The use of electronics in flight is a contentious subject. Well, contentious in that the FAA doesn’t want you to do it whereas pretty much everyone else thinks it’s probably OK. There is a danger though, according to the New York Times, and it’s the FAA’s rules. More »
Justin Bieber wants you to know … he’s on vacation.
The 18-year-old singer posted shirtless photos of himself on Instagram Dec. 30, simply writing, “Vacay.”
Bieber and his on-again-off-again love Selena Gomez are reportedly in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico — where a fan spotted them arriving today.
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Yes, Michael Vick has accepted all the punishment he had coming after he was caught financing a heinous dogfighting ring. But that doesn’t mean that pit bulls aren’t allowed to treat his dolls any way they want.
Either way, plenty of Eagles fans may identify.
* Proposal adds 1 year to expired 2008 law; Monday vote possible
* Follows rising alarm about potential milk price doubling
* Plan creates new dairy subsidy program keyed on feed cost
* Another year of costly ‘direct payment’ subsidy to growers
By Jim Wolf
WASHINGTON, Dec 30 (Reuters) – Farm-state lawmakers have agreed to a one-year extension of the expiring U.S. farm law that, if enacted, would head off a possible doubling of retail milk prices to $7 or more a gallon in early 2013.
The extension would end a 32-month attempt to update farm subsidies dating from the Depression era, when farmers were crushed by low prices and huge crop surpluses, to meet today’s high-wire challenges of tight food supplies, high operating costs and volatile markets.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, an Oklahoma Republican, said on Sunday he hoped the legislation would be passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama by Tuesday to avoid higher prices for milk in grocery stores.
The bill was listed among measures that could be called for a vote on Monday in the House of Representatives although action was not guaranteed. House Republican leaders refused to call a vote during the fall on a full-scale, $500 billion farm bill on grounds it might fail because it did not cut spending enough.
Grain, soybean and cotton growers would get another round of the $5 billion “direct payment” subsidy that all sides agreed to kill in a new farm bill. The payments are made regardless of need. Reformers say the payments are unjustified when crop prices and farm income are at near-record levels.
DISASTER MONEY AND A NEW DAIRY PROGRAM
Also in the extension, lawmakers would revive agricultural disaster-relief programs that ran out of money a year ago and create a new dairy subsidy program. It would compensate dairy farmers whenever milk prices are low and feed prices are high. The so-called margin protection program would require farmers to limit production to avert a long run of low dairy prices.
Traditionally, the dairy program sets a minimum price for milk through government purchase of butter, cheese and dry milk. If Congress does not act, the dairy support price will revert on Tuesday to the level dictated by an outmoded 1949 law and which is roughly double the price now paid to farmers.
The potential retail milk price has been estimated at $6 to $8 a gallon versus current levels near $3.50.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, during an interview broadcast by CNN, said higher milk prices – if it comes to that – would ripple throughout all commodities “if this thing goes on for an extended period of time.”
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said the “responsible short-term farm bill extension … not only stops milk prices from spiking, but also prevents eventual damage to our entire agriculture economy.”
TWO FALLBACKS IF EXTENSION FALTERS
House Republican leaders readied two alternatives, if needed, to the one-year extension. One was a one-month extension of the now-expired 2008 farm law without disaster funds or the new dairy program and the other was a one-month suspension of the dairy provisions of the 1949 law.
It was not clear which bill would be called for debate, a farm lobbyist said on Sunday. A small-farm activist said any package passed by Congress must include rural economic development funds and money for soil conservation on “working lands,” the largest of USDA’s conservation programs.
“If a new farm bill doesn’t pass this Congress, we’ll soon hold another mark-up and just keep working until one is enacted next year,” said Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat.
It would be the first time on record that Congress began drafting a farm bill during a two-year session and had to carry it into the following session, congressional researchers. Hearings on the new farm bill began April 21, 2010.
BIG HOUSE, SENATE DISPUTE ON BIG CUTS
While dairy producers generally support the so-called margin-protection program as the answer to high feed costs, processors and foodmakers oppose it. They say it is wrong-minded in its premise of curtailing production when prices are low, and it will destroy a healthy export market for dairy products.
The rejuvenated disaster programs would cover losses from this year’s widespread drought, especially for livestock producers, although tree farmers, honey bees and farm-raised fish are also covered. Maximum payment would be $100,000.
Senators passed a farm bill in June estimated to save $23 billion over 10 years, with most of the cuts in crop subsidies and conservation programs. The House Agriculture Committee approved a bill with $35 billion in cuts in July, half of it in food stamps for the poor — the biggest cut in food stamps in a generation.
Fiscally conservative House Republicans have called for larger cuts in farm subsidies and food stamps while some House Democrats opposed food stamps cuts at all.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — They are dead men talking, and they know it. Gulping nervously, the prisoners stare into the video camera, spilling tales of intrigue, betrayal and paid espionage on behalf of the United States. Some speak in trembling voices, a glint of fear in their eyes. Others look resigned. All plead for their lives.
Redditor morphinapg used a freeware program called Sqirlz Morph to mash together the faces of actors who have played Batman and make this composite image. The features of the man below is an even blend of Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney and Christian Bale. Or rather an even blend of their pictures.
As some of the Redditors have mentioned, the longer you stare at the image the easier it becomes to see the different actors. Morphinapg also made an animated gif version of the image. I wonder what the result would be if we blended the faces of every human being on Earth.
With Christmas a few days past, you’ve probably gotten a good chance to get familiar with whatever gadgets you may have gotten as gifts. Maybe you got a new iPad Mini, or a Nexus 7. Maybe it was a new phone, or even a new laptop. But as awesome as any of them may be, do they hold a candle to what you’ve gotten in the past? What was the best gadget you’ve ever received as a Christmas gift. Dig deep. What are the classics that stick out in your mind? More »
RIM’s January unveiling isn’t going anywhere without federal approval, and it seems the FCC is happy to oblige. Regulators put an unnamed BlackBerry device with a RFF91LW model number through the standard tests, giving it the green light for AT&T’s LTE and GSM bands, as well as a few international frequencies. The handset’s label sample is conveniently censored, of course, but FCC reports indicate that at least three of the devices RIM provided were running OS 10.0.9. Could we be seeing the “L-series” BlackBerry Z10? Or is this simply one of the Dev Alpha devices RIM has been handing out to developers? Either way, we’ll get verification next month.
Filed under: Cellphones, RIM
Source: FCC
BY ANDREW TAYLOR, ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has asked Vice President Joe Biden to become involved in a last-minute effort to avert tax increases on virtually every worker. Top Senate Democrat Harry Reid acknowledged McConnell had made an offer last night but said “at this point we are unable to make a counter-offer.”
The public exchange between the top negotiators on averting the so-called fiscal cliff injected a note of pessimism little more than 24 hours before taxes are set to go up.
Stacy Keibler and Michael Phelps kicked off New Year’s Eve celebrations a little early with a game of beer pong.
Keibler, 33, and the Olympic gold medalist, 27, are ringing in the holiday down in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, along with Keibler’s man George Clooney.
The gorgeous beauty tweeted a photo of herself posing with her beer pong partner, writing, “Dominating. #TeamBaltimore #geometry m_phelps00 #goodtimes.”
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