T-Mobile says LTE network now complete in Las Vegas, Kansas City

In its Q4 2012 results, T-Mobile had some interesting notes on the deployment of its LTE network -- mainly that the network is now "completed" in both Las Vegas and Kansas City, Missouri. The network rollout has now apparently been accelerated, and T-Mobile is projecting it will reach 100 million people with LTE by mid-2013, with more than 200 million being covered by the end of this year. Las Vegas and Kansas City are great test locations, but with these lofty projections they're going to have to light up LTE in the big population centers quickly as well.

Additionally, T-Mobile took time to tout some numbers about its current HSPA+ footprint. Several new areas are moving to 1900MHz today, including Orlando, FL and Richmond, VA. The carrier states that 225 million people are now covered with its HSPA+ service, with 144 million being covered by the new 1900MHz service. These two rollouts go hand-in-hand, as T-Mobile will need the AWS (1700/2100MHz) spectrum freed up by the HSPA+ move to 1900MHz in order to completely roll out LTE.

It comes as a bit of a surprise that T-Mobile has fully completed two city-wide networks before a single consumer device with LTE has even been announced, but it's good to see that the network is being built out quickly in anticipation of a launch. Current rumor pegs March 27th for the launch of several LTE-enabled devices on the network, and hopefully T-Mobile will have more cities to announce at that time as well.

Source: T-Mobile

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/jK-ceVBrH90/story01.htm

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Not Every Writer Wants To Be A Publisher ? terribleminds: chuck ...

This is something I see often enough: an author talks about losing a series or having some difficulties with a publisher or whatever, and someone from the crowd eventually says, ?You should self-publish. We want more of you, the money?s better, we?ll support you. Plus, so many options! Amazon! Kickstarter! Bookflipper! Pub-Burger!? Sometimes it?s a polite suggestion, sometimes it?s double-barrel proselytization and they start spouting off ?facts and figures? along with a dose of venom against the oppression of the traditional system.

I like self-publishing. I like it as an option. I have explored it and will continue to explore it.

But it?s not exactly easy.

It?s not moving mountains or shitting pre-constructed Ikea furniture, but it takes a set of skills that are wholly separate from writing: marketing, design, coding, editing. Some of these skills are valuable to the writer regardless of which publishing road she walks, but that doesn?t mean every writer is eager to pick up every skill?nor is it a guarantee she?ll be good at them.

To hazard the doofusly obvious: self-publishing isn?t about writing,?it?s about publishing.

Some writers just want to be writers.

They don?t also want to be publishers.

It?s just that simple. Neither wrong nor right. It?s a personal and professional choice.

Further, despite what some feel are absolute guarantees, self-publishing is not automagically the way to MORE MONEY than you?d get with a traditional publisher. It is a fact that the actual royalties (if you want to call them that, as Amazon and other entities act as distributor to the self-published, not the publisher) are better. Once again to bludgeon you all with the Mallet of Obviousness, 70% (or thereabouts) is higher than 25% (or thereabouts).

The outcome of publishing, however, is more complicated than those percentages.

If traditional publishing yields more sales (also not a guarantee), then that advantage shifts ? 70% of $100 is a helluva lot less than 25% of $1000. Plus: rights, sub-rights, blah blah blah.

As I?ve noted in the past, self-publishing is all risk. It?s the opportunity to make zero dollars or a million dollars and?potentially burn down your chance of entering that novel into the traditional space because if your book lands with a poop-plop instead of a big money splash, it doesn?t matter how fucking amazetesticles your book is, because it?s done, game over, so sorry.

(I?m using that correctly, right? Amazetesticles?)

Self-publishing is an act separate from writing.

Not every writer has the time, the talent, or the interest.

Both writing and publishing take work. Self-publishing demands the work of both.

Worth it for some, tricky or undesirable for others.

This isn?t meant to dissuade any author from going that route. It?s more to dissuade everybody else from haranguing authors about self-publishing when it?s just not in their wheelhouse.

(We?re still saying ?wheelhouse,? right? Can we change it? Howzabout ?primate house?? I like that one better. ?Sorry, Bob, I don?t think I?m the man for the dildo salesman job. It?s just not in my primate house.? Though maybe dildos and primate houses don?t mix.)

The great thing about being a writer in the year 2013 is that there exists no one path to success. But each writer has to find the path that works for?her ? we all have our tunnel in the mountain, our path through the jungle, our needle to thread.

We just have to find it and let other writers find theirs, in turn.

Source: http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/02/27/not-every-writer-wants-to-be-a-publisher/

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9 actors you didn't know were wrestlers

Believe it or not, The Rock isn?t the only competitor to make a successful transition from the ring to Hollywood.

For many Superstars, the canvas is their bread and butter. But for some, competing in the squared circle is a lesser-known second job, or even a brief hobby, taken up on their way to a career on the silver screen.

(PHOTOS | VIDEO PLAYLIST)

WWEClassics.com dug deep into the history books to uncover the forgotten wrestling stints of nine actors you?ve seen in some classic flicks. From mob movie heavies to Batman villains, who knew these dudes were once wrestlers?

Who are you most surprised to learn was a wrestler? Vote now!

Source: http://www.wwe.com/classics/classic-lists/9-actors-you-didnt-know-were-wrestlers

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Iran sanctions could distort region's economy for years: report

LONDON (Reuters) - Sanctions on Iran are so intricately woven that they will be very hard to untangle, while their impact in swelling Iran's black economy could undermine regional stability for years to come, the International Crisis Group says in a new report.

Describing the "unintended consequences" of sanctions, the report noted that those with the best access to state resources, including the elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), had been best placed to circumvent the sanctions, while smuggling networks had become an integral part of the economy.

"This does not necessarily harm the regime. To the contrary, it has facilitated a symbiosis between state-affiliated organizations such as the IRGC and transnational smuggling networks," it said.

"Over time, organized crime networks likely will become more sophisticated, enabling them to survive even after sanctions have been lifted. Iran's proximity to two countries rating highest on the corruption scale - Iraq and Afghanistan - likely contributes to cross-border criminality, undermining longer-term stability."

Increasingly tough sanctions imposed on Iran's oil and banking sectors over its nuclear program have put enormous pressure on Iran's economy and forced it to seek innovative ways around them.

The West says Iran's nuclear activities conceal a drive towards a weapons capability, an allegation Tehran denies.

The ICG's recommendations are broadly similar to those of many other Iran experts. It calls for a gradual easing of sanctions in return for Iranian concessions on its nuclear program, accompanied by direct talks between Iran and the United States.

But the report, "Spider Web: The Making and Unmaking of Iran Sanctions", is unusual in underscoring the difficulties of easing sanctions, despite the limited progress made this week in talks between Iran and major world powers on Tehran's nuclear program.

Sanctions have become so extensive and complex, and subject to so many different laws worldwide, that it will be hard to find the flexibility needed for diplomacy, the ICG said.

It quoted an unnamed sanctions expert in Washington as saying easing the sanctions was "like dancing in a minefield".

"There are tripwires everywhere," the expert said.

As Iran has adapted its economy to sanctions, the introduction of another tier of exchange rates, the use of barter, front companies and the informal "hawala" system for financial transactions have all contributed to the rise of the informal or black economy, the ICG said.

"Crime rates and corruption have been rising; and smuggling is booming as clandestine networks replace commercial ones. Indeed, smuggling networks are becoming an integral part of the shadow economy that reportedly accounts for 21 percent of GDP."

The growth of the informal economy in the region has been a particular worry in Afghanistan, where the United States has been unable to convince the government in Kabul to crack down on corruption as part of efforts to restore peace before most foreign combat troops are withdrawn at the end of 2014.

In Iran's other neighbor, Pakistan, the black economy has created space for militant groups to flourish, often funded by money from the Gulf, also routed through the hawala network.

(Reporting by Myra MacDonald; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-sanctions-could-distort-regions-economy-years-report-145913198.html

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NASA's Curiosity Rover Eats 1st Mars Rock Sample

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has consumed its first samples from inside a Martian rock in order to analyze the chemistry and mineralogy of the Red Planet.

The Curiosity rover deposited the powder-like samples, drilled from the interior of the Mars rock "John Klein," into two onboard laboratories so they could be studied in detail, rover mission scientists said in a statement Monday (Feb. 25).

Curiosity's first Mars rock samples were placed inside the Chemistry and Mineralogy (or CheMin) instrument, as well as the rover's Sample Analysis at Mars instrument during a two-day operation on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 22 and 23).

"Data from the instruments have confirmed the deliveries," said Curiosity Mission Manager Jennifer Trosper of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif.

The small Mars laboratories are built into the body of the car-size Curiosity rover. They are two of 10 instruments built to determine if Mars is now, or ever has been, capable of supporting microbial life.

Curiosity used a percussive drill mounted on its robotic arm to dig into the Mars rock John Klein on Feb. 8, revealing a surprisingly gray-colored interior of the rock. The discovery is intriguing to Mars scientists because it suggests that the rusty reddish-orange color of Mars is only skin deep.

The gray-colored rock powder "may preserve some indication of what iron was doing in these samples without the effect of some later oxidative process that would've rusted the rocks into this orange color that is sort of typical of Mars," Joel Hurowitz, sampling system scientist for Curiosity at JPL, told reporters on Wednesday (Feb. 20).

NASA's $2.5 billion Mars rover Curiosity landed on the Red Planet on Aug. 5 to begin a two-year primary mission to study its landing site, the vast Gale Crater. The rover is currently studying the John Klein rock target as a pit stop on the way to a destination called Glenelg, which is near the base of a mountain that rises up 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the center of Gale Crater.

You can follow SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter?@tariqjmalik.?Follow SPACE.com on Twitter?@Spacedotcom. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.?

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nasas-curiosity-rover-eats-1st-mars-rock-sample-152322663.html

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Tax, wage ID theft tops FTC's complaints list

Herb Weisbaum , NBC News contributor ? ? ? 29 min.

The Federal Trade Commission received a record number of complaints last year ? more than 2 million ? and for the 13th year in a row, identity theft tops the list.

According to the 2012 annual report released on Tuesday, 18 percent of all consumer complaints were related to identity theft.

The new numbers show a huge rise in the percentage of identity theft fraud cases related to taxes and wages. The IRS recently acknowledged the serious nature of this problem and how it?s trying to fight back.

ConsumerMan: IRS identity theft crackdown nets 109 arrests

The FTC says there are three basic types of ID theft related to taxes and wages:

• The most common is when the scammer ? using your Social Security number ? applies for an income tax refund in your name. If the crook gets your refund before you file your return, it can hold up the process for months.
  
• ID thieves sometimes misuse Social Security numbers to create bogus dependents to boost their fraudulent refund. Again, this delays legitimate refunds.
  
• They also use stolen SSNs to get a job. Victims don?t find out about this until they get a notice from the IRS that says they?re under-reporting their income.
  

?The FTC report, when combined with the recently released Javelin Research survey ? that reported the number of identity theft victims reached over 12.6 million in 2012 ? is yet another confirmation of the inevitability of victimization,? said Adam Levin, chairman of Identity Theft 911.

?Human error, misplaced trust, individual over-sharing of information and countless data breaches impacting all segments of the business community and all levels of government have contributed to the depressing reality that it is literally impossible to prevent identity theft.?

Here is the complete list of the FTC?s Top 10 Complaint Categories for 2012:

1. Identity theft: 369,132 complaints ( 18 percent)
   
2. Debt collection: 199,721 complaints (10 percent)
   
3. Banks and lenders: 132,340 complaints (6 percent)
   
4. Shop-at-home and catalog sales: 115,184 complaints (6 percent)
   
5. Prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries: 98,479 complaints (5 percent)
   
6. Impostor scams: 82,896 complaints (4 percent)
   
7. Internet services: 81,438 complaints (4 percent)
   
8. Auto-related complaints: 78,062 complaints (4 percent)
   
9. Telephone and mobile services: 76,783 complaints (4 percent)
   
10. Credit cards: 51,550 complaints (3 percent)
    

?This report illustrates that we still have a huge problem with fraud in this country,? said John Breyault, director of Fraud.org, run by the National Consumers League. ?It?s more important than ever that people educate themselves and learn how to spot the warning signs of fraud.?

It?s also important to report suspected scams and let the authorities know if you?ve been victimized. They may not be able to help you specifically, but you might help them catch the bad guys.

?Law enforcement agencies nationwide will use this information to help stop those who try to scam U.S. consumers,? said Charles Harwood, acting director of the FTC?s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

You can file a complaint with the FTC online.

More Information:

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitteror visit The ConsumerMan website.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/tax-wage-id-theft-tops-ftcs-list-most-complaints-1C8569858

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Sony Xperia Tablet Z is world?s thinnest tablet, goes underwater

Michael A. Prospero , LAPTOP ? ? ? 1 day

Sony bills its new Xperia Tablet Z as the world?s thinnest tablet. And it?s beautiful. You can even get it wet. Unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2013, the Xperia Tablet Z is a slate you can use with confidence in the kitchen or by the pool. Those aren?t the only things Sony?s new device has going for it: A new SideView app lets you see what?s on TV and change the channel with a tap. Add in a full HD display with a wider color spectrum than the iPad and you have one of the more compelling Android tablets of the year.

MORE: See a video of Laptop's hands-on impressions of this bold new tablet.

For the Xperia Tablet Z, Sony ditched the fold design it used on its previous two Android tablets, the Sony Tablet S and the Sony Xperia Tablet S. That?s probably a good thing, for although we liked the distinctive shape of the latter, thin is in. The Tablet Z measures just 0.26 inches thick, making it the ?world?s thinnest 10-inch tablet,? according to Sony. Considering the Toshiba Excite 10 LE was 0.3 inches thick, we?re splitting hairs here, but the design is still remarkably svelte.

The Xperia Tablet Z weighs 1.09 pounds, making it lighter than competing devices such as the iPad (1.4 pounds) and the Excite 10 LE (1.13 pounds).

MORE: Top 10 tablets right now

According to Sony, the full HD (1920 x 1080) display on the Xperia Tablet Z has 20 percent great color gamut than the iPad, made possible by its Bravia engine. The 10.1-inch display has an aspect ratio of 16:10. During our hands-on time, images looked lush and vivid?even underwater.

Yes, the Tablet Z is IP57 water resistant, which means it can survive up to 30 minutes in 6 inches of water. We wouldn?t go swimming with it, but wouldn?t worry if someone accidentally spilled their Poland Spring bottle on the device, either. The screen can also be used even when covered with water, so you could use it in the shower, if you want.

Like the Xperia Tablet S, the Tablet Z has a built-in IR blaster. Used in conjunction with the Sony SideView app, which displays what programs are currently on TV, you can change to a desired show by merely flicking that program?s icon towards the top of the display. It?s a pretty neat feature, and one that Sony hopes will make its tablet more of a living-room staple.

The Tablet Z also has built-in NFC, as well as Sony?s One Touch technology. This lets you wirelessly connect to another NFC-enabled device, such as a speaker, merely by tapping it with the tablet. The onboard sound isn?t too shabby, either. Four speakers around the sides and back of the Tablet Z help ensure that sound doesn?t become muffled when the device is held or in someone?s lap.

MORE: 10 Tablets with the longest battery life

Inside the Tablet Z is a quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor. A battery stamina mode shuts down processes when the screen is off?but you can whitelist apps to remain on?so the tablet will have more than 4 times the standby time as the previous version. Sony estimates that the Tablet Z will last for about 8 hours while browsing the Web via Wi-Fi.

When it goes on sale in May, Sony will offer two versions of the Xperia Tablet Z: A 16GB model will cost $499, and a 32GB version will cost $599. The tablet will be available in white or black. Overall, the Xperia Tablet Z looks is a gorgeous and highly versatile tablet that?s tailor-made for TV fans.

More from Laptop:

Copyright 2013 LAPTOP, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/sony-xperia-tablet-z-worlds-thinnest-tablet-goes-underwater-1C8524196

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Art Journal Tip: Create a Family Tree - Valerie Storey, Writing at ...

Several weeks ago I started reading War and Peace. This is my third attempt; the first time I tried wading through the 1000+?pages I was sixteen and staying with my grandmother in Phoenix, Arizona for the summer. No place on earth could have been further from the snowy streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg. But I don't think it was the lack of air conditioning that made me switch Tolstoy for Mary Stewart. I think it had more to do with those unpronounceable Russian names and complicated family relationships I couldn't untangle for the life of me.

Fortunately I'm now reading a much?more modern?translation by Anthony Briggs that's actually something of a page-turner. And while my brain still resists some of the Russian patronyms (I have a tendency to call the characters?things like "Buzzy" and "Fizzy" rather than Bezukhov and Fedya) there's also a very handy list of characters and their relationships to each other at the back of the book. In other words, there's a family tree.

Making a Family Tree as?noted in my earlier post, Art Journal Class, My Favorite Tips can be a colorful and information-packed addition to your art journal. The easiest way to approach the exercise is to look up "free family tree templates" in your search engine of choice and download a design that most appeals to you. But don't stop there; experiment with using the template as a?pattern to copy from to create?your own version, or to alter the original in some way with gesso, paints, ephemera, glitter glue--whatever seems right. One of my favorite techniques is to collage the tree with all kinds of bits and pieces that best describe each included?family member. And don't limit yourself to a single page--a family tree could branch its way through an entire journal.

Some of the ways you can use a family tree in your journal are:

• Illustrate your real-life family. Make several trees in a variety of styles for the different generations.
• Explore an historic figure or family that interests you, such as the British Royal Family, or a US president.
• The family or families?in your works-in-progress. Not only does this help you remember your characters' birth dates and current ages, but you can have fun marrying them off to each other, or exploring their ancestors: Why do they have blond hair? What makes one character an inventor, another a timid recluse?
• In the same way you can make a family tree to illustrate your WIP, you can just make one up as a pure art journal exercise. The story is completely told through "family photos." And who knows? It just might TURN INTO your next WIP!
• Make a fanciful family tree for the characters?from your?favorite books or movies.
• Here's?a great tip for artists at all levels: The next time you need to make some color charts,?paint or draw?them as "trees" with leaves?in?your various hues and shades. (I love this one. It's turned a chore into?a fun art project of its own.)
• An etymology tree. Lay out a decorative grid?of word association and origins. It can be fascinating to?explore where certain words come from, how they were used in the past, and how we use them now.
• Write?a tree-shaped poem with the various lines and stanzas?branching and flowering?out from a single trunk or root.
• Brainstorm with mind mapping or "clustering"; why not make it something fun, expressive, and tree-shaped? Rather than just jotting ideas down on a scrap of paper, add color, doodles, and put it all in your art journal. An initial idea you're attempting to map, such as "Conflict for Chapter Three: Martians Demand All Cats Must Leave Earth" could stem into: "Cats Now Wear Dog Suits." "Cat Smuggling Becomes Big Business," and so on with all kinds of wonderful illustrations and new ideas.

Tip of the Day:?If you'd like to make a?family tree in your art journal, keep in mind that there are as many types of trees as there are ideas for using them. Rather than?going straight for?"oak; green leaves; brown trunk" try?taking a tree such as a willow or?one that flowers?through the seasons and illustrating it?from?four different perspesctives. Or you could?draw it out as a Christmas tree complete with decorations. Other trees could include banyans, yew trees, bonsai, or an entire forest. Use your imagination and sense of play.

Source: http://valeriestorey.blogspot.com/2013/02/art-journal-tip-create-family-tree.html

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Sequestration affecting congressional hiring, Rep. Goodlatte says (Washington Post)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/287079151?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Islamists threaten to kill French kidnapped in Cameroon

DAKAR (Reuters) - Gunmen claiming to be from Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist group threatened on Monday to kill a kidnapped French family of seven if authorities in Nigeria and Cameroon do not release Muslim militants held there.

French ministers said they believed the three adults and four children seized in Cameroon's far north near the Nigerian border on Tuesday were being held by Boko Haram which has killed hundreds to try to carve out an Islamist state in Nigeria.

The first sign of the family since they were captured came in a video posted on YouTube in which they appeared surrounded by three gunmen wearing turbans and dressed in camouflage.

"We have been taken by Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad," one of the male hostages said in the video, referring to the name in Arabic of Nigeria's Boko Haram militants.

"They want the liberation of their brothers in Cameroon and their women imprisoned in Nigeria," the man added, speaking in French as he sat on the floor beside another man, a veiled woman and four children.

"A video of the French family kidnapped in northern Cameroon last Tuesday has just been posted by Boko Haram," said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. "These images are terribly shocking and show a cruelty without limits."

The hostage-taking highlighted the risk to French citizens in Africa after Paris sent thousands of troops into Mali last month to oust al Qaeda-linked Islamists operating in the country's vast desert north.

"The president of France has launched a war on Islam and we are fighting it everywhere," said one of the apparent kidnappers, speaking in Arabic and identifying himself as a member of Boko Haram. "Implement our demands. If you leave out even one, we will kill these people."

Boko Haram, a Nigerian militant group, has previously posted videos in Hausa, a language spoken in northern Nigeria. The black and white flag that hung behind the hostages in the released video is more associated with al Qaeda-linked groups.

A spokesman for Boko Haram had denied any connection with the kidnapping at the weekend.

However, security experts in Nigeria, Africa's largest oil exporter, say that Boko Haram is made up of multiple cells, without a defined command structure.

The militant group is known to have had some links to al Qaeda factions in North Africa and Mali, but experts say they appear limited for now.

Cameroon's Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said he could not comment because his government was not aware of the video.

The governor of Cameroon's Far North Region, Augustine Fonka Awa, said he was not aware of any Boko Haram members being held in the country.

(Additional reporting by Asma Alsharif in Cairo and Joe Brock in Abuja; Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Jon Hemming)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/islamists-threaten-kill-french-kidnapped-cameroon-183340550--finance.html

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Danica makes more history by leading lap

Danica Patrick (10) and Jeff Gordon (24) lead the pack to start the NASCAR Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Danica Patrick (10) and Jeff Gordon (24) lead the pack to start the NASCAR Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Danica Patrick's crew members push he car back to her garage after she had engine problems in the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Driver Danica Patrick walks away from her car in her garage after she had engine problems and left the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Danica Patrick gets out of her car near the garage area during a Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013.(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

A wheel, tire and suspension parts sit in the stands after crash on the final lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Several fans were injured when large chunks of debris sailed into the grandstands after a car flew into the fence. (AP Photo/David Graham)

Danica Patrick keeps making history.

The first woman to start from the pole at the Daytona 500 has become the first female to lead a lap in a NASCAR Cup race.

Patrick sent the huge crowd into a frenzy when she snatched the lead from Michael Waltrip on lap 90 after a series of pit stops under yellow. She led two laps before Denny Hamlin surged to the front.

But Patrick has shown her qualifying run was no fluke. She's got a strong car and has been in the top 10 all day as the 200-lap race approaches the midway point.

Patrick switched to NASCAR last year after becoming the first woman to lead laps at the Indianapolis 500, as well as being the first to win an IndyCar race.

Now, she's looking for a win in NASCAR's biggest event.

? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

___

AWKWARD: Rapper 50 Cent wasn't content just chatting up Erin Andrews.

He went in for a kiss.

Rebuffed.

In the strangest part of the buildup to the Daytona 500, Mr. Cent brought back memories of Joe Namath's awkward attempt to plant one on Suzy Kolber when he tried the same move with Andrews on pit road.

She turned her head one way, then the other, only allowing the "Candy Shop" rapper to get a peck on the cheek.

? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

___

BIG CRASH: We've had the first big wreck of the Daytona 500.

And a bunch of top contenders have seen their chances go up in smoke.

Former 500 winners Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart and Jamie McMurray were caught up in the crash on lap 33. So was defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski.

The melee began coming through the tri-oval when Kasey Kahne's car began to slide across the track after appearing to get bumped from behind by Kyle Busch.

At least two other drivers also got caught up in the mess: Juan Pablo Montoya and Casey Mears. Joey Logano made a great move to dodge the spinning cars.

Pole sitter Danica Patrick made it through unscathed and remains near the front of the pack.

? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

___

HANG ON TIGHT: From one defending champion to another, Brad Keselowski had a piece of advice for Daytona 500 starter Ray Lewis:

Don't drop the flag.

The retired Baltimore Ravens star served as honorary starter for the Daytona 500. Lewis waved the green flag without incident Sunday to start the "Great American Race."

Lewis, who said he was nervous, got a quick tip from Keselowski.

"Brad texted me on the way in, the one rule is, don't drop the flag," Lewis said before the race. "I'm going to squeeze the flag very hard. I want to watch this and be a part of it. To be here is an awesome experience."

Lewis was one of several stars at Daytona International Speedway. Rappers T.I. and 50 Cent attended NASCAR's season opener, which has Danica Patrick starting on the pole.

Oscar-nominated actor James Franco was the grand marshall and said, "Drivers and Danica, start your engines!" The Zac Brown Band played a pre-race concert in the Daytona International Speedway infield. Band member Clay Cook performed the national anthem.

Retired baseball pitcher Tom Gordon, comedian Drew Carey, and Wes Welker and Steve Spurrier also were in attendance.

Lewis called Keselowski on the eve of the 2012 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and left him an inspirational voice message. Keselowski also often listens to Lewis' motivational speeches before races.

"I caught a glimpse of how he always watched my videos and it really inspired him," Lewis said. "That's when me and him really started having conversations with each other, and from there it just turned into a friendship. I send him motivational things, and heads-up on what I am doing, that's where the relationship has gone."

? Dan Gelston ? http://twitter.com/APgelston

___

DANICA DROPS BACK: Danica Patrick made history by becoming the first woman to start from the pole in a NASCAR Cup race.

But in the beginning of the Daytona 500, she failed to pull off another landmark.

Choosing the outside spot on the front row, Patrick gave up the lead to Jeff Gordon on the very first lap, missing out on an early chance to become the first female to lead a Cup lap.

Over the first 10 laps, she settled in behind Gordon and held on to the second spot in the 43-car field.

Patrick went on the radio before the race to thank her crew for giving her such a strong car. "I'll do the best job I can to do my end of the deal today," she said. "All in all, thank you for everything. You guys are awesome."

Later, Patrick sent the huge crowd into a frenzy when she snatched the lead from Michael Waltrip on lap 90 after a series of pit stops under yellow. She led two laps before Denny Hamlin surged to the front.

? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

___

FRANCO'S AUDIBLE: "Drivers ... and Danica!!! ... start your engines."

With that unique command, actor James Franco has ordered the 43 cars to fire up for the Daytona 500.

The duty is normally carried out with the most famous words in racing: "Gentlemen, start your engines."

Of course, this year is different. Danica Patrick is the first woman to start from the pole in a Cup race, and Franco hinted beforehand that he was planning an audible. As unpredictable as ever, he passed on a chance to copy the command that was used when Patrick raced in the Indianapolis 500, "Lady and gentlemen, start your engines."

Now, it's time to go racing at Daytona.

? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

___

A HEARTY BUNCH: NASCAR FANS RETURN TO DANGER ZONE: Say this about NASCAR fans: They don't frighten easily.

One day after a harrowing crash injured dozens of fans in the stands, those same seats are filling up for the Daytona 500.

No one seems too concerned.

"These should be good seats," said Rick Barasso, as he settled into a spot that was right in the danger zone when Kyle Larson's car slammed into the catch fencing on the final lap of a Nationwide Series race Saturday. "I mean, what are the chances of it happening again?"

That seems to be the attitude of the fans heading into the Daytona 500, the season-opening Cup race and biggest event on the NASCAR schedule. Most people say it's worth the risk to sit next to the ear-rattling action ? no more than 20 feet away for those in the first row. They love to hear the engines, smell the exhaust, and feel the wind whipping in their face as 43 cars go by at nearly 200 mph.

Still, there are a few fans fretting about the location of their seats.

Raymond Gober returned to the same location where he was nearly struck by a bolt from Larson's car. He scooped up the debris as a souvenir, though he acknowledged being a little nervous about his seat on the back row of the lower level. He even considered wearing his motorcycle helmet to the 500, but figured "everybody would start laughing at me." Next year, he plans to buy an upper-level seat in the main grandstand.

"My dad called and said, 'You're sitting in the same seats? "' Gober said. "He couldn't believe it."

There are grim reminders of what happened Saturday: a bloody spot that had been washed down (not entirely, though), a tire mark on a seat, another seat that was partially bent from getting struck by that same tire.

? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

___

EDITOR'S NOTE ? "Daytona 500 Watch" shows you the Daytona 500 and events surrounding the race through the eyes of Associated Press journalists. Follow them on Twitter.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-02-24-NASCAR-Daytona%20500%20Watch/id-efa360216b664f159c7fa12794afc6e4

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Pistorius' brother facing culpable homicide charge

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? The family lawyer of Oscar Pistorius said on Sunday that the double amputee athlete's brother is facing a culpable homicide charge for a 2010 road death.

Lawyer Kenny Oldwage would not confirm details of the case Carl Pistorius is facing, but Sunday's development compounded problems for the family after Oscar was charged with premeditated murder in the Feb. 14 shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Carl Pistorius was allegedly involved in a crash with a woman motorcyclist and he was supposed to be in court last Thursday, as his brother Oscar was facing a bail hearing, according to local media reports.

Oscar Pistorius was released on bail Friday and his brother Carl was seen driving into the home of their uncle Arnold early Sunday in Waterkloof, a wealthy suburb of Pretoria, the nation's capital, where Oscar is now staying.

The problems surrounding his older brother Carl are the latest twist in a case that has transfixed South Africa and much of the world. Sunday's revelation of the culpable homicide charge immediately created a stir.

"It's also doubly sad because it's involved with Oscar and his brother and all the family ? so they have double sort of trouble. So, not good," said Johannesburg resident Jim Plester.

Oscar Pistorius was charged with premeditated murder, but the athlete says he killed his girlfriend accidentally, opening fire after mistaking her for an intruder in his home.

The Pistorius family has yet to react to the accusations that Carl is facing.

On Saturday, the family took steps to lower its profile on social media after someone hacked into the Twitter account of Carl. They cancelled all the social media sites for both Oscar's brother and his sister Aimee.

Carl has always been close to Oscar but was a notable absent when their uncle Arnold, flanked by Oscar's sister Aimee, read out a first reaction to the shooting on Feb. 17, even though he was also on the premises.

The three-story house where Pistorius is staying with his aunt and uncle lies on a hill with a sweeping view of Pretoria. It has a large swimming pool and an immaculate garden.

Pistorius was born without fibula bones due to a congenital defect and his legs were amputated when he was 11 months old. He has run on carbon-fiber blades and was originally banned from competing against able-bodied peers because many argued that his blades gave him an unfair advantage. He was later cleared to compete. He is a multiple Paralympic medalist, but he failed to win a medal at the London Olympics, where he ran in the 400 meter race and on South Africa's 4x400 relay team.

___

AP Sports Writer Gerald Imray contributed from Pretoria.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pistorius-brother-facing-culpable-homicide-charge-084929908--spt.html

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Bell Canada set to launch Novatel's MiFi 2

Novatel's touchable MiFi 2 -- also known as the MiFi Liberate -- receives a fresh coat of paint in the form of a UI overhaul on its way to Bell Canada's network this March. No word on pricing or an exact date, but this 11-hour-lasting king of all portable access points is $50 on a two-year agreement on AT&T, so we'd hazard that sets a decent watermark on the potential price. No word on what the new UI tweaks entail but we're angling to get our hands on one some time this week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Filed under: Peripherals, Wireless

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/NLKXZGN3hZQ/

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GOP wary on immigration

By Michael O'Brien, Political Reporter, NBC News

?

A recurring fear has colored Republicans? attitude toward the current immigration reform debate in Congress: President Barack Obama has no actual interest in reaching a deal, and is instead pursuing the issue to exacerbate the GOP?s problems with Hispanic voters.

Yet all of the evidence so far ? whether in his speeches and or his relations with Congress ? suggests he and his administration clearly want a deal that he could sign into law.

Politics, of course, play an undeniable role in the renewed effort to overhaul the nation?s immigration laws, especially given that Obama won more than 70 percent of the Latino vote in the 2012 election. Consequently, Republicans who had previously resisted any legislation that offered a pathway to citizenship for the nation?s some 11 million undocumented immigrants have now reversed course.

Isaac Brekken / AP

In this Jan. 29, 2013, file photo, President Barack Obama speaks about immigration reform Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, at Del Sol High School in Las Vegas.

?The Republican Party is losing the support of our Hispanic citizens and we realize that there are many issues on which we think we are in agreement with our Hispanic citizens but this is a preeminent issue with those citizens,? Arizona Sen. John McCain, a Republican member of the bipartisan Senate group working toward an immigration accord, said bluntly upon the introduction of that proposal?s framework.

But Republicans have warily engaged the new debate over immigration with active fears that the president?s true intentions on immigration are half-hearted, at best.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who?s established himself as an outspoken conservative after just a couple of months on the job, was only the latest Republican to give voice to that fear.

?I don?t believe President Obama wants an immigration bill to pass, instead I think he wants a political issue,? he said in a speech on Wednesday, according to a report by the Houston Chronicle. ?His objective is to push so much on the table that he forces Republicans walk away from the table because then he wants to use that issue in 2014 and 2016 as a divisive wedge issue.?

It?s a fear that many of Cruz?s fellow elected Republicans appear to share.

?The question that many of us are asking, Republicans and Democrats, is he looking to play politics or does he want to solve the problem?? Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the former GOP vice presidential nominee, asked during his Jan. 27 appearance on NBC's ?Meet the Press? preceding Obama?s major policy speech on immigration.

Republicans carefully watched that speech with concerns that Obama would eventually demagogue immigration. The president generally did the opposite; he used the speech to carefully embrace the bipartisan Senate talks, while warning that the administration would have its own backup plan at the ready for congressional consideration should the Senate talks fail. He further embraced a bipartisan speech in prime time, during his State of the Union address.

?As we speak, bipartisan groups in both chambers are working diligently to draft a bill, and I applaud their efforts,? Obama said. ?So let?s get this done. Send me a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the next few months, and I will sign it right away.?

But Republicans? concerns that Obama will jilt the GOP on immigration very much inform the work toward a comprehensive reform law, and help explain part of the reason why the politics of the issue are so fraught.

When a draft of the White House?s immigration reform proposal leaked over the weekend, Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican who is helping negotiate the Senate plan, pronounced it dead on arrival in Congress.

?It?s a mistake for the White House to draft immigration legislation without seeking input from Republican members of Congress,? Rubio said in a statement.

AOL Co-Founder Steve Case talks about the economy explains why he thinks comprehensive immigration reform may be the solution to attracting and keeping the brightest minds from around the world in America.

Rubio?s scorching statement was also intended to maintain credibility with conservatives, whose support ? or, at least, tolerance ? of an immigration overhaul the Cuban-American senator?s worked to win.

(And, for his part, Obama said that the leak was but a hiccup. ?It certainly did not jeopardize the entire process,? he told an Univision affiliate in Texas. ?The negotiations are still moving forward.?)

But as Republicans tread carefully toward an immigration agreement, they might also keep in mind the political skin Obama has put at stake with this issue.

For as ballyhooed as Obama?s 44-point advantage over Republican nominee Mitt Romney among Hispanic or Latino voters has been, the president had to quell frustration among Latino voters about his failure to pursue immigration in his first term. He faced some of his toughest questioning of the campaign on that very issue during a town hall last September with Univision?s Jorge Ramos, who pointedly accused Obama of breaking his promise to bring up an immigration reform bill during his first year in office. Latino activists have repeatedly criticized Obama for overseeing a record pace of deportations during his first term.

What?s more, Obama basically premised his plea for Latinos? votes on the premise that, if they helped re-elect him, immigration reform would finally be achievable.

?What I?m absolutely certain of is if the Latino community and the American community that cares about this issue turns out to vote, they can send a message that this is not something to use as a political football, that people?s lives are at stake, that this is a problem that we can solve and historically has had bipartisan support,? Obama said in the same Univision forum.

That?s to say: if immigration reform fails during Obama?s second term, there will be more than enough political fallout to spread around.

?

Source: http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/22/17057820-gop-fears-obama-will-jilt-them-on-immigration?lite&ocid=msnhp&pos=2

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Cardinal Zen: Vatican officials stymied Pope's policy on Chinese Church

CWN - February 22, 2013

Clarifying public remarks in which he charged that Vatican appeasement has helped the Chinese government strengthen its control over the Catholic Church, Cardinal Joseph Zen has said that Pope Benedict XVI set appropriate policies, but ?his work was wasted by others close to him, who did not follow his line.?

In an article posted by the AsiaNews service, Cardinal Zen elaborated:

Saying "others" I mean people in the Vatican, but also those outside who, without the help of the Holy See, would not have done so much damage.

The cardinal said that Pope Benedict ?has done things that for China that he has not done for any other country,? referring to the Pope?s open letter to the Chinese Church. Cardinal Zen said that Chinese Catholics ?should be profoundly grateful to him for this.? But he repeated that Vatican officials had failed to follow the Pope?s policies and failed to speak the direct truth about Beijing's efforts to seize control of the Church.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CatholicWorldNewsFeatureStories/~3/iKJ-6nmGCAw/index.cfm

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Possible Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-I9500) Sample Photos Hit The Web (Tyler Lee/Ubergizmo)

image: Ubergizmo

The Samsung Galaxy S4 has to be one of the most anticipated smartphone launches as far as 2013 is concerned, and the rumors of the device, alleged specs and such have been flying off the handle. Now rumors have suggested that the Galaxy S4 will feature a 13MP rear-facing camera, much like Sony?s Xperia Z, and the folks at Androsym have stumbled across some photos on Google+ which appear to have been taken by a certain Samsung GT-I9500, which has been speculated to be the Galaxy S4. The photos have since been removed, but the folks at Androsym have provided some screenshots of the photos on Google+, along with the photos? EXIF data. (more?) ...

Source: http://www.techinvestornews.com/Mobile/Mobile-Bloggers/possible-samsung-galaxy-s4-gt-i9500-sample-photos-hit-the-web

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Sony Will Lose the Console War With PS4?s Lame Video-Streaming Strategy

Sony held reporters hostage for two hours Wednesday as it unveiled a new PlayStation controller, made a lot of promises about the PlayStation 4 and showed all the demos in the world. What it didn?t show us, aside from an ...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/zb5Fn8X6aXY/

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Our favourite dessert recipes - All4Women Food & Drink Articles

We all have space for dessert, so satiate that sweet tooth this weekend with one of our favourite dessert recipes.?

Recipes like this?Layered Strawberry Dessert?are quick and easy to make, and offer a wonderful refreshing treat in the summertime. If you are specifically looking for something to treat yourself to, then this?Frozen Yogurt and Berry Dessert Loaf?will not disappoint.?

If you're fond of using fruit in your desserts, then this?Caramel and Banana Cheese Dessert with Pecan Nuts recipe?or this?Chocolate Raspberry Dessert Cake recipe?are perfect.?

It's also wise to bear in mind that some desserts require a great deal of preparation. To circumnavigate this, why not cook in advance and merely warm up your pudding when the time comes? In that regard this?Hot Chocolate Brownie Dessert recipe?is ideal, as it will keep quite easily in a tupperware container.

Finally, when making desserts try not to forget our wealth of traditional South African desserts such as this?Delicious Koeksister Dessert.

Treat yourself and enjoy!

Don't miss out! Subscribe to our free Recipes Daily or Recipes Weekly Newsletters

?

Source: http://all4women.co.za/food-and-recipes/food-articles/favorite-dessert-recipes.html

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NFL player accused of having gun at NY airport

NEW YORK -- Authorities say an NFL player has been arrested at a New York airport after police found a loaded handgun in his luggage.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Da'Quan Bowers was awaiting arraignment Monday on charges of criminal possession of a weapon.

Bowers was arrested at LaGuardia Airport as he was about to board a US Airways flight to Raleigh, N.C. Authorities say the loaded .40-caliber weapon was found during a search of his carry-on bag.

A Queens district attorney's office spokeswoman says Bowers will be charged in Criminal Court.

Bowers played college football for Clemson University and was chosen by the Buccaneers in the 2011 NFL draft.

He's in police custody and can't be reached for comment by telephone. The Buccaneers haven't returned messages seeking comment.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/02/18/3241442/nfl-player-accused-of-having-gun.html

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Microsoft Surface RT now sold in 13 more European countries

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Microsoft's Surface RT tablet has now expanded its reach and is now sold in 13 more European countries

From Neowin:
As Microsoft promised last week, Surface RT is now available for sale in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Since there are no Microsoft Store locations in any of those territories yet, many different local retailers will be selling the Surface RT in those countries. ZDNet.com reports that in Sweden, for example, the El Giganten, Siba and MediaMarkt retail stores will sell the tablet.

Microsoft Surface RT now sold in 13 more European countries

Source: http://www.ntcompatible.com/news/story/microsoft_surface_rt_now_sold_in_13_more_european_countries.html

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dotCommonweal ? Blog Archive ? Insurance claims.

Last week, in a tour de force of intellectual humility, Matthew J. Franck treated First Things readers to a catalogue of my confusions. He didn?t take kindly to my analysis of Cardinal Timothy Dolan?s response to HHS?s new proposals for the contraception mandate. First, Franck claims that I am ?confused?about what the government actually announced.? Second, he says that my analysis of the moral culpability of religious employers is unreliable because I am ?confused about the economic reality of insurance.? This confusion, Franck informed me via Twitter, is profound: He sees ?no sign from you either of an argument, an ability to read, or an understanding of arithmetic.? Given those impairments, I may not be able to formulate a successful response to Franck?s confident critique, but I beg your indulgence as I give it a shot.

Let?s start with the Franck?s first complaint. Do I have the foggiest idea of what HHS actually announced? Here?s how I summarized the latest proposals: ?The new rule scotches the previous iteration?s much-maligned four-part definition of ?religious employer,? and proposes arrangements to make sure religious employers ? including colleges, hospitals, and charities ? won?t have to pay for or refer for contraception coverage in their employee health plans.? Later in the post, I wrote that ?any religiously affiliated employer that has nonprofit status simply has to self-certify with HHS in order to opt out of the contraception mandate.?

Franck alleges that I conflated the categories of religious employers proposed by HHS: ?Gallicho fails to understand that the new, tax code-derived definition of ?religious employer? is perfectly irrelevant when it comes to the new second category, and insists, quite wrongly, that ?any religiously affiliated employer that has nonprofit status simply has to self-certify with HHS in order to opt out of the contraception mandate.?? But that isn?t my only error, according to Franck. No, I?ve made ?several mistakes at once?:

First, the tax code?s borrowed language does not apply to ?any religiously affiliated employer that has nonprofit status,? but to a much tighter category of churches and their ?integrated auxiliaries.? Second, the employers in the new second category who are nonprofits that ?hold themselves out as religious? do not get to ?opt out? at all, if by that is meant that their employees are not covered by the mandate; they get the new (essentially fake) ?accommodation.?

What is he talking about? When HHS floated its initial proposal for the contraception mandate, it counted as ?exempt? only those employers that had religious inculcation as their purpose, that employed and served ?primarily? co-religionists, and that operated as a nonprofit. I joined the bishops and many others in criticizing that definition of ?religious employer.?

A few weeks later, the Obama administration announced a new proposed rule that would ?accommodate? religiously affiliated employers that failed to qualify for the narrowly defined exemption by allowing them not to include contraception coverage in employee health plans. Instead, the insurance company would offer employees of such institutions separate contraception coverage at no cost. (At the same time, the administration floated a series of complex arrangements that might address the situation of ?self-insured? companies that pay directly for employees? medical care; those have been distilled in the latest HHS proposals.)

So, on the one hand there were ?exempt? employers (dioceses, parishes, parish schools) ? their employees would not be eligible for the proposed free contraception coverage. And on the other hand there were ?accommodated? institutions (hospitals, colleges, charities) ? they wouldn?t have to contract for, pay for, or refer for contraception coverage, but their employees would be able to receive it at no cost from a third party. That difference is preserved ? but clarified in such a way that could expand the range of exempt employers ? in the most recent proposed rule, and that?s what upsets Franck. He believes that there is a significant moral difference between a religious employer whose employees will not receive contraception coverage at all and a religious employer whose employers will receive contraception coverage from a third party. He thinks the only true ?opt out? is available to fully exempt employers, whereas I see a moral significance in an ?accommodated? employer?s ability to choose not to contract for contraception coverage. I could have been clearer about this in my post, but in the final analysis, it makes little difference to the moral calculus because neither exempt nor accommodated institutions will have to include contraception coverage in their employee health plans. I agree with Bishop Robert Lynch that this arrangement amounts to ?a distinction without difference.? More on that in a moment.

Back to Franck: ?When the Obama administration claims that employers will not ?fund? the contraceptive coverage provided by insurers,? he alleges, ?it speaks falsely.? He continues:

When it [the Obama administration] claims that the ?free? contraceptive coverage can be afforded by the insurer because ?cost-savings? will result from ?improvements in women?s health and fewer childbirths,? the administration is admitting that the contraception is already being paid for by the employer, if its policy covers childbirth and women?s health in general. The insurer is not being told to lower its premiums because of the cost-savings on procedures and ailments already covered; it is being told that it can put the cost-savings toward the expense of providing contraception. The existing premiums, paid by the employer, will be the funding source.

Leave aside, for the moment, the fact that actuarial studies have already shown that adding contraception coverage doesn?t end up costing insurers extra ? it?s not relevant to the moral question. What matters is who pays for it and why. Franck says that ?the existing premiums, paid by the employer, will be the funding source.? Unfortunately for his argument, that?s not how health insurance works.

When a group like, say, EWTN pays monthly premiums to its insurance provider, the insurer does not take the money, deposit it in an account used only for the network?s premiums, and then pay EWTN employees? medical bills out of that account. Rather, the insurer pools EWTN?s payments with those from other customers. So when an EWTN employee gets an X-ray, the money that pays the bill may or may not come from EWTN. It may come from a company whose insurance coverage includes abortion. The insurer?s risk assessment of its policyholders determines whose monies fill the pools. If the same insurer covers EWTN and NARAL, and it decides that the companies have similar risk profiles, the two organization?s monies might be mingled. Indeed, it?s precisely the pooling of premiums that provides the incentive for insurers to offer contraception at no cost to their customers. (In 2002, the Kaiser Family Foundation published a useful primer on health insurance [.pdf]. If you have trouble getting your head around our strange health-insurance system, it?s well worth reading.)

So, pace Franck, when it comes to determining who?s really funding contraception for employees of accommodated organizations, ?the existing premiums, paid by the employer? will not ?be the funding source.? It may be one of the funding sources. It may not. The point is, there?s really no way to know, because insurance companies are in the business of spreading risk. It would be like trying to determine whether any of Matthew Franck?s federal tax dollars ended up paying for an abortion for a rape victim. Once he?s paid taxes, that money is no longer his. It?s collected with other people?s money and dispensed by someone else. He?s not on the hook for what?s done with that money unless he?s willed something evil.

That is, of course, the point of money. Did the change I got from Starbucks this afternoon come from a drug dealer? I don?t know. Was the banana I had this morning picked by a child? I hope not, but did I try hard enough to find out? Did the money I saved by not buying organic cover life-saving medical treatment for a loved one? An electric bill? An iPad mini? The Catholic tradition accounts for the complexity of moral agency in a fallen world. We are never disentangled from sin. So the tradition helps us think through these difficult questions: What did I intend? What was the effect? Could it have happened without me?

Franck seems not give those questions their due. He seems to suggest that every time someone pays an insurance company he has illicitly cooperated with evil, regardless of intent. After all, major insurers cover abortion for at least some of their customers. (Would he also say ?self-insured? religious employers that engage the services of an insurance company to administer their health plans are morally culpable [most do]?) Franck says the latest contraception-mandate proposals are no good because they still involve religious employers in morally illicit arrangements. But everything the Obama administration has proposed is designed to distance the religious employer from the coverage it objects to. It frees religious employers from having to say, ?Yes, I want to include contraception coverage in my employee health plan.? It allows ?self-insured? religious employers to say, ?No, we won?t pay for contraception out of the monies we?ve saved to cover our employees? medical care.? It transfers responsibility to a third party. If an employee of an ?accommodated? religious institution avails herself of the contraception provided by a third party, her employer is no more responsible than it would be were she to use her wages to purchase condoms. In the United States, benefits are considered part of an employee?s compensation.

Franck is hung up on whether the HHS proposals will actually work, whether insurers will recoup the upfront costs of providing contraception, even to people who aren?t in their risk pools. But who cares? For ?self-insured? companies, not a dime from their health-care kitty will pay for contraception. For companies that pay insurance premiums, they won?t have to contract or refer for contraception coverage. Might their premiums end up paying for services to which they have religious objections? Yes. But they already are. That they don?t intend to fund such services is what frees them from moral culpability.

And that?s precisely why I believe the latest proposals for the contraception mandate pass moral muster. If Franck wants to counter my moral argument he?ll have to acquire a clearer understanding of how insurance works.

Tags: ACA, Affordable Care Act, contraception, contraception mandate, HHS, Obamacare, USCCB

Source: http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=23289

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