporting violent groups across the region, destabilizing Arab countries, propping up the Assad regime, seeking nuclear weapons, trampling on the dignity of Iran's people."

Iran has maintained its backing for Assad's regime, but has increasingly urged him to halt attacks on protesters and open dialogue seeking to end the unrest. Tehran has dismissed the U.S. allegations of the plot as "baseless" and has said it was willing to examine hard evidence that the U.S. claims links Tehran and the foiled assassination conspiracy.

Iranian officials have rejected tough talk from Washington as "rhetoric," saying the U.S. is not in a position to attack the Islamic Republic. The country regularly holds war games to showcase its capabilities in defending its nuclear facilities from possible attack.

The elite Revolutionary Guard, Iran's most powerful military force, has warned that there would be a strong Iranian response should the U.S. take military action against the country. Iran repeatedly has threatened to target Israel should the U.S. or Israel take military action against it.

McCain also accused Iran of trying to "hijack" the Arab Spring.

"No issue unifies the American people more than the need to protect our friends, our allies, our interests from the comprehensive threat posed by the Iranian regime. No one should test our resolve in this matter," McCain said.

"Not to say that American leadership is neither welcomed nor wanted in the Middle East today. To the contrary, as I travel across this region, I have met with heads of state, young democratic activists business leaders and nearly every single one wants more American leadership and not less."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111023/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_mideast_arab_spring

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Oracle to buy RightNow for $1.5 billion

NEW YORK (AP) ? Software company Oracle says it is buying RightNow Technologies Inc. for about $1.5 billion so it can offer a broader range of software and services that help businesses manage customer service.

Oracle Corp. said Monday it offered $43 per share for the tech service company from Bozeman, Montana. That is a 19.6 percent premium over RightNow's closing price of $35.96 on Friday.

RightNow's board has agreed to the deal which is subject to shareholder approval. Oracle expects to complete the deal by late this year or early next.

RightNow's main product helps companies manage customers' questions and complaints. It is delivered over the Internet ? or "cloud" ?rather than by installing software directly on computers.

Associated Press

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Video: Do Iraqis think war was worth it?

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Computers piece together scattered medieval scrolls

It's like something out of "The Da Vinci Code": Hundreds of thousands of fragments from medieval religious scrolls are scattered across the globe. How will scholars put them back together?

The answer, according to scientists at Tel Aviv University, is to use computer software based on facial recognition technology. But instead of recognizing faces, this software recognizes fragments thought to be part of the same work. Then, the program virtually "glues" the pieces back together.

This enables researchers to digitally join a collection of more than 200,000 fragmentary Jewish texts, called the Cairo Genizah, found in the late 1800s in the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo. The Cairo Genizah texts date from the ninth to the 19th centuries, and they're dispersed amongst more than 70 libraries worldwide. Researchers will report on their progress in digitally reuniting the Cairo Genizah during the second week in November at the 2011 IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision in Barcelona.

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Genizahs are storerooms for holy texts, which under Jewish law cannot be simply tossed in the garbage when they're worn out. The Cairo Genizah, however, also contains merchants' lists, divorce documents and even personal letters, a firsthand look at hundreds of years of history in the Middle East.

A non-profit organization, the Friedberg Genizah Project, is working to digitize the fragments of the Cairo Genizah. Meanwhile, Tel Aviv University computer scientists Lior Wolf and Nachum Dershowitz have the difficult task of joining the fragments into a continuous whole.

To do so, they developed a computer program that analyzes document handwriting, physical properties of the page, and even spacing between the lines of writing.

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"Its big advantage is that it doesn't tire after examining thousands of fragments," Wolf said in a statement. The program has made 1,000 confirmed connections between fragments of the Cairo Genizah in the span of a few months, almost the same amount made in 100 years of human scholarship.

The researchers are now applying the same technology to fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of hundreds of text found along the Dead Sea in the 1950s.

"It's a more complicated challenge," Wolf said, referring to the Dead Sea Scrolls. "The fragments are for the most part much smaller, and many of the texts are very unique. These texts shed light on the beginnings of Christianity."

Wolf and Dershowitz's effort is part of a Google project using high-resolution photographs of the Dead Sea Scrolls in order to put these biblical texts online.

You can follow LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

? 2011 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44983463/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Health Tip: Why Am I on Bed Rest? (HealthDay)

(HealthDay News) -- Doctors frequently order bed rest during pregnancy to protect the mother's health and that of the developing baby.

The Nemours Foundation says pregnant women are typically ordered to rest in bed if they:

• Have bleeding or early contractions.
• Had complications during a prior pregnancy, or a medical history that increases the risk of complications.
• Have high blood pressure or show certain changes in the cervix.
• Have a multiple pregnancy.
• Had a prior miscarriage, premature birth or stillbirth.
• Have a fetus that doesn't appear to be developing normally.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111019/hl_hsn/healthtipwhyamionbedrest

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Man accused of courthouse takeover goes on trial (AP)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ? A man who said he was part of a Georgia militia told the FBI about his plans to travel with guns to take over a Tennessee courthouse, yet he wasn't arrested until days later, an agent testified Wednesday.

Darren Wesley Huff drove into the East Tennessee town of Madisonville on April 20, 2010, a day after telling FBI agent Charles Reed he was going to take over the courthouse and make citizens' arrests of judges and other officials. Huff encountered heavy police presence that day and drove out of town. Authorities indicated he wasn't arrested then because they didn't want violence to break out.

Ten days later, as he was driving through Knoxville, Huff was arrested.

Reed said he didn't initially arrest Huff at his home in Georgia when Huff told him of his plans because no crime had been committed. Huff told the agent he and others going to Madisonville "would not resort to violence unless they were provoked," Reed testified.

Huff is on trial facing two firearms charges, including a charge of causing a civil disturbance. If convicted of both charges, he could face up to seven years in prison. One charge carries a two-year minimum.

Huff's attorney, Scott Green, said Huff has a permit to carry an AK-47 and a handgun. Huff was within his constitutional right to express his opinions and never caused any disturbance, Green said.

Earlier Wednesday, regional drug task force supervisor Donald Williams, testified that he pulled Huff over for a traffic violation as he was on his way to the courthouse, but he didn't arrest Huff because he had not violated state law.

Huff and about 15 others showed up in Madisonville to support a man who was taken into custody after he tried to put the local grand jury foreman under citizen's arrest when he didn't indict President Barack Obama over a concern about his citizenship.

Mike Hall, who at the time was director of the drug task force, said the presence of about 70 officers likely discouraged Huff and other out-of-towners ? some of them also carrying guns ? from getting violent. He said arresting Huff during the tense situation in the community between Knoxville and Chattanooga could have started a shootout.

"There was a sense of who is going to fight first. It was very tense," Hall said. "Police restraint was more important than anything."

Williams testified that Huff had a loaded Colt .45 in a holster on his hip as well as an AK-47 assault rifle and 200 or 300 rounds of ammunition in a tool box in his truck. He said that as Huff was about to leave the traffic stop he started talking about his "intentions of taking over the Monroe County Courthouse and affecting citizens' arrests."

"It wasn't a real arrest warrant," Williams said. "He said they had their own grand jury and judge."

Huff told FBI agents he wanted to help Walter Fitzpatrick, a military retiree who was arrested after he tried to put the local grand jury foreman under citizen's arrest. Fitzpatrick, who became hostile to the government two decades ago when he faced a court-martial, is in custody and has been subpoenaed to testify at Huff's trial.

Huff identified himself as the chaplain of the Georgia militia when he was pulled over.

Huff has also identified himself as being involved with the Oath Keepers group. In pre-trial documents, he asked the court to prevent prosecutors from making any reference to those groups kicking him out after he was charged.

Questions about Obama's citizenship have been raised by so-called "birthers." They claimed there's no proof Obama was born in the United States, and he is therefore ineligible to be president. Hawaii officials have certified Obama was born in that state and the U.S. Supreme Court has turned away a challenge to the president's citizenship.

(This version corrects that Williams did not make traffic stop.)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111020/ap_on_re_us/us_courthouse_takeover

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Clinton to send clear message to Pakistan on militants (Reuters)

ISLAMABAD/KABUL (Reuters) ? Secretary of State Hillary Clinton landed in Islamabad on Thursday to deliver a tough warning to Pakistan to cut suspected ties with militant groups which have severely strained ties between the uneasy allies.

Clinton, arriving from the Afghan capital, Kabul, left directly for the U.S. embassy and was scheduled to attend a dinner with senior Pakistani officials.

Clinton will be joined for talks by new CIA director David Petraeus and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, a clear sign that Washington is determined to get its message across.

In Kabul, she used a news conference to send a "clear, unequivocal message" to Pakistan saying it should help efforts to broker an end to the decade-long war in Afghanistan.

"They must be part of the solution and that means ridding their own country of terrorists who kill their own people and cross the border to kill in Afghanistan," Clinton said.

"We're going to be fighting, we're going to be talking and we're going to be building. And they can either be helping or hindering, but we are not going to stop our efforts."

Pakistani analysts agreed that Clinton would be sending a tough message to Pakistan.

"I think they've decided that they want to have a final word about the Pakistan-U.S. relationship, especially with reference to Afghanistan," said Tanvir Ahmed Khan, Pakistani foreign secretary from 1989-90.

The addition of Petraeus could be especially significant, said political analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi.

"America will produce evidence before the army chief, that you are involved (in supporting the violence in Afghanistan). With David Petraeus coming as well, they have definitely brought evidence," he said.

"He will provide evidence that you are involved, ISI is involved," he added, referring to Pakistan's Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, its powerful spy agency. "But nothing will come out in public."

Clinton's visit to Pakistan, which had not been announced due to security concerns, comes at a tricky moment in relations between Washington and Islamabad following charges by U.S. officials that Pakistan is playing a double game with militants who operate on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border.

U.S. and Afghan officials have drawn links between elements within Pakistan and both September's 20-hour attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul and days later the assassination of Afghanistan's top peace envoy.

The tensions have complicated the outlook as the Obama administration pushes ahead with plans to draw down troops and hand security control to Afghan forces by the end of 2014.

DETERMINED MESSAGE

U.S. officials had earlier said Clinton would seek to strike a constructive tone in discussions with Pakistani leaders, who have strongly denied backing insurgents and accused the United States of ignoring Pakistan's own interests in the battle against militants.

But Clinton on Thursday took a clearly combative tone, saying Islamabad had a choice to make. "It is a time for clarity. It is a time for people to declare themselves as to how we are going to work together," she said.

Clinton said the United States still believed it would be possible to reach a political solution to the decade-old conflict in Afghanistan and repeated that the Taliban should agree to enter the non-violent political process or faced "continued assault" from the U.S.-led alliance.

"Reconciliation is still possible. Indeed, it represents the best hope for Afghanistan and the region. But success will take an inclusive national dialogue and sustained political (support), including from Afghanistan's neighbors," she said.

Karzai, for his part, said the focus of the Afghan peace effort would now be Pakistan -- which he said effectively controlled the militants and provided them with safe havens from which to launch their attacks.

"Unless we pay attention to sanctuaries, and unless we go to the proper authority that leads and controls all that, we will not be able to have either a successful peace process or a successful campaign against terrorism," he said.

Clinton, too, focused on militant safe havens in Pakistan, saying it was time "to turn with real intensity to the safe havens within Pakistan," including those allegedly used by the Haqqani network, one of the most feared of such groups.

"Now it is a question how much cooperation Pakistan will provide going after those safe havens," she said.

Clinton's visit to Pakistan comes a day after army chief General Ashfaq Kayani told parliament's defense committee the United States should focus on stabilizing Afghanistan instead of pushing Pakistan to attack the Haqqanis in the border region.

"The problem lies in Afghanistan, not Pakistan," a committee member told Reuters on Wednesday, quoting Kayani. The MP spoke on condition of anonymity.

Pakistan's powerful military, which sets security and foreign policy, has been reluctant to attack the border region of North Waziristan, saying it was stretched fighting homegrown Taliban fighters elsewhere in Pakistan.

Pakistani paramilitary forces killed 34 Taliban militants in clashes in the restive tribal region on the Afghan border on Thursday, the military said.

There was no independent confirmation of the death toll. The Taliban movement, the biggest security threat to Pakistan, often disputes official death tolls on clashes.

(Additional reporting by Mirwais Harooni in Kabul, and Qasim Nauman and Zeeshan Haider in Islamabad; Editing by Chris Allbritton)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111020/wl_nm/us_pakistan_usa

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Automotive spray painting: Custom designs | Webmaster Articles

Automobile fanatics get bored by the identical colours and designs of cars. They constantly need something new to feed their craziness and fervour for cars. Other than fanatics, sometimes even a normal person who possesses a superb taste in automobiles will get bored by the conventional designs and colors. If you are a kind of people who have gotten bored and sick of the previous typical designs then it is best to strive automotive spray painting. You can do wonders with this technique.

For example, it would be a fantastic idea to use customized design to your vehicle. With the fitting selection of the design, you may truly make your car stand out of the crowd. Customized paint is among the issues which you are able to do for innovation. As mentioned earlier, if the design is appropriately chosen and utilized well, it makes your automotive look extraordinarily elegant. It is worth mentioning right here that custom paints are also expensive. On this regard, you must first discover out whether the dimensions and share of your pockets permits you such luxury or not. As soon as, you might have performed the estimation and have come to the conclusion that you?ll do custom paint then the following step would be the decision about the kind of the paint. In this regard, there are some famous designs in automobile spray painting which have drawn consideration for many years.

. ?Flames? is likely one of the fashionable custom designs. They emerged a long time in the past but they still have not lost their recognition and elegance. Throughout the outdated design, some modifications will be seen. In short, you may witness now numerous variations of the same previous ?Flames? design. Furthermore, they are going to cowl extra space than other typical designs.

. In addition to the design mentioned above, you possibly can even have any shape of animals. On this regard, the design, ?flying eagle? is taken into account very elegant and classy. The shapes of such animals also add symbolism and theatrics. If you have style for such things then flying eagle might be your design.

. Aside from these, you could also choose the summary category. As the title suggests, the designs might be of something abstract.

. ?Skulls? was also very popular. Folks normally used to color it on motorcycles. If your coronary heart desires such design then you can have it on your car.

. In case you have inclination towards more new designs then it?s best to paint ?dragon?. It would definitely give a new look to your car.

You will discover how to spray paint a car ? Want to learn SAP? Get the freshest sap training course today.

No related posts.

Source: http://webmasterarticles.net/automotive-spray-painting-custom-designs/

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FCC and CTIA get set to hit back against bill shock

Bill shock? It's "a real consumer problem that needs to be fixed," according to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski. The department teamed up with the CTIA and the Consumers Union today to address the problem of unexpected mobile bill charges. The solution? Alerts about overages and international roaming sent to subscribers before they rack up bills they can't afford. It's a plan the organization talked up last year, thanks to the findings of a Consumer Task Force. The FCC hopes that a rollout of the plan will be completed in the next 12 months.

Continue reading FCC and CTIA get set to hit back against bill shock

FCC and CTIA get set to hit back against bill shock originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Putin lays out case for Kremlin return (Reuters)

MOSCOW (Reuters) ? Prime Minister Vladimir Putin laid out his case for a return to Russia's top office in a televised interview on Monday, casting himself as the best guarantor of a bright future in a country haunted by upheaval in the recent past.

Putin also offered hints of the foreign policy he might pursue during his presidency, saying Russia will not "put on the mantle of some superpower" and punch above its weight, but warning that it would fiercely defend its interests.

In some of his most extensive comments since he revealed plans to reclaim the Kremlin in a March vote, Putin, who could serve two six-year presidential terms, made clear he intends to stay in power until he feels his job is done.

"When I take something on, I try to take it to its logical conclusion, or at least to the maximum effect," he said.

"It's not the number of terms or years in power" that matters, said Putin, who was president from 2000-2008. He invoked the late U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died during his fourth term, to support his case.

"He led the country in the toughest times of economic depression and during World War Two -- and he was elected four times, because he acted effectively," Putin said in the interview with the three leading Russian channels.

"When a country is experiencing difficult, hard conditions, when it is emerging from crisis and getting back to its feet, these elements of stability -- including in the political sphere -- are extremely important," Putin said.

Putin steered Dmitry Medvedev into the presidency in 2008 after serving the legal limit of two straight terms. Last month, they revealed plans for a job swap, with Putin running for president in March and making Medvedev his prime minister.

But while the popular Putin is expected to have little trouble winning the presidency, he suggested Medvedev's appointment as prime minister would depend on the ruling United Russia party's performance in a December 4 parliamentary election.

Medvedev will lead United Russia's list of candidates for the State Duma election, making him responsible for the tough task of maintaining the party's two-thirds majority in the lower house in the face of declining popularity.

"If the voters vote for this list and we manage to form an effective parliament in which United Russia retains its leading position, then ... Dmitry Anatolyevich (Medvedev) will be able to form an effective government," Putin said.

THREAT FROM THE PAST

Putin targeted United Russia's biggest opponent in the parliament vote, the Communist Party, by taking aim at its Soviet-era predecessor.

"This political force brought the country to collapse and ruin," he said, adding that Russia needed a firm hand to keep it from sliding into chaos.

"Two or three missteps would be enough to bring all that back upon us so fast we wouldn't even see it coming," he said. "Everything's hanging by a thread, in politics and the economy."

He also hinted he believed most Russians want him back.

"I very often hear from people, ordinary people ... whom I meet often in different regions of the country -- that in fact many would like events to develop precisely this way."

Putin dismissed fears voiced in Russia and the West that his Kremlin return would lead to Soviet-style stagnation, echoing Medvedev's more liberal tone with a promise of political and economic reform, but he offered no details.

"We need to strengthen the fundamental basis of our political system and democratic institutions, we need to create the conditions for progressive development and diversification of the economy," he said.

On foreign policy, Putin said Russia would protect its interests -- a warning to the United States and Europe not to interfere with his efforts to forge closer ties among former Soviet republics.

"It would be a big mistake for us to put on the mantle of some superpower and try to dictate our demands to somebody when it does not concern us," Putin said. "As for what does concern us, here we will, of course, defend to the end all that interests us and all that enters our sphere of interests."

Critics in the West, he said, should tackle their own problems before accusing Russia of imperial ambitions.

"Mind your own business: fight against rising inflation, against growing government debt, against obesity -- get to work," Putin said.

(Editing by Maria Golovnina and Matthew Jones)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111017/wl_nm/us_russia_putin_medvedev

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Woman taps 'Occupy' protest to avoid foreclosure

LA PUENTE, Calif.?? Rose Gudiel and her family were squatters in their own home. They had lost a two-year battle against foreclosure, and the eviction date had arrived. They hunkered down in the house on Sept. 28, surrounded by dozens of homeowner advocates and friends, hoping to stave off forcible removal.

?(The bank) kept saying we can?t do anything. Your case is closed,? said Gudiel. ?Our stand was, ?No, we?re not leaving. This is our home. We worked hard for it and we?re just not going to leave.??

But instead of the anticipated confrontation, there was a dramatic reversal of fortune. Fanny Mae canceled the eviction notice and offered the Gudiels a loan modification that could enable them keep their home.

Why? Fannie Mae and loan servicer OneWest won?t discuss the case. But nonprofit advocates say a series of bold protests ? with reinforcements from the ?Occupy Wall Street? movement ? and a spate of media interest put Rose in the limelight and forced the banks? to back down.

It was a small victory ? and Gudiel still has to finalize her deal with the bank ? but one that Southern California housing activists hope to repeat. It also provides an example of how the sprawling "Occupy" movement ? often criticized for its lack of focus ? can lend muscle to specific goals pursued by organizations and individuals.

Gudiel?s version of the foreclosure on the 1,200-square-foot home she has shared with her parents and a brother in this working-class suburb of Los Angeles since 2005 is starkly at odds with the limited information provided by the banks.

According to Gudiel, when she tried to make the $2,500-a-month mortgage payment two weeks late in November 2009, OneWest refused the payment and instructed her to pursue a loan modification, a long process that ultimately ended in rejection in January.

Gudiel said she fell behind when the family suffered a tragedy and two financial setbacks: Her brother, Michael, was killed in a drive-by shooting, meaning he was no longer contributing to the mortgage payment. At the same time, Gudiel was temporarily earning less in her job with the California Economic Development Department after being furloughed because of the state budget crisis.

Shortly thereafter, Rose Gudiel?s income returned to normal, and a second brother moved in to help with the mortgage.

Gudiel continued to work through the loan modification process but encountered obstacles at every turn, said Peter Kuhns, director of the Los Angeles branch of Association of Californians for Community Empowerment, a nonprofit that has been working on her case.

?Month after month, she supplied documentation to the bank for the modification,? he said. ?At the same time, each month she saved the money she would have used to make the house payments so that she could make back payments (so) at any point OneWest could accept her money.?

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Video: Homeowner hopes stand against foreclosure helps others

An impenetrable process
Gudiel and her advocates say the process was impenetrable. OneWest, the loan servicer, offered no explanation as to why she failed to qualify for loan modification programs. And they say it was impossible to find a contact to work with at Fannie Mae, the lender.

?It?s hard to even know whether they were trying to help her modify the loans,? said Kuhns. ?Up until the point when she started to go public, the bank was saying she was not qualified.?

Fannie Mae and OneWest wouldn't divulge details of the case, citing privacy concerns, but indicated that much of the information that has been reported on the case by local media is inaccurate.

OneWest referred questions to the public relations firm Sard Verbinnen & Co., which said that Fannie Mae, which holds about one-third of the mortgages in the country, had not authorized them to modify the loan.

?OneWest is pleased that it has been able to work with Fannie Mae, the owner of the loan, to authorize it to offer the Gudiels a loan modification that would allow the family to stay in their home,? the firm said in a statement.

Amy Bonitatibus, a spokeswoman for Fannie Mae in Washington, D.C., said: ?We have been working closely with all parties throughout the process to identify a solution ? and have offered the borrower several solutions that she declined. We have approved another solution through the servicer that we hope the borrower will accept. Our goal is to resolve the issue in a responsible and appropriate way that the borrower can remain in her home.?

Tapping the power
Before the bank's change of heart, with prospects for keeping the home looking increasingly bleak, the Gudiels decided to go public.

When the five-day notice for eviction notice was posted in September, the family announced they would not leave voluntarily. They rallied loyal neighbors and friends who set up an encampment in her yard. A steady stream of advocates and volunteers brought in supplies and food, and TV crews showed up.

PhotoBlog: Occupy LA

On Oct. 1, just days after the eviction deadline, thousands of protesters started gathering outside Los Angeles City Hall to launch the ?Occupy LA? protest ? the local version of the ?Occupy Wall Street? protest in New York City. Gudiel thought her story would play well with the protesters and made an appeal at one of the gatherings' first daily ?general assembly? meetings.

Gudiel?s story resonated with the crowd, which generally holds the belief that corporate greed and influence have driven the country off the rails.

Hers is a familiar tale here. California is the state hardest hit by foreclosure, with 1.2 million ? or one in five nationwide ? since 2008, according to Realty Trac.

?At Occupy LA, foreclosure is not the main thing, but? ?it really is the one thing that has truly pushed people to the limit,? said Sergio Ballesteros, an ?Occupy LA? organizer who works on its education and workshops committee. ?It is the one thing that is so tangible ? kicking people out of their homes that some feel they were swindled into ... coupled with the fact that these banks that are foreclosing actually are making a lot of money. This is at the heart of the idea that we have to do something.?

After her talk, some protesters went to Gudiel?s home in the suburbs to join the vigil, and some stayed to camp.

On Oct. 4, ?Occupy LA? protesters joined in a 200-strong protest with Gudiel in front of the $26 million Bel Air mansion of OneWest CEO Steve Mnuchin.

A day later, many joined her at a sit-in at the Pasadena branch of Fannie Mae, where television captured Rose Gudiel?s disabled mother giving an impassioned plea for her home. Rose, her mother, Rose Marie and seven other protesters ? some of them from ?Occupy LA? ? were arrested, and taken away in a paddy wagon as TV cameras rolled. They were cited and quickly released.

The next day, Rose Gudiel announced to a cheering crowd that she had received a letter from the bank inviting her to discuss a loan modification proposal.

?Bank terrorist?
The Gudiels are not the first to win back their home through protest ? and not the first to do so after foreclosure, said Bruce Marks, founder of the Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America, a nonprofit based in Boston. Marks, a longtime mortgage broker, is well known for using protests to win concessions from banks for distressed homeowners.

?It?s very exciting, and we think it?s very effective for ?Occupy Wall Street? and ?Occupy LA? to do,? Marks said.

Marks has led hundreds of protesters armed with bullhorns and signs to the homes of financial industry titans, including Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack, Greenwich Financial Services CEO William Frey and Goldman Sachs chief Lloyd Blankfein, in some cases winning mortgage modifications for distressed homeowners within hours.

Marks? approach is controversial, earning him a reputation as a ?bank terrorist? ? which he wears as a badge of honor, though he adds that he is a ?non-violent bank terrorist.? But he sees the strategy as gaining steam and believes each demonstration benefits many people.

?It has a tremendous impact,? Marks said. ?Now at OneWest you are going to see a lot more solutions. ? The people getting (benefit from the protest) won?t even know that those two hundred people put themselves on the line.?

Video: Employed but on the brink of foreclosure

Individuals also are contemplating the "go public" option more often.

Rob Somerton and his wife, Ana, are considering making a public stand, if necessary, to save their 1,300-square-foot home in the Northern California town of Cobb.

They said their effort to modify a mortgage with Bank of America has led nowhere, as they have documented on a Facebook page, which now has more than 1,400 followers, many of whom are reporting their own struggles with banks. They recently received a 90-day notice for a foreclosure sale.

Somerton?s advice to others is: ?Stay in your home. Do not leave. Stick it out no matter what. As this thing Occupy Wall Street grows and builds, I?ve seen a lot more people coming around to that. Do not cooperate. Do not fall for the ploys. Stay in your home until the sheriff arrives.?

If it comes to it, he said he plans to tap into the movement for help: ?I?ve got a friend involved in Occupy San Francisco," he said. "? He?s telling me if it comes down to the wire, and I need support, he can mobilize one or two hundred people to come and occupy the property. It would be streamed live.?

Ultimately, nonprofits like the Association of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) ? and dozens of others united as the Refund California coalition ? are pursuing policy changes that would reform the mortgage system and implement tax changes, including adding a foreclosure tax to raise money that could be used to rebuild neighborhoods blighted by vacant homes.

'CEOs need to see homowners faces'
Another proposed reform is for California to set up a mandatory foreclosure mediation program, which would require the homeowner and banker to make their case before a judge. States where these programs are in place have seen a sharp decline in foreclosure rates, said Kuhns of the ACCE.

?No, it shouldn?t happen this way,? he said of the protest surrounding Gudiel. ?Isn?t it ridiculous that Rose has had to go to having people camp out at her house and getting arrested with her elderly mother to get what they were already qualified for??

But Kuhns said policy changes remain a long way off, so he and other housing activists are considering using bank protests on a wider scale: ?It?s a campaign called ?Let a thousand Roses bloom,?? he said.

Marks, the Boston activist, said that from his experience, that approach would be effective.

?It personalizes what is going on and gets back to a fundamental tenet of America, called personal responsibility,? he said. ?This is what the CEOs of these huge institutions forget. They need to see the homeowners? faces to understand the consequences. They need to meet the parents, meet the children.?

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44908122/ns/us_news-life/

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