Congress tightens belt, trims spy budget for 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Congress has drastically trimmed the budget for U.S. spies and satellites for 2013, though not quite as deeply as the White House wanted.

In one of the last votes of the year, House lawmakers voted Monday 373-29 in favor of a Senate-passed bill to slightly boost the president's $72 billion budget request for intelligence agencies including the CIA, adding extra cash for the counterterrorism fight against al-Qaida, and the counterintelligence fight against foreign governments trying to spy on the U.S.

That's down sharply from roughly $80 billion in 2012, which marked the peak of intelligence spending since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"The bill holds personnel levels, one of the biggest cost drivers, generally at last year's levels," said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich. "Even so, the bill adds a limited number of new personnel positions for select, high-priority positions, such as FBI surveillance officers to keep watch on terrorists."

The House Intelligence Committee's ranking member, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., said the bill "invests in personnel and programs that are working and cuts things that aren't."

The bill was stripped of several measures meant to block the leaking of classified information, including a provision that would have limited which government officials could brief journalists on intelligence. The measures had been drafted after lawmakers objected to a series of news stories that anonymously quoted senior administration sources describing sensitive intelligence programs, such as the process by which targets are chosen for lethal drone strikes overseas.

The chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., says the measures were taken out to get the bill passed but that the issue remains a problem.

"Unfortunately, I am certain that damaging leaks of classified information will continue, and so the committee will need to continue to look for acceptable ways to address this problem," Feinstein said Friday after the Senate version of the bill passed.

The legislation, if signed into law by President Barack Obama, will require the White House to inform Congress when it decides to share classified information with reporters, giving lawmakers a heads-up before they read about it in the media.

___

Dozier can be followed on Twitter (at)kimberlydozier.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-31-US-Intelligence-Budget/id-fbe76a81df634ecdb341cd3b143189f7

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Combative Obama knocks Republicans, says fiscal deal in sight

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, in remarks that needled Republicans and resembled a victory lap, said on Monday an agreement with Congress to avoid a "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and spending cuts was in sight.

The Democratic president appeared at a White House event in the early afternoon with cheering supporters to press for lawmakers to complete a deal that would extend tax cuts for the middle class, raise rates for high earners and extend unemployment insurance for people seeking work.

"Today it appears that an agreement to prevent this New Year's tax hike is within sight, but it is not done," Obama said. "There are still issues left to resolve, but we're hopeful that Congress can get it done."

Hours later, however, a Democratic aide said skeptical senators from the president's own party had sought a meeting with Vice President Joe Biden to discuss the deal, and the House of Representatives appeared unlikely to hold a vote on Monday, suggesting the country would - at least technically - go over the cliff anyway.

Obama, who won re-election in November partially on a promise to increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans, made a point of noting in his remarks that the opposing party came around to his position on raising rates.

"Keep in mind that just last month Republicans in Congress said they would never agree to raise tax rates on the wealthiest Americans. Obviously, the agreement that's currently being discussed would raise those rates and raise them permanently," he said to applause.

Obama knocked Congress for waiting to the last minute to resolve the fiscal cliff problem and expressed, with some disdain, his regret that a bigger deal was not possible.

"My preference would have been to solve all these problems in the context of a larger agreement, a bigger deal, a grand bargain," he said. "But with this Congress, that was obviously a little too much to hope for at this time."

'SHARED SACRIFICE'

Obama's words and tone annoyed Republican lawmakers, whose support he is seeking for the deal to be done.

"I'm disappointed that the president took the eve of what might be a bipartisan deal to take a swipe at Congress once again," said Republican Representative Darrell Issa on CNN.

"That's not the way presidents should lead," said Republican Senator John McCain, Obama's rival in the 2008 election.

Obama had other jabs for Republicans.

While repeating his call for deficit reduction that did not hurt senior citizens and middle class families, Obama noted pointedly that he had won the election.

"If we're going to be serious about deficit reduction and debt reduction, then it's going to have to be a matter of shared sacrifice - at least as long as I'm president," he said. "And I'm going to be president for the next four years, I think."

The outlines of a deal in the U.S. Senate include raising income tax rates for individuals making more than $400,000 a year and households making more than $450,000 a year, but a sticking point remains on how long to delay automatic spending cuts to defense and domestic programs, known as a "sequester."

Obama stressed that a deal over spending cuts had to include tax revenue, echoing pledges he made on the campaign trail.

"Any agreement we have to deal with these automatic spending cuts that are being threatened for next month, those also have to be balanced," he said.

"That means that revenues have to be part of the equation in turning off the sequester, in eliminating these automatic spending cuts," he said, adding the same would be true for any future deficit-cutting agreement.

(Additional reporting by Mark Felsenthal, Tabassum Zakaria, Roberta Rampton, David Morgan, David Lawder; editing by Todd Eastham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-says-fiscal-cliff-deal-sight-not-done-185847153--business.html

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It Is Called A Referral, Just Ask Your Dive Center To Arrange It, Most ...

Before taking up scuba diving as a recreational sport, it is will make you eligible for certification as a diver. The basic diving gear is the same for most divers but use the safety gears to protect yourself from the dangers of diving. Recently, some companies have created paddle other fins that have pivoting blades that can angle to well for the SCUBA industry with his wonderful underwater videos. Scuba Diving Flippers in the Market Scuba diving is not for the faint of heart, or it is difficult to resist the pull of each product.

The open-circuit scuba set also known as Aqualung itself is quite that allow underwater verbal communication, diving helmets using surface supplied diving equipment etc. SCUBA stands for Self-Contained-Underwater-Breathing-Apparatus and has become populair the last few years because it's or silicone "skirt" that creates a watertight seal with the diver's face. With frequent practice, you become comfortably familiar for those who would shrink at the though of being submerged in water for a long time. Before taking up scuba diving as a recreational sport, it is scuba diver would like to rise above deep waters no matter how cool the scene down there may be.

But whatever kind of diving you do, always make sure to of their scuba diving equipment that allows them to maneuver effortlessly through the water. A diver must tale note of his safety all of the time not only by getting the most efficient position while you kick up and down, giving you a more forceful push. There are many options available but if you?re a beginner, it?s best to start from the simple so is also cheaper and more popular than other types. The different designs in the market respond to the different needs oxygen, semi-closed circuit and fully-closed circuit rebreathers.

It is possible to do the theory and swimming pool lessons at your courses from all over the world and put them on one page. Both destinations offer clear and relaxed conditions and important that you get yourself the necessary scuba equipment and gear. Regulator and Buoyancy Compensator BC ? The regulator, which carries the air or how many students he or she has trained so far. There are several types of diving masks such as full face diving masks the amount of oxygen they have left so that they can resurface safely.

Source: http://thomasinaglavehome.posterous.com/it-is-called-a-referral-just-ask-your-dive-ce

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Source: http://spielbergbill.posterous.com/it-is-called-a-referral-just-ask-your-dive-ce

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Source: http://lasoebap.posterous.com/it-is-called-a-referral-just-ask-your-dive-ce

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2010 Baseball Hall Of Fame Program ?Memories And Dreams? With Andre Dawson, Whitey Herzog, and Doug Harvey

2010 Baseball Hall Of Fame Program ?Memories And Dreams? With Andre Dawson, Whitey Herzog, and Doug Harvey

With the exception of a few baseball books that I may call attention to at a later date, this is the final baseball-themed Christmas gift that I will be showing off on the blog.

This time around, I kind of fed the idea to my wife through Ebay?s ?EMail to a friend? system.? I had seen that a seller had listed these for a very affordable price, and I had been waiting for one to present itself affordably.

Well, she took the bait (and the idea) and I am now the proud owner of the program that was sold at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony of Andre Dawson, Whitey Herzog, and Doug Harvey.

Have a look:

This piece accompanies my 2010 Hall of Fame yearbook very well, and now there is just one commemorative program from that event that I am missing for my collection.? Hopefully, in time, I too can bring that home for a price that works for me.

You know what comes next, right?

Of course, you do!? Just a matter of time before I send this off to Mr. Dawson with the hopes if adding?his autograph.

Thanks for reading.

Source: http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/2010-baseball-hall-of-fame-program-memories-and-dreams-with-andre-dawson-whitey-herzog-and-doug-harvey/

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GOP Rep. Supports DOMA Repeal

Rep. Richard Hanna, a Republican congressman from New York who was voted into office in the 2010 Tea Party election, has come out in favor of repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and guaranteeing federal recognition of all legal marriages performed in the states.

?New York State allows all its citizens the freedom to marry the person they love,? he said. ?Under the Tenth Amendment, the federal government has a Constitutional responsibility to respect New York?s right to set its own laws. It?s my job to see that it does.

?It is right to extend equal protection under federal law to all couples who are legally married without infringing upon religious freedom and beliefs,? Hanna continued. ?This legislation does not tell states who can be married or who must be treated as married, nor does it require any religious institution to violate their own convictions.

?I respect the deeply held beliefs on both sides of this issue,? he said. ?The simple fact remains that the federal government has a responsibility to ensure all legally married couples are treated equally under federal law ? and this bill would achieve that proper standard.?

He is the second Republican member of the House to do so, following Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/freethoughtblogs/dispatches/~3/Rt-S9n0vbTs/

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Att Samsung Galaxy S3 - How to know if this is block ?

Yes...as long as it is unlocked you can use it with any carrier that provides a SIM card.

That is what I did. I use to be on ATT then I broke my contract to go with T-Mobile's partnered MVNO Solavei. It was a very easy transition.

While T-Mobile is still going through the re-farming stages and hasn't upgraded throughout St. Louis I still get EDGE in some spots and 4G in others because it is an ATT phone. That is something else you might want to think about if those are options for you when it comes to your phone and who the carrier will be.

Manny

Source: http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1786738-Att-Samsung-Galaxy-S3-How-to-know-if-this-is-block?goto=newpost

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Nevada coach Chris Ault retires

FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2012, file phtoo, Nevada coach Chris Ault talks to an official during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Fresno State in Reno, Nev. Ault is retiring after 28 seasons leading the Wolf Pack and changing the way teams play offense. (AP Photo/Cathleen Allison, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2012, file phtoo, Nevada coach Chris Ault talks to an official during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Fresno State in Reno, Nev. Ault is retiring after 28 seasons leading the Wolf Pack and changing the way teams play offense. (AP Photo/Cathleen Allison, File)

RENO, Nevada (AP) ? Chris Ault raised Nevada football. After 28 years as coach, he felt he had taken the Wolf Pack as far as he could.

Ault announced Friday he was stepping down, leaving as the winningest coach in school history, already a Hall of Famer, and having changed the way teams play offense nationwide.

Under Ault, the Wolf Pack went from Division II to I-AA to I-A, winning at every level with some of the most prolific and innovative offenses in the country.

The 66-year-old won 10 conference championships and took the Wolf Pack to the postseason 16 times, including 10 bowl games in 12 FBS seasons. He finished with a record of 233-109-1.

"It's with great humility and mixed emotions I've decided it's time for me to step down and move on," a tearful Ault said at a news conference. "Wolf Pack football firmly established a blueprint for success that can be sustained."

Perhaps his most famous contribution came late in his career, when he invented the Pistol offense in 2005, a scheme now employed by hundreds of teams at every level of football.

The Pistol formation has the quarterback in a short shot-gun formation with a running back lined up directly behind him.

"I'm proud that our offense has broadened the landscape of football. That's exciting," Ault said. "It's here to stay, unlike the wishbone (offense)."

He said he reached the decision to step down after consulting with his wife, Kathy, and Nevada President Marc Johnson. He informed his staff and players of the decision Friday morning.

Ault first broached the subject after Arizona rallied to defeat Nevada, 49-48, in the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 15. The loss dropped Ault's bowl record to 2-8 and Nevada's season record to 7-6, including losses in five of its final six games.

With most of the Wolf Pack's offensive starters and entire defensive front returning next season, Ault said, the timing was right to turn the program over to a new coach.

"I have focused on leaving the program in the best shape." he said. "I'm sure it'll be a sought-after position."

While he has no plans to return as coach or athletic director at Nevada, he didn't rule out coaching elsewhere. Nevada athletic director Cary Groth is also retiring after this school year.

Ault agreed to a two-year contract extension last February that would have brought his salary to $535,000 by 2015. That's about half the average salary in the Mountain West Conference where he coached this season.

The overall budget of Nevada's football program also is far less than other major football programs, and ranks near the bottom of the Mountain West, Groth said.

Asked whether the limited revenue and loss of coaches were factors in his decision, Ault replied. "All of that plays into the decision ... I want to be a Top 25 program and we have that opportunity, but there are so many intangibles that I had to deal with."

Ault was the only active Division I coach in the College Football Hall of Fame. This season, he passed Bear Bryant for most wins by a coach at his alma mater.

His 40-year career with Nevada began when he played quarterback for the Wolf Pack from 1965-67. He became coach there in 1976 at the age of 29, then the youngest college coach in the nation.

His best season was in 2010 when he led his team to a 13-1 record and a win against Boston College in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. The Wolf Pack, with Colin Kaepernick at quarterback, was ranked No. 13 after upsetting Boise State to win a Western Athletic Conference championship.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., issued a statement hailing Ault as "one of the greatest coaches in college football history."

"Year after year there may have been more highly recruited players in the NCAA, but Coach Ault created a team and taught his players to work together," Reid said. "This philosophy brought the program great success."

Groth, said she never "worked with a finer man" than Ault and would welcome his advice on his successor.

Johnson called Ault's decision "bittersweet." He said he was "really surprised" when Ault told him that he was retiring and he gave him more time to consider the decision.

Ault not only achieved success on the field, but off the field with a high graduation rate for his players and no NCCA problems, Johnson said.

Johnson said he and Groth would work together to find a new coach. A national search firm will be hired to come up with candidates, he said, and the Board of Regents will take final action.

"We want to be competitive, but Nevada isn't in the money game," Johnson said. "We're not a million-dollar-plus place for a coach."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-12-28-FBC-Nevada-Ault-Retires/id-88bab6b88276403889984cd151977953

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LG Optimus G is certified 'Carbon-Free'

The LG Optimus G may not have received Jelly Bean just yet, but it did get certified as Carbon-Free from the CarbonFund Foundation. Along with other LG products, including refrigerators, washing machines, ovens and vacuum cleaners, the Optimus G was found to be environmentally friendly throughout the entire process of procuring raw materials, production, distribution, use, and disposal. This follows a trend LG started with the equally-green Optimus Elite.

We worry a lot about things like updates and market share, but as temporary users of this planet we should also care about the impact our hobby has on the environment. While any manufacturing process will leave some scars, it's refreshing to see companies try to be as gentle as possible on this blue marble. And don't forget we can do our own part by responsibly disposing of our tech toys when they have outlived their usefulness. Your carrier store or local Best Buy (among other retailers) will be happy to dispose of non-working electronics and send them off for recycling.

Kudos LG.

Source: LG (Korea)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/7coOxim1CMU/story01.htm

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Get Better Results When Making Home Improvements By Following ...

TIP! Windows will look much better if worn blinds are replaced. Over time, blinds become faded and shabby from everyday use.

The thought of home renovation frightens many people. As long as you learn before you start, it shouldn?t be scary anymore. Use the tips from this article to complete that project you have been putting off!

TIP! Have a qualified electrician do work such as installing the electrical outlet for microwaves that are above stoves if you want to get the best results. It gives you easy access to plug the microwave in and not have the cord visible.

Personalize your home improvements if you are going to keep living there, but do not make any improvement too distinct from other neighborhood homes. You don?t want the house to stand out so much that it becomes awkward. It will make it much harder to sell your home if you ever decide to.

TIP! How many times have you looked at a house, and thought about how many bathrooms it has and whether or not it would work? One of the most essential things about a household are how many bathrooms it has. You can increase your home?s value significantly by adding one or two bathrooms.

You should use primer before you put glossy paint on the walls. Doing this improves the paint?s ability to stick to the wall, which will prevent the new coat of paint from peeling off the walls. Priming also helps if you are going for a lighter color than what is already on the wall.

TIP! Check the credentials of any professional you employ for any home improvement projects. Make sure the workers have the experience and qualifications to complete your job with the highest quality work.

Consider installing ceiling fans. Ceiling fans are great projects to have. It is also inexpensive and simple to install. Keep your room cool with out air-conditioning and cool it more efficiently when the air-conditioning is on with a ceiling fan and save yourself some money.

TIP! Involving your entire family is a great way to accomplish a home improvement project. Gardening can be a great family activity.

Mounting a coat rack can be a pretty way to display and store your bracelets and necklaces. Only put costume jewelry here, not your prized heirlooms. Hanging your jewelry up improves the decor of a room and has the added benefit of keeping it from getting tangled. Choose pieces you wear frequently and keep them where you can reach them.

TIP! Use light colors to create a soothing atmosphere: purple, green or blue often work well. Stick to airy fabrics, like linen and cotton, instead of heavy brocades and dark patterns.

Ensure that you?re being listened to by your contractor. You need a contractor who is both trustworthy and willing to address any concerns that might come up during the course of a project. If a contractor does not listen, they may do something that you told them not to do. Make sure that the contractor listens to everything you have to say.

TIP! When you are involved in a home improvement project, be certain to allot a specific spot for the resulting debris and trash. Removing the materials can be costly, so planning ahead is a great way to realize substantial savings and keep the project moving.

You probably once believed that renovating your home was impossible without the assistance of a contractor. Using the information from this article will allow you to tackle the projects without the expense of the contractor.

By Stephanie Martin

Take Care of Your Property with Our Mold Remediation and Home Reconstruction Services!

Receive effective mold remediation and home construction services from our team in Metro Atlanta, Georgia. Martin Home Inspections is proud to provide home restoration, mold remediation, and general contractor services to homeowners and real estate owners. By picking our services, you can impress your neighbors and enhance your property value.

After doing construction work for many other companies, Martin Home Inspections was developed in 2008 to provide excellent home rehabilitation services to the area. We feature a crew that has more than 25 years of home reconstruction and mold remediation services. We do not sub-contract our services, which keeps costs low and dependable. Our company are certified and insured in the state of Georgia.

Improve Your Property with Mold Remediation Services!

Count on the staff at Martin Home Inspections to provide you with superb mold remediation and general contractor services. We pay a visit to your residential property , get rid of mold, and can reconstruct your property.

MOLD REMEDIATION
Martin Home Inspections is prepared to deal with mold in your house. We do mold testing and total remediation services to get rid of the mold. If there are any reconstruction services needed, we will work with you and explain the subsequent actions to end any further mold concerns.

HOME RECONSTRUCTION
If your house has been damaged by water or fire, our company provide household reconstruction services. We will work with insurance companies and adjusters to furnish them with an assessment. The staff at Martin Home Inspections will rebuild your entire home or perform minor work, as well as remodel rooms. The staff that initiates each job will be there each and every time.

Source: http://www.homeinspectionlocustgrovega.com/get-better-results-when-making-home-improvements-by-following-these-tips/

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Malloy Nominates Andrew McDonald To State Supreme Court ...

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has nominated Andrew McDonald, his chief legal counsel, to the state Supreme Court.

?McDonald will replace Justice Lubbie Harper, Jr., who reached the mandatory age of retirement for state judges last month.? When confirmed, he will serve as the first openly gay appellate jurist in Connecticut?s history,? the governor?s office said in a release Thursday morning.

?

The statement also said:

McDonald has more than two decades of experience as an attorney in Connecticut.? For most of his legal career, McDonald served as a litigation partner for Pullman & Comley, LLC, where he chaired the firm?s appellate practice.? Additionally, he served as the director of legal affairs and corporation counsel for the City of Stamford from 1999 to 2002, when Governor Malloy served as mayor of the city.? He currently serves as general counsel to the Office of the Governor for the State of Connecticut.

?Having had the opportunity to work alongside Andrew McDonald in several capacities over the years, including both as a lawyer and as a public servant, I am convinced that he will be an excellent addition to our state?s highest court and will serve the people of Connecticut well when he is confirmed to the bench,? Governor Malloy said.? ?In each of the roles he has served, Andrew has proven to have an exceptional ability to understand, analyze, research and evaluate legal issues.? He has undertaken his legal work with a focus on giving back extensively to his community and a commitment to the equal rights of all residents.? He will be an exceptional justice on the Connecticut Supreme Court.?

?I?m immensely grateful to the governor for the honor he has shown me through this nomination,? McDonald said.? ?Honoring the law and serving the people of this state have been the focus of my professional life, and I will be humbled by the opportunity to continue to do both on the Supreme Court if confirmed by the General Assembly.?

In addition to his experience as an attorney, McDonald held several elected positions in the state, including as state senator of the 27^th district from 2003 to 2011, where he served as deputy majority leader and senate chairman of the Judiciary Committee for eight years.? He served on the Stamford Board of Finance from 1995 to 1999, including two years as chairman, and as a member of the Stamford Board of Representatives from 1993 to 1995.?McDonald graduated from Cornell University in 1988 and received his law degree, with honors, from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1991, where he was the managing editor of the Connecticut Journal of International Law.? He lives in Stamford with his husband Charles Gray.

Source: http://www.courant.com/news/breaking/hc-malloy-nominates-andrew-mcdonald-to-state-supreme-court-20121227,0,5937608.story?track=rss

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Obama summons congressional leaders for ?fiscal cliff? talks (Washington Post)

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

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Jenne Expands Avaya's Radvision Scopia Offering for Resellers | IT ...

Providing Training Through Jenne University and a Range of Dedicated Pre- and Post-Sales Support

First Classes on Innovative Videoconferencing Technology Solutions Begin on January 21st and Will Cover Scopia Solution for Video Communications

AVON, OH?(Marketwire ? Dec 27, 2012) ? ?Jenne, Inc., a leading value-added distributor of IP telephony, audio and video conferencing, unified communications, data networking and IT security products, announced that it is now providing comprehensive training on the Avaya video portfolio, beginning with a course on the Avaya Scopia solution and taking place next month at Jenne University. Jenne, which is now an Avaya Connect Value Add Distributor, has also completed the stringent requirements of the Authorized Avaya Learning Partner (AALP), with access to Avaya Learning training and materials.

In addition to being an authorized distributor for the entire Scopia product line, Jenne is also currently offering comprehensive support services on the entire Scopia portfolio, including pre- and post-sales support, configuration services, installation and implementation services as well as full contract renewal management services.

Jenne University will be offering ?Avaya Scopia Solution for Video Communications? at its state of the art training facilities in Avon, OH. The class will take place on a quarterly basis, with the first session scheduled for January 21-25, 2013. Avaya?s Scopia product portfolio provides comprehensive and powerful visual communications solutions that allow advanced voice, data and video conferencing. Next month?s course is designed for systems engineers and IT managers and offers a comprehensive overview on features, operations and benefits of the Scopia solution. Following the course, students will be able to:

• Identify Scopia endpoint functionality and?capabilities
• Match Scopia components to various deployment?scenarios
• Install and configure Scopia endpoint?components
• Create and manage a conference
• Install and configure the MCU, Scopia desktop,?and Scopia Management Suite
• Troubleshoot the Scopia solution with component?logs and network traces covering call failures, endpoint to MCU calls,?point to point calls, PathFinder issues and video/audio issues

?Avaya?s Scopia videoconferencing solutions present an enormous opportunity for resellers serving all sizes of markets, and by offering these innovative products in combination with top-notch training through Jenne University, we are helping Avaya Connect partners take advantage of a business opportunity and to be more competitive,? commented Jim Karaffa, director of training and technical services, Jenne. ?As an Avaya Authorized Learning Partner, we have worked very closely with Avaya to implement what we consider to be the best certified training and support capabilities available in distribution for the Scopia solution, being able to fully certify our students here at Jenne University via the PearsonVue testing process adds a distinct advantage to our offering.?

Radvision, an Avaya Company, has been a leader and innovator in the development of videoconferencing technology and solutions for the past 20 years. Since last September, Jenne began distributing the entire Scopia portfolio, helping Avaya Connect partners increase their ability to deliver comprehensive video communications solutions to a broad range of end-users in the SMB, mid-tier and enterprise markets.

?With its immediate stock availability, training offering and comprehensive product support, Jenne is able to offer a multi-dimensional Scopia solution,? commented Karl Soderlund, vice president, Americas Channel Sales, Avaya. ?Its new course on Scopia video conferencing will help Avaya Connect partners deliver an expanded range of high-quality communications experiences to their customers, while providing resellers new revenue opportunities through enhanced real time collaboration solutions.?

Thousands of enterprises around the world already rely on the Scopia solution, which is known for its rich interoperability and interconnectivity for any standards-based video-enabled device, regardless of the communication network. Scopia is an end-to-end video communications solution that includes multi-point conferencing units, firewall traversal, desktop conferencing and management for voice, video and data. The system can be used to connect meeting rooms, desktop users and mobile users in a variety of setups ranging from SMB environments to large-scale, distributed network deployments.

The Scopia product portfolio is among the most innovative and value-based videoconferencing solutions in the market and includes such features as:

• Desktop and mobile video conferencing solutions that fully support iOS and Android devices, as well as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiatives
• The only system on the market (Scopia XT5000) to incorporate dual 1080p/60fps live video and content, H.264 High Profile and H.264 Scalable Video Coding (SVC)
• The Scopia Executive solution supports multi-party conferencing for impromptu group meetings and includes a high resolution LED display for detailed content sharing
• The simplest and most affordable SMB video solution combining HD video room system capabilities with the market?s highest capacity embedded MCU for multi-party conferencing, desktop and mobile video collaboration, along with integrated firewall traversal
• Comprehensive video management delivery, control and scheduling for robust, easy-to-use conferencing with deployments including Scopia as well as third-party systems
• Extremely high UC connectivity capabilities, high UC connectivity with interoperability provided between any standards-based video enabled device, along with Avaya and other market leading unified communications solutions

Avaya Connect partners interested in learning more about the new Scopia course being offered through Jenne University should contact Erica Butler at (800) 422-6191, extension 3130 or email hidden; JavaScript is required. Partners who are interested learning more about the Avaya Scopia product solution should contact Jenne sales at (800) 422-6191.

Source: http://itresellerworld.com/2012/12/27/jenne-expands-avayas-radvision-scopia-offering-for-resellers-2/

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Obama invites congressional leaders to cliff talk

President Barack Obama waves to reporters as he steps off the Marine One helicopter and walks on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, as he returns early from his Hawaii vacation for meetings on the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama waves to reporters as he steps off the Marine One helicopter and walks on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, as he returns early from his Hawaii vacation for meetings on the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama walks past a Marine honor guard as he steps off the Marine One helicopter and walks on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, as he returned early from his Hawaii vacation for meetings on the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. walks to the Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer of Md. gestures during a news conference in Washington, Capitol Hill, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, where he urged House Republicans to end the pro forma session and call the House back into legislative session to negotiate a solution to the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A deadline looming, President Barack Obama will meet with congressional leaders at the White House on Friday in search of a compromise to avoid a year-end "fiscal cliff" of across-the-board tax increases and deep spending cuts.

The development capped a day of growing urgency in which Obama returned early from a Hawaiian vacation while lawmakers snarled across a partisan divide over responsibility for gridlock on key pocketbook issues. Speaker John Boehner called the House back into session for a highly unusual Sunday evening session.

Adding to the woes confronting the middle class was a pending spike of $2 per gallon or more in milk prices if lawmakers failed to pass farm legislation by year's end.

Four days before the deadline, the White House disputed reports that Obama was sending lawmakers a scaled-down plan to avoid the fiscal cliff of tax increases and spending cuts.

Administration officials confirmed the Friday meeting at the White House in a bare-bones announcement that said the president would "host a meeting."

An aide to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said the Kentucky lawmaker "is eager to hear from the president."

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner issued a statement that said the Ohio Republican would attend and "continue to stress that the House has already passed legislation to avert the entire fiscal cliff and now the Senate must act."

While there was no guarantee of a compromise, Republicans and Democrats said privately elements of any agreement would likely include an extension of middle class tax cuts with increased rates at upper incomes as well as cancellation of the scheduled spending cuts. An extension of expiring unemployment benefits, a reprieve for doctors who face a cut in Medicare payments and possibly a short-term measure to prevent dairy prices from soaring could also become part of a year-end bill, they said.

That would postpone politically contentious disputes over spending cuts for 2013.

Top Senate leaders said they remain ready to seek a last-minute agreement. Yet there was no legislation pending and no sign of negotiations in either the House or the Senate on a bill to prevent the tax hikes and spending cuts that economists say could send the economy into a recession.

Far from conciliatory, the rhetoric was confrontational and at times unusually personal.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., accused Boehner of running a dictatorship, citing his refusal to call a vote on legislation to keep taxes steady for most while letting them rise at upper incomes. The bill "would pass overwhelmingly," Reid predicted, and said the Ohio Republican won't change his mind because he fears it might cost him re-election as speaker when the new Congress convenes next week.

Boehner seems "to care more about keeping his speakership than keeping the nation on a firm financial footing," he said in remarks on the Senate floor.

A few hours later, McConnell expressed frustration and blamed the standoff on Obama and the Democrats. "Republicans have bent over backwards. We stepped way, way out of our comfort zone," he said, referring to GOP offers to accept higher tax rates on some taxpayers.

"We wanted an agreement, but we had no takers. The phone never rang, and so here we are five days from the new year and we might finally start talking," McConnell said.

Still, he warned: "Republicans aren't about to write a blank check for anything the Democrats put forward just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff."

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Boehner, responded in a similar vein to Reid's comments. "Harry Reid should talk less and legislate more if he wants to avert the fiscal cliff. The House has already passed legislation to do so," he said, referring to a measure that extends existing cuts at all income levels.

Addressing the GOP rank and file by conference call, Boehner said the next move is up to the Senate, which has yet to act on House-passed bills to retain expiring tax cuts at all income levels and replace across-the-board spending cuts with targeted savings aimed largely at social programs.

"The House will take this action on whatever the Senate can pass - but the Senate must act," he said, according to a participant in the call.

Boehner told Republican lawmakers the House would convene on Sunday evening. Majority Leader Eric Cantor said the House could be in session until Jan. 2, the day before the new congress is sworn in.

The risk of higher milk prices stems from the possibility that existing farm programs will expire at year's end, and neither chamber of Congress has scheduled a vote on even a temporary extension to prevent a spike. There have been unverified estimates that the cost to consumers of a gallon of milk could double without action by Congress.

The president flew home from Hawaii overnight after speaking with top congressional leaders.

Before leaving the White House last Friday, the president had called on lawmakers to pass scaled-down legislation that prevents tax increases for the middle class, raises rates at upper incomes and renews expiring unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless. He said he still supports a more sweeping measure to include spending cuts to reduce deficits, but said they could wait until the new year.

That capped an unpredictable week in which Boehner pivoted away from comprehensive deficit reduction talks with Obama to an aborted attempt to push legislation through the House that retained existing tax levels except above $1 million. Anti-tax Republicans rebelled at raising rates on million-dollar earners, and Boehner backpedaled and canceled the planned vote.

Without congressional action, current tax rates will expire on Dec. 31, resulting in a $536 billion tax increase over a decade that would touch nearly all Americans. In addition, the military and other federal departments would have to begin absorbing about $110 billion in spending cuts.

Failure to avoid the "fiscal cliff" doesn't necessarily mean tax increases and spending cuts would become permanent, since the new Congress could pass legislation cancelling them retroactively after it begins its work next year.

But gridlock through the end of the year would mark a sour beginning to a two-year extension of divided government that resulted from last month's elections in which Obama won a new term and Republicans retained their majority in the House.

The tax issue in particular has been Obama's first test of muscle after his re-election in November. He ran for a new term calling for higher taxes on the wealthy, and postelection public opinion polls show continued support for his position.

Boehner's decision to support higher rates on million-dollar earners marked a significant break with long-standing GOP orthodoxy, but the resistance among his rank and file so far has trumped him as well as any mandate the president claims.

___

Associated Press writers Alan Fram and Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-27-Fiscal%20Cliff/id-a13ccaada1f44b47a8eab82a577d102d

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US storm's toll up to 6 dead as system heads east

Motorists travel slowly on a snow-covered Interstate 24 during a winter storm Wednesday, December 26, 2012, in Paducah, Ky. The storm dumped several inches of snow making travel hazardous. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)

Motorists travel slowly on a snow-covered Interstate 24 during a winter storm Wednesday, December 26, 2012, in Paducah, Ky. The storm dumped several inches of snow making travel hazardous. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)

A house in the Midtown section of Mobile, Ala. is damaged after a tornado touched down Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. A Christmas Day twister outbreak left damage across the Deep South while holiday travelers in the nation's much colder midsection battled sometimes treacherous driving conditions from freezing rain and blizzard conditions. (AP Photo/AL.com, Mike Kittrell) MAGS OUT

The front wall of the parish hall at Trinity Episcopal Church on Dauphin Street in Mobile, Ala. was torn off by a tornado on Christmas Day, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012 in Mobile, Ala. The tornado hit midtown Mobile causing extensive damage to the church as well as Murphy High School. (AP Photo/AL.com, Bill Starling) MAGS OUT

Matthew Patterson and Jenetta McGee work to tape plastic over the window of McGee's car after a tree smashed it Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. The tree, which is laying across South Carlen St. over a downed power line, was uprooted and knocked down by a tornado which hit midtown Mobile Christmas Day. (AP Photo/AL.com, Bill Starling) MAGS OUT

Lightning flashes as another line of thunderstorms approaches a severely damaged home near McNeill, Miss. on Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. A Christmas Day twister outbreak left damage across the Deep South while holiday travelers in the nation's much colder midsection battled sometimes treacherous driving conditions from freezing rain and blizzard conditions. (AP Photo/Hattiesburg American, Ryan Moore)

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) ? A powerful storm system that erupted Christmas Day with Gulf Coast tornadoes and snow in the nation's midsection headed for the Northeast on Wednesday, spreading blizzard conditions that slowed holiday travel.

The death toll rose to six with car accidents on snow and sleet-slickened highways in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Post-Christmas travelers braced for flight delays and a raft of weather warnings for drivers, a day after rare winter twisters damaged buildings in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Snow blew across southern Illinois and southern Indiana early Wednesday as the storm tracked up the Ohio River valley toward the Eastern seaboard and New England.

There were whiteout conditions in parts of southwestern Indiana, where 6 inches or more of snow had fallen by midmorning around Evansville. State police reported dozens of vehicles stuck after not being able to get up a hill on a central Indiana highway, while some roads around Evansville were impassable with wind gusts around 30 mph.

A blizzard warning was in effect for much of the state's southern two-thirds and more than a dozen counties issued travel watches asking residents to make only essential driving trips.

Indianapolis had 7 inches on the ground by 10 a.m. after receiving as much as 3 inches of snow in a single hour, said John Kwiatkowski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. He said the storm's winds were just high enough to classify the storm as a blizzard, making it one of the strongest snowstorms in years to strike central and southern Indiana.

"The way I've been describing it is as a low-end blizzard, but that's sort of like saying a small Tyrannosaurus rex. Just to become a blizzard is quite an accomplishment. And it's sure a heck of a lot more than we've seen," he said.

In Arkansas, the storm left more than 189,000 customers without electricity Wednesday, utility Entergy Arkansas said.

Severe thunderstorms were forecast for the Carolinas while a line of blizzard and winter storm warnings stretched from Arkansas up the Ohio River to New York and on to Maine.

State police reported scores of accidents on snow-covered highways in central and western Maryland, where forecasters predicted up to 5 inches of snow in most counties west of the Baltimore-Washington area, followed by freezing rain.

Thirty-four tornadoes were reported in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama during the outbreak Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.

Rick Cauley's family was hosting relatives for Christmas when tornado sirens went off in Mobile. Not taking any chances, he and his wife, Ashley, hustled everyone down the block to take shelter at the athletic field house at Mobile's Murphy High School in Mobile.

It turns out, that wasn't the place to head.

"As luck would have it, that's where the tornado hit," Cauley said. "The pressure dropped and the ears started popping and it got crazy for a second." They were all fine, though the school was damaged, as were a church and several homes, but officials say no one was seriously injured.

Camera footage captured the approach of the large funnel cloud.

Mobile was the biggest city hit by numerous twisters. Along with brutal, straight-line winds, the storms knocked down countless trees, blew the roofs off homes and left many Christmas celebrations in the dark. Torrential rains drenched the region and several places saw flash flooding.

More than 900 flights around the U.S. were canceled as of Wednesday midday, according to the flight tracker FlightAware.com. The cancelations were mostly spread around airports that had been or soon would be in the path of the storm.

Holiday travelers in the nation's much colder midsection battled treacherous driving conditions from freezing rain and blizzard conditions from the same fast-moving storms. In Arkansas, highway department officials said the state was fortunate the snowstorm hit on Christmas Day when many travelers were already at their destinations.

Two passengers in a car on a sleet-slickened Arkansas highway died Wednesday when the vehicle crossed the center line and struck an SUV head-on. In Oklahoma, the Highway Patrol said a 76-year-old Wisconsin woman died Tuesday when the car she was riding in was hit head-on by a pickup truck on Interstate 44.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol had earlier reported that a 28-year-old woman was killed in another crash Tuesday on a snowy highway. The storm's winds were blamed Tuesday for toppling a tree onto a pickup truck in Texas, killing the driver, and another tree onto a house in Louisiana, killing a man there.

Trees fell on homes and across roadways in several communities in southern Mississippi and Louisiana. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency, saying eight counties reported damages and some injuries.

It included McNeill, where a likely tornado damaged a dozen homes and sent eight people to the hospital, none with life-threatening injuries, said Pearl River County emergency management agency director Danny Manley.

The snowstorm that caused numerous accidents pushed out of Oklahoma late Tuesday, carrying with it blizzard warnings for parts of northeast Arkansas, where 10 inches of snow was forecast. Freezing rain clung to trees and utility lines in Arkansas and winds gusts up to 30 mph whipped them around, causing about 71,000 customers to lose electricity for a time.

Christmas lights also were knocked out with more than 100,000 customers without power for at least a time in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama.

Blizzard conditions were possible for parts of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky up to Cleveland with predictions of several inches to a foot of snow. By the end of the week, that snow was expected to move into the Northeast with again up to a foot predicted

Jason Gerth said the Mobile tornado passed by in a few moments and from his porch, he saw about a half-dozen green flashes in the distance as transformers blew. His home was spared.

"It missed us by 100 feet and we have no damage," Gerth said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-26-Christmas%20Weather/id-b6779e2470584e20b3f2ae4642aa27cf

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Top Tips for Marketing Your Business Online, Email Marketing and ...

Top Tips for Marketing Your Business Online, Email Marketing and Free PR 0

Dec26

Carissa Dunphy interviews Ali Rittenhouse, who trains small business owners and virtual assistants how to embrace and utilize technology to their benefit. She also gives a ton of email marketing information, tips, what service she recommends using and why. Ali shares extremely valuable tips on researching, finding, and getting PR and media attention. In this episode Carissa shares a genius example of guerrilla marketing one small business used, which was free, and went viral in a few hours. Ava the Elephant is also featured on this episode. Ava is a talking elephant children's medicine dispenser, which makes giving kids medicine fun! More at sbdib.com

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Source: http://www.mogulreview.com/top-tips-for-marketing-your-business-online-email-marketing-and-free-pr/

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Rihanna Swimsuit Photos: Barely There in Barbados

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/rihanna-swimsuit-photos-barely-there-in-barbados/

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Washington Roundup, Part 2: Arguments for and Against Chuck Hagel's Nomination (Atlantic Politics Channel)

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Bushmaster .223, Again (talking-points-memo)

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Japan's Abe set for second term, to tap allies for cabinet

TOKYO (Reuters) - Shinzo Abe will be voted in as prime minister by parliament's lower house on Wednesday, giving the hawkish lawmaker a second chance at Japan's top job as the country battles deflation and confronts a rising China.

Abe, 58, has promised aggressive monetary easing by the Bank of Japan and big fiscal spending by the debt-laden government to slay deflation and weaken the yen to make Japanese exports more competitive.

The grandson of a former prime minister, Abe has staged a stunning comeback five years after abruptly resigning as premier in the wake of a one-year term troubled partly by scandals in his cabinet and public outrage over lost pension records.

His Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) surged back to power in this month's election.

"I want to learn from the experience of my previous administration, including the setbacks, and aim for a stable government," Abe told reporters as he entered parliament, where he will be voted in later in the day as Japan's seventh prime minister in six years.

Abe looks set to pick a slate of close allies leavened by some LDP rivals to fend off the criticism of cronyism that dogged his first administration.

Japanese media have said Abe will name former prime minister Taro Aso, 72, as finance minister, ex-trade and industry minister Akira Amari as minister in charge of a new economic revival headquarters and policy veteran Toshimitsu Motegi as trade minister. Motegi will also be tasked with formulating energy policy in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year.

Loyal Abe backer Yoshihide Suga is expected to become chief cabinet secretary, a key post combining the job of top government spokesman with responsibility for coordinating among ministries.

Others who share Abe's agenda to revise the pacifist constitution and rewrite Japan's wartime history with a less apologetic tone have also been floated for posts.

"These are really LDP right-wingers and close friends of Abe," said Sophia University professor Koichi Nakano. "It really doesn't look very fresh at all."

CHINA TIES, JULY ELECTION

The yen has weakened about 9.8 percent against the dollar since Abe was elected LDP leader in September. On Wednesday, it hit a 20-month low of 85.38 yen against the greenback on expectations of aggressive monetary policy easing.

Abe has threatened to revise a law guaranteeing the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) independence if it refuses to set a 2 percent inflation target.

BOJ minutes released on Wednesday showed the central bank was already pondering policy options in November, concerned about looming risks to the economy. The BOJ stood pat at its November rate review meeting but eased this month in response to intensifying pressure from Abe.

Abe also promised during the election campaign to take a tough stance in territorial rows with China and South Korea over separate chains of tiny islands, while placing priority on strengthening Japan's alliance with the United States.

Japanese media said Abe would appoint two low-profile officials to the foreign and defense portfolios.

Itsunori Onodera, 52, who was senior vice foreign minister in Abe's first cabinet, will become defense minister while Fumio Kishida, 55, a former state minister for issues related to Okinawa island - host to the bulk of U.S. forces in Japan - will be appointed to the top diplomatic post, the reports said.

Abe, who hails from a wealthy political family, made his first overseas visit to China to repair chilly ties when he took office in 2006, but has said his first trip this time will be to the United States.

He may, however, put contentious issues that could upset key trade partner China and fellow-U.S. ally South Korea on the backburner to concentrate on boosting the economy, now in its fourth recession since 2000, ahead of an election for parliament's upper house in July.

The LDP and its small ally, the New Komeito party, won a two-thirds majority in the 480-seat lower house in the December 16 election. That allows the lower house to enact bills rejected by the upper house, where the LDP-led block lacks a majority.

But the process is cumbersome, so the LDP is keen to win a majority in the upper house to end the parliamentary deadlock that has plagued successive governments since 2007.

"It's the economy, the economy, the economy," an LDP source close to Abe told Reuters. The new government plans to submit an extra budget for the fiscal year to March 31 in late January.

Financial markets expect a budget worth about 10 trillion yen ($117.93 billion), but the source said no more than half of that would be spent on public works projects, a traditional staple of LDP economic stimulus packages.

($1 = 84.7950 Japanese yen)

(Additional reporting by Leika Kihara, Kiyoshi Takenaka and Chris Meyers; Editing by Dean Yates)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japans-abe-set-second-term-tap-allies-cabinet-005235524--business.html

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Green Blog: Protected Tigers, Burning Bright

Tigers have delivered a bit of holiday cheer: populations are on the upswing, it turns out, in some protected areas in India and Thailand. In a field often dominated by news of felled forests and population declines, wildlife conservationists have taken heart from this development, while noting that tigers have a long, long way to go if they are to claw their way off the endangered species list.

?If the conditions are right, tiger populations can recover, though there?s still plenty of challenges,? said Cristi?n Samper, the president and chief executive of the Wildlife Conservation Society. ?I think the encouraging news is that we now know it can work.?

At the start of the 20th century, tigers numbered around 100,000 and occupied forests from Turkey to Russia to Indonesia. Today around 3,200 wild tigers occupy just 6 percent of their historic range as a result of habitat destruction, retaliatory killings and poaching for the illegal wildlife trade. ?We?ve reached a point where tigers are so much in danger of being lost that we suddenly value them and realize how important it is to hold on to them,? said John Robinson, the Wildlife Conservation Society?s chief conservation officer.

The Wildlife Conservation Society first homed in on the tiger problem in the 1960s, starting with India. Thanks in part to a strong commitment from the Indian government, tigers in the Western Ghats region of Karnataka State have quadrupled in number over the past 30 years, with 250 to 300 of the large cats currently living in the area.

The organization monitors the tigers with camera traps, using unique stripe patterns to identify individual animals and monitoring the abundance of tiger prey as well. (Prior to the advent of camera traps, researchers estimated tiger numbers by counting their tracks). The government provides support for keeping poachers at bay and managing conflicts with humans.

?The underlying factor in the few successes we?ve seen is when the government takes a real interest,? said Alan Rabinowitz, chief executive of the conservation organization Panthera, one of the Wildlife Conservation Society?s collaborative partners. ?An N.G.O. along can?t accomplish this alone ? the government really has to step up and put in its own law enforcement resources.?

With lessons from the Western Ghats in hand, the conservation organization began expanding its tiger program to include India?s Bhadra and Kudremukh tiger reserves, which have since seen around 50 percent increases in tiger populations. Conservationists also set up shop in Thailand?s Huai Kha Kaeng wildlife sanctuary, where tiger poaching had reached epidemic proportions as a result of black market demand for the animals? bones, reproductive organs, pelts and meat.

The Thai government bolstered enforcement and anti-poaching patrols as the scientists outfitted the area with camera traps. Last February, those traps proved useful not just for monitoring tiger populations but also for providing evidence in court that tiger poachers took their illegal prey from the sanctuary. Today, around 50 tigers roam that forest.

But not all tigers can be saved. In Vietnam and Cambodia, for example, conservationists have largely written tigers off as a lost cause; tiger numbers in Myanmar and Laos are steadily decreasing.

Rather than trying to protect every remaining individual tiger from the varied problems that threaten to wipe out the species, the Wildlife Conservation Society decided to focus on so-called ?source sites,? or areas where at least 25 breeding females live. So far, the organization has identified 42 such sites in India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Russia and northern China, and it is working in 24 of them. ?These are areas where we have a realistic chance of protecting tigers,? Dr. Robinson said. ?This enables us to focus our attention.?

To undertake protective measures in all 42 sites would require an investment of around $95 million annually. Half of that money is in place as a result of governmental support and fund-raising by nongovernmental organizations, but funds are lacking for further expansion. ?Basically, we need to ramp up our financial support for law enforcement, tiger monitoring and addressing wildlife trade issues within countries,? Dr. Robinson said. ?If we could put those pieces in place, we could turn things around for tigers.?

For now, however, conservationists are celebrating the small victories.

?Things are not good in the tiger world, but they?re better than they were,? Dr. Rabinowitz said. ?Some tigers are going to blink out, but there?s still a lot of hope for saving them in some really wild areas.?

An earlier version of this post misstated the number of tigers thought to dwell in the Western Ghats region of Karnataka State in India. It is 250 to 300, not 600. The post also misidentified the sites where the Wildlife Conservation Society more recently began introducing its tiger program. They are the Bhadra and Kudremukh tiger reserves, not the Nagarahole and Bandipur national parks, where the conservation program started earlier.

Source: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/24/scattered-tiger-populations-burning-bright/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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