Camera Puzzle for Android

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Take a photo and play puzzle !

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Paulina Rubio and Kelly Rowland Confirmed as X Factor Judges

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/paulina-rubio-and-kelly-rowland-confirmed-as-x-factor-judges/

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Boost Mobile Wallet app and prepaid Visa hands-on

Boost Mobile launched a Mobile Wallet app and service today at CTIA 2013 with an interesting twist in that it is tied to a Visa Prepaid card. Boost Mobile customers simply hit up a store to get signed up, download an app onto their handset and once funds are added to their account can use them in a wide variety of ways. From sending money via the app to people in 135 other countries, the ability to pay more that 3,500 billers nationwide, top up your prepaid account and using the included Visa debit card any money in your account can be accessed via that card as well. The app also makes use of your handset's camera with its Quick Check feature -- which is coming soon -- allowing an account holder to snap a photo of a check and submit it using the app to have the check's value added to your mobile wallet once approved -- which is nifty, if you don't use a bank we suppose. There are no month-to-month fees for the service but each bill you pay will cost some $2 and climbs depending on how quickly you need the payment made against the account. The service launches in Los Angeles, San Diego and parts of New Jersey today with rollout to all markets expected by the end of the year.

Gallery: Boost Mobile Wallet app and prepaid Visa hands-on

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Elan strikes more deals to repel Royalty bid

By Padraic Halpin

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Elan announced its second major drug deal inside a week on Monday and said it would buy back more shares as it continues to bat against a $5.7 billion takeover bid from U.S. investor Royalty Pharma.

Having rejected the Royalty bid, the Irish drug firm has been trying to convince shareholders to do the same by returning cash and going on a spending spree that began with a $1 billion drug royalties deal of its own just a week ago.

On Monday Elan said it has now also agreed to buy two private drug firms, spin off its one experimental drug as a private company and buy back more shares to give a firmer idea of how the company will be reconfigured as shareholders weigh up the takeover bid.

Elan made its second and third purchases on Monday, buying Austrian rare drug specialist AOP Orphan for 263.5 million euros ($337 million) and paying $40 million for a 48 percent stake in Dubai-based sales and marketing firm Newbridge Pharmaceuticals.

It will still have $1.2 billion of cash left to spend if shareholders approve the acquisitions, and plans to announce more deals in the second half of the year, chief executive Kelly Martin said on Monday.

The deal with AOP Orphan, which has annual revenues of over 50 million euros, hands Elan a number of mainly blood-related and oncology-focused drugs and experimental treatments on top of its own existing and newly purchased royalty streams.

"The timing of this has nothing to do with the Royalty offer itself but it's being communicated this way because this allows shareholders a choice," Martin told Reuters.

"(Do) they want to sell their shares to Royalty at a discount or do they want to continue to be invested in an entity that is creating a portfolio of interesting and different assets?"

AOP, 100-percent owned by former Glaxo-Wellcome executive Rudolf Widman, marks Elan's first step into the rare or 'orphan' drug market, a niche area where a drug is developed to specifically treat a rare medical condition and therefore does not promise the high-volume demand of blockbuster drugs but can merit higher pricing.

Together with the stake in Newbridge, run by ex-Wyeth Inc Middle East chief Joe Henein, the deals will also move Elan's focus to eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East, where both companies produce and sell drugs.

UNIQUE OFFERING

New York-based Royalty, attracted by the lucrative revenues from Elan's interest in blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, submitted its reduced $11.25 per share bid last month. On Monday, Martin said the bid was simply a "nuisance".

Elan shares, up more than 10 percent since Royalty's first approach in February, closed at $11.67 in New York on Friday. The shares were up 1 percent at 8.97 euros ($11.50) in the Dublin market by 0905 GMT (5.05 a.m. EDT)on Monday.

Elan sold its 50 percent interest in Tysabri to U.S. partner Biogen Idec in February for $3.25 billion plus royalties of up to 25 percent, and soon after rewarded investors with a $1 billion share buyback and slice of the Tysabri rights.

It further sweetened its appeal to shareholders on Monday, saying it would repurchase another $200 million of shares. It also plans to issue $800 million of debt to fund future deals.

The Royalty bid looks like undervaluing the company and shareholders will now be able to assess the price properly in comparison with Elan management's own strategy for the future, said Adrian Howd, analyst at Berenberg Bank.

"You certainly know what you're getting now and there's a decent blend of risk and reward. It's a fairly unique offering - a business that has royalty streams, low tax, is infrastructure light with exposure to emerging markets and Orphan diseases."

Elan added that it is to spin off its remaining experimental drug, Alzheimer's treatment ELND-005 as a private company to eliminate operating expenses, selling a majority stake to unspecified buyers but taking an 18 percent stake itself for $70 million.

The share buyback and package of deals, including last week's purchase of 21 percent of the royalties that U.S. company Theravance receives from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), must be approved at a special shareholder meeting on June 17.

($1=0.7798 euros)

(Editing by Richard Pullin and Greg Mahlich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/elan-eyes-more-deals-1-billion-warchest-061212486.html

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What's Yahoo Announcing at Its Event Tonight?

This morning Yahoo announced it bought Tumblr for $1.1 billion, along with a GIF and a promise "not to screw it up." The Mayer-ship is hosting a "product-related" event in New York City tonight. We'll be there covering it live. But just what's the company talking about? Here's what we've heard so far:

More Changes to Flickr?

According to Bloomberg sources, Yahoo is going to show some updates to Flickr. In the context of Yahoo's Tumblr news, the timing is interesting. Flickr was one Yahoo acquisition that didn't exactly go right. Although since Marissa Mayer took the helm at Yahoo, the company has paid more attention to the photo sharing service, updating its iOS app for the first time in years. Tonight might be another stop on the Flickr redemption tour, and a chance to say that just because Yahoo just spent more than a billion bucks on a shiny new toy, doesn't mean it's leaving its old dusty plaything forgotten in the corner.

Or are we talking Tumblr?

Even though Yahoo broke the news about buying Tumblr this morning, we might actually hear a little bit about what that means in concrete terms. For the most part, Yahoo says it's not going to mess with Tumblr. "We want to let Tumblr be Tumblr," Mayer said this morning. Although she also confirmed that Tumblr is getting more ads. And there are some clear needs for improvement that Yahoo might be able to help with, including Yahoo-powered web search, and cleaning out some of the self-harm, porn, and eating disorder business. But it seems to be more about how Tumblr can help Yahoo. Presumably there will be a lot more content across Yahoo properties generated by Tumblr users. Tweets just recently started showing up on the Yahoo homepage, and Tumblr posts are not far behind, Mayer said.

Yahoo's corporate blog has already moved over to Tumblr, and Mayer has set up her own personal Tumblr. It's an effort on Yahoo's part to resonate with a younger set, as if to say hey look, we're cool! We know what GIFs are, too! And it could also signal a shift to a more transparent way of communication from Yahoo in the future. It's safe to assume we'll get a better look at how things will merge in practical terms this evening.

Or a little of both?

A great thing about Tumblr is the ease with it lets you share photosets, and a good portion of the posts you see on the platform are image-focused. Integrating Flickr with Tumblr to provide storage for all your photo needs would be really powerful, incredibly convenient, and really just a logical partnership. Plus, herein lies a chance for Yahoo to use its newest, unproven acquisition to improve an old, messed up purchase.

Or a wildcard?

There's always a chance Mayer & Co. have something unexpected planned. Most of the rumors strongly suggest Yahoo we'll at least touch on the Tumblr grab. Whatever the case, we'll be at the event live tonight starting at 5pm EST with all the details.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/whats-yahoo-announcing-at-its-event-tonight-508888524

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WikiLeaks prosecutors accept GI's plea to 1 count

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) -- The government will accept an Army private's guilty plea to a lesser version of one of the 22 counts he faces for sending more than 700,000 classified U.S. documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, a military prosecutor said during a pretrial hearing Tuesday.

But prosecutors still will try to convict Pfc. Bradley Manning at his trial next month of other serious offenses, including aiding the enemy, which carries a maximum life sentence.

Army Maj. Ashden Fein told the military judge, Col. Denise Lind, that prosecutors had changed their minds about trying to convict Manning of violating the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in connection with the release of a State Department cable known as Reykjavik-13. WilkiLeaks posted the cable in early 2010 about a meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, summarizing U.S. Embassy discussions with Icelandic officials about the country's financial troubles.

Manning has acknowledged sending the cable to WikiLeaks after he found it on a secure government computer network while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq. According to his courtroom confession on Feb. 28, Manning believed the cable indicated the United States was refusing to help the Icelandic government "due to the lack of long-term geopolitical benefit."

The cable was the basis for a charge alleging violation of a federal law, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Manning pleaded guilty in February to lesser versions of that and other offenses, acknowledging violations of military law that, in total, carry maximum prison term of 20 years. Prosecutors said in March they would continue to seek conviction for the more serious offenses.

Fein did not give a reason for the change.

Manning's trial is scheduled to begin June 3.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wikileaks-prosecutors-accept-gis-plea-174841350.html

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Bionimbus protected data cloud to enable researchers to analyze cancer data

May 20, 2013 ? The University of Chicago has launched the first secure cloud-based computing system that enables researchers to access and analyze human genomic cancer information without the costly and cumbersome infrastructure normally needed to download and store massive amounts of data.

The Bionimbus Protected Data Cloud, as it is called, enables researchers who are authorized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to access and analyze data in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) without having to set up secure, compliant computing environments capable of managing and analyzing terabytes of data, download the data -- which can take weeks -- and then install the appropriate tools needed to perform the desired analyses.

Using technology that was developed in part by the Open Science Data Cloud, a National Science Foundation-supported project that is developing cloud infrastructure for large scientific datasets, the Bionimbus Protected Data Cloud provides researchers with a more cost- and time-effective mechanism to extract knowledge from massive amounts of data. Drawing insights from big data is imperative for addressing some of today's most vexing environmental, health and safety challenges.

"The open source technology underlying the Open Science Data Cloud enables researchers to manage and analyze the large data sets that are essential to tackling some of today's greatest challenges: from environmental monitoring to cancer genomics," said Robert L. Grossman, the director of the Open Science Data Cloud Project and a professor at the University of Chicago.

Today, as the only NIH-approved cloud-based system for TCGA data, the Bionimbus Protected Data Cloud allows researchers to focus on the analysis of large-scale cancer genome sequencing, which experts believe can unlock paths to early detection, appropriate treatment and prevention of cancer.

"We are excited that the Bionimbus Protected Data Cloud is now used for cancer genomics data so that researchers can more easily work with large datasets to understand genomic variations that seem to be one of the keys to the precise diagnosis and treatment of cancer," continued Grossman.

"With funding provided by NSF's Partnerships for International Research and Education [PIRE] program, NSF has sought to narrow the gap between the capability of modern scientific instruments to produce data and the ability of researchers to access, manage, analyze and share those data in a reliable and timely manner," said NSF Program Director Harold Stolberg.

"By embracing cloud computing as a global issue, this PIRE project brings together the expertise of many researchers, not only in the United States, but worldwide. Its success in helping researchers to access and analyze important human genomic cancer information is an exciting indicator of future developments with these technologies," he said.

Megan McNerney, an instructor of pathology at the University of Chicago, used Bionimbus to analyze data that led to her discovery that gene CUX1, which acts as a tumor suppressor, is frequently inactivated in acute myeloid leukemia.

"Bionimbus was critical for my work, as it was used for all aspects of the project, including secure storage of protected data, quality control of next-generation sequencing results, alignments, expression analysis, and algorithm development," she said. "The strength of Bionimbus, however, is the support that is provided for end users, which enabled both expert and non-expert team members to use the cloud."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/Mt32UmF3kSc/130520083239.htm

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Bionimbus protected data cloud to enable researchers to analyze cancer data

May 20, 2013 ? The University of Chicago has launched the first secure cloud-based computing system that enables researchers to access and analyze human genomic cancer information without the costly and cumbersome infrastructure normally needed to download and store massive amounts of data.

The Bionimbus Protected Data Cloud, as it is called, enables researchers who are authorized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to access and analyze data in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) without having to set up secure, compliant computing environments capable of managing and analyzing terabytes of data, download the data -- which can take weeks -- and then install the appropriate tools needed to perform the desired analyses.

Using technology that was developed in part by the Open Science Data Cloud, a National Science Foundation-supported project that is developing cloud infrastructure for large scientific datasets, the Bionimbus Protected Data Cloud provides researchers with a more cost- and time-effective mechanism to extract knowledge from massive amounts of data. Drawing insights from big data is imperative for addressing some of today's most vexing environmental, health and safety challenges.

"The open source technology underlying the Open Science Data Cloud enables researchers to manage and analyze the large data sets that are essential to tackling some of today's greatest challenges: from environmental monitoring to cancer genomics," said Robert L. Grossman, the director of the Open Science Data Cloud Project and a professor at the University of Chicago.

Today, as the only NIH-approved cloud-based system for TCGA data, the Bionimbus Protected Data Cloud allows researchers to focus on the analysis of large-scale cancer genome sequencing, which experts believe can unlock paths to early detection, appropriate treatment and prevention of cancer.

"We are excited that the Bionimbus Protected Data Cloud is now used for cancer genomics data so that researchers can more easily work with large datasets to understand genomic variations that seem to be one of the keys to the precise diagnosis and treatment of cancer," continued Grossman.

"With funding provided by NSF's Partnerships for International Research and Education [PIRE] program, NSF has sought to narrow the gap between the capability of modern scientific instruments to produce data and the ability of researchers to access, manage, analyze and share those data in a reliable and timely manner," said NSF Program Director Harold Stolberg.

"By embracing cloud computing as a global issue, this PIRE project brings together the expertise of many researchers, not only in the United States, but worldwide. Its success in helping researchers to access and analyze important human genomic cancer information is an exciting indicator of future developments with these technologies," he said.

Megan McNerney, an instructor of pathology at the University of Chicago, used Bionimbus to analyze data that led to her discovery that gene CUX1, which acts as a tumor suppressor, is frequently inactivated in acute myeloid leukemia.

"Bionimbus was critical for my work, as it was used for all aspects of the project, including secure storage of protected data, quality control of next-generation sequencing results, alignments, expression analysis, and algorithm development," she said. "The strength of Bionimbus, however, is the support that is provided for end users, which enabled both expert and non-expert team members to use the cloud."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/computers_math/information_technology/~3/Mt32UmF3kSc/130520083239.htm

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"Saturday Night Live" on the IRS scandal -- with a Dana Milbank appearance! (VIDEO) (Washington Post)

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

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Ghana Business News ? EDAIF can boost agricultural productivity to ...

You Are Here: Home ? General News ? EDAIF can boost agricultural productivity to GDP ? Board Member

Page last updated at Sunday, May 19, 2013 3:03 AM //

Mr Hayford Baah-Adade, Board Member of Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDAIF) said at the weekend that the Fund?s revised charter could boost the contribution of agriculture considerably to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Speaking to a gathering of agri-business stakeholders in Ho the Volta Region he said the Fund have the resources to support industrious business people countrywide to stop the decline of agriculture?s contribution to national GDP, which he put at 24.6 per cent currently.

Originally, EDAIF was known as, Export Development and Investment Fund, (EDIF), incorporated in 2000 to support only export orientated businesses.

It now has a new mandate to support agricultural related businesses with capacity for agro-processing, warranting the change of name from EDIF to EDAIF.

Mr Baah-Adadey expressed dissatisfaction that Ghanaian shops are heavily stocked with imported fruit juices, when the country has huge capacity to produce and process different kinds of fruits for local consumption.

He said facilities provided by EDAIF are good deals for serious businesses and asked farmers seeking credit from banks to demand that they are linked to EDAIF?s credits and grants, which have very competitive interest rates.

Mr Baah-Adade said the facilities are being managed through the commercial banks and hinted that efforts to involve the rural banks in the disbursement of EDAIF facilities are on- going.

He said the EDAIF team was in the Region as part of a nationwide outreach to get people to know about the Fund and the opportunities it holds for them.

Nana Adwoa Adadey, Research Manager at EDAIF, who presented a paper on categories, range of credits and the approval process said the interest rate is 12.5 per cent as against the? 22 per cent and 27 per cent the banks charges.

She said EDAIF had made arrangements with the National Board for Small-Scale Industries, to guide applicants on the writing of business plans.

A brochure circulated among participants listed eligible businesses as, farmers of agricultural produce relating to agro-processing, marketers of agricultural produce relating to agro-processing and marketers of locally processed agricultural produce for the domestic market.

The rest are investors undertaking an infrastructural project to provide services for agriculture and agro-processing entities, and an aggregator facilitating production from out-growers to agro-processing.

The EDAIF team, which tagged the overture ?a conversation with the Volta Region,? also sent representatives on local FM stations with their messages, besides the well-attended stakeholders meeting.

Source: GNA

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Source: http://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2013/05/19/edaif-can-boost-agricultural-productivity-to-gdp-board-member/

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Did Mathematician Shinichi Mochizuki Invent Bitcoin?

It's hard not to be curious about the true identity of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, since he or she basically just stuck around on the internet long enough to introduce Bitcoin/get everyone all riled up and then disappeared. But Ted Nelson, the sociologist who invented the term "hypertext," thinks he knows who Nakamoto really is, and in the video below he calls out Japanese mathematician Shinichi Mochizuki.

It's just a hunch, though. Nelson recently read an article on Project Wordsworth about Mochizuki, and after that, "It was obvious, like a pie in the face." Basically Nelson thinks Mochizuki fits the description because he speaks fluent English, is creative enough, and is enough of a genius to have made Bitcoin happen. Nelson adds that Mochizuki has a history of making mathematical discoveries and then just leaving them on the internet for people to find rather than publishing them formally.

Quartz points out that people are already criticizing the theory, including data haven and security expert Ryan Lackey. He commented:

Does the proposed candidate have any documented experience as a software developer? He appears to just be a mathematician, which is very helpful but not sufficient to have built the first version of Bitcoin. Bitcoin has both some theoretical breakthroughs and extensions to existing protocols (Wei Day's bmoney, Hal Finney's RPOW, etc.), but is implemented fairly reasonably in code.

I see absolutely no reason to think this mathematician was Satoshi.

Other internet speculators have already landed on Mochizuki as a candidate, though Adam Penenberg came across other solid contenders in a Fast Company piece a few years ago. Nelson told Quartz that he will donate one Bitcoin, currently about $123, to charity if Satoshi denies that he invented Bitcoin. [Quartz]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/did-mathematician-shinichi-mochizuki-invent-bitcoin-508715535

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Gazans struggle to reel in a livelihood

One man alone used to employ more than 2,000 fishermen to bring in Gaza's daily catch, but Israel?has reduced the areas in which Palestinians may fish, curbing the number of accessible fish.

By Christa Case Bryant,?Staff writer / May 17, 2013

Mounir Abu Hasira holds up a big fish that he says came from the Red Sea via tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border. Egyptian fish are much larger than those found in Gaza's overfished waters.

Christa Case Bryant/TCSM

Enlarge

Mounir Abu Hasira?s name is synonymous with fish in Gaza, where his grandfather once owned more than 50 percent of the fishing boats and employed more than 2,000 workers to bring in the daily catch.

Skip to next paragraph Christa Case Bryant

Jerusalem bureau chief

Christa Case Bryant is The Christian Science Monitor's Jerusalem bureau chief, providing coverage on Israel and the Palestinian territories as well as regional issues.

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But since Israel reduced the permitted fishing zone from 20 miles to 12 miles to 3 miles ? progressive steps taken with the outbreak of the second intifada, the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, and Hamas?s violent takeover of the tiny coastal territory in 2007 ? even Gaza?s scions of fishing can?t earn a living on the sea.

The number of working fishermen has?dropped from 10,000 in 1999 to less than 3,200, according to a?website advocating an end to the blockade.?

Today 80 percent of the fish being sold at a seaside shack along the main drag in Gaza City?comes from?Israel or Egypt, says Mr. Abu Hasira, who now only fishes for fun. He still trades in fish though, holding up a big sea bass from the Red Sea that is more than twice the size of one caught here.?

With so many fishermen fighting for a livelihood in such a narrow corridor of water, the fish they are able to catch are much smaller.?They are also caught?younger, meaning they don?t have as much of a chance to breed before being harvested. Thus the population continues to dwindle.

As part of the November 2012 cease-fire with Hamas that ended eight-days of intense fighting, Israel agreed to double the?fishing?corridor to six miles. But after Gaza militants fired a volley of rockets into southern Israel in March, it was reduced to 3 miles again. Palestinian fishermen frequently complain of harassment by Israeli?naval?forces, especially as the fishermen approach the boundary of the zone.?

The anti-blockade website?lists 11 Palestinian fishermen who have been killed in the last five years. Detailed reports are given in about half the cases; all but one blame Israeli gunfire, though in one case Israeli forces were shooting at suspected militants in diving gear nearby.

?Now most fishermen are waiting for aid,? says Abu Hasira. ?One thing growing in fishermen is to be patient, so they are waiting.?

Abu Hasira made the decision not to wait, and left commercial fishing to open a fish restaurant, which is renowned as one of Gaza?s best. That enabled him to send his daughter to university.

?If I had been a fisherman, I couldn?t have afforded it,? he says.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ndEMEEnU-D4/Gazans-struggle-to-reel-in-a-livelihood

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Picking right words within domain name - UK Business Forums

I'm in the process of starting a website, and ideally want the main product catagory in my domain name. So for this example i shall use 'mens wallets' to explain my question.

So, website selling mens wallets therfore want to have them two words in domain name. I know this is not essential but the way i want to go.

Doing the google keyword search results show monthly hits as follows -
Mens Wallets = 18000
Mens Wallet = 22000
(above figures are same as per my actual words for website)

As you can see its just the 'S' at the end being the difference. Which is the better version to use? i know google telling me 'Wallet' has more searches but surley it picks up both anyway?? I can get suitable domain names to suit both options so looking for more professional opinion.
Thanks

Source: http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=297552

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What's Your Favorite Cheap Home-Cooked Meal?

Cooking at home can save you a lot of money, but you can also rack up a huge grocery bill learning to make certain dishes that don't always turn out better than their cheaper counterparts. What are your favorite inexpensive, home-cooked meals?

Personal finance blog Wise Bread shares a number of recipes that cost as little as $2 each to make. That seems a little on the excessively cheap side, however one of my favorite cheap meals?which comes out to about $2?is just rice, beans, and veggies. What's yours? Share a recipe if you've got it!

Best Money Tips: Dinner Recipes for $2 or Less | Wisebread

Photo by wavebreakmedia (Shutterstock).

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/SpbLAK2arI8/whats-your-favorite-cheap-home-cooked-meal-506253953

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New discovery of ancient diet shatters conventional ideas of how agriculture emerged

New discovery of ancient diet shatters conventional ideas of how agriculture emerged

Friday, May 17, 2013

Archaeologists have made a discovery in southern subtropical China which could revolutionise thinking about how ancient humans lived in the region.

They have uncovered evidence for the first time that people living in Xincun 5,000 years ago may have practised agriculture ?before the arrival of domesticated rice in the region.

Current archaeological thinking is that it was the advent of rice cultivation along the Lower Yangtze River that marked the beginning of agriculture in southern China. Poor organic preservation in the study region, as in many others, means that traditional archaeobotany techniques are not possible.

Now, thanks to a new method of analysis on ancient grinding stones, the archaeologists have uncovered evidence that agriculture could predate the advent of rice in the region.

The research was the result of a two-year collaboration between Dr Huw Barton, from the School of Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Leicester, and Dr Xiaoyan Yang, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Beijing.

Funded by a Royal Society UK-China NSFC International Joint Project, and other grants held by Yang in China, the research is published in PLOS ONE.

Dr Barton, Senior Lecturer in Bioarchaeology at the University of Leicester, described the find as 'hitting the jackpot': "Our discovery is totally unexpected and very exciting.

"We have used a relatively new method known as ancient starch analysis to analyse ancient human diet. This technique can tell us things about human diet in the past that no other method can.

"From a sample of grinding stones we extracted very small quantities of adhering sediment trapped in pits and cracks on the tool surface. From this material, preserved starch granules were extracted with our Chinese colleagues in the starch laboratory in Beijing. These samples were analysed in China and also here at Leicester in the Starch and Residue Laboratory, School of Archaeology and Ancient History.

"Our research shows us that there was something much more interesting going on in the subtropical south of China 5,000 years ago than we had first thought. The survival of organic material is really dependent on the particular chemical properties of the soil, so you never know what you will get until you sample. At Xincun we really hit the jackpot. Starch was well-preserved and there was plenty of it. While some of the starch granules we found were species we might expect to find on grinding and pounding stones, ie. some seeds and tuberous plants such as freshwater chestnuts, lotus root and the fern root, the addition of starch from palms was totally unexpected and very exciting."

Several types of tropical palms store prodigious quantities of starch. This starch can be literally bashed and washed out of the trunk pith, dried as flour, and of course eaten. It is non-toxic, not particularly tasty, but it is reliable and can be processed all year round. Many communities in the tropics today, particularly in Borneo and Indonesia, but also in eastern India, still rely on flour derived from palms.

Dr Barton said: "The presence of at least two, possibly three species of starch producing palms, bananas, and various roots, raises the intriguing possibility that these plants may have been planted nearby the settlement.

"Today groups that rely on palms growing in the wild are highly mobile, moving from one palm stand to another as they exhaust the clump. Sedentary groups that utilise palms for their starch today, plant suckers nearby the village, thus maintaining continuous supply. If they were planted at Xincun, this implies that 'agriculture' did not arrive here with the arrival of domesticated rice, as archaeologists currently think, but that an indigenous system of plant cultivation may have been in place by the mid Holocene.

"The adoption of domesticated rice was slow and gradual in this region; it was not a rapid transformation as in other places. Our findings may indicate why this was the case. People may have been busy with other types of cultivation, ignoring rice, which may have been in the landscape, but as a minor plant for a long time before it too became a food staple.

"Future work will focus on grinding stones from nearby sites to see if this pattern is repeated along the coast."

###

University of Leicester: http://www.leicester.ac.uk

Thanks to University of Leicester for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128302/New_discovery_of_ancient_diet_shatters_conventional_ideas_of_how_agriculture_emerged

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98% Mud

All Critics (131) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (129) | Rotten (2)

There is an enchanted-fairy-tale aspect to Mud, but its bright, calm surface only barely disguises a strong, churning undercurrent.

A modern fairy tale, steeped in the sleepy Mississippi lore of Twain and similar American writers, and with a heart as big as the river is wide.

Nichols has a strong feeling for the tactility of natural elements-water, wood, terrain, weather.

Nichols takes his time with the story, dwelling on how the boy is shaped by the killer's tragic sense of romance, yet the suspense holds.

"Mud" isn't just a movie. It's the firm confirmation of a career.

"Mud" unfolds at its own pace, revealing its story in slivers. The performances are outstanding, especially from Sheridan, who plays tough, sweet, vulnerable and confused with equal conviction.

As Mud might say, it's a hell of a thing.

The boys are so skillfully played that Mud also plays like cinema verite. Nichols' fluid camerawork suggests a documentary-style approach. That helps these young lads transform into flesh-and-blood characters who get our attention and support.

Sheridan, who played the Terrence Malick surrogate in The Tree Of Life, is terrific at conveying adolescent confusion with tiny squints and frowns, and McConaughey plays off him masterfully.

Carefully crafting films that fly just below the political radar, director-writer Jeff Nichols is slowly, but surely, reweaving the fabric of the American dream.

It's totally worth it to pay good money to see a good, little film nestled between theaters showing 'Iron Man 3' and 'The Great Gatsby.' (Complete Content Details for Parents also available)

This is a junior adventure story echoing Huckleberry Finn and Stand By Me, a tale which is in no hurry to unfold, but beautifully done, exquisitely performed, and filled with terror and wonder.

Beautifully acted, intellectually engaging, and dramatically satisfying, Mud deserves to rocket to the top of your must-see list.

Nichols is a gifted writer-director who knows how to get into the heads of his characters. And this film has superior actors who create people who are intriguing and hugely involving.

'Mud' is a standout film in this 'coming of age' genre mainly because of its central character, one tough, warm-hearted, stubborn little kid who believes in the power of love, above all else.

Other than pacing problems that needlessly stretch the film past the two-hour mark, 'Mud' slings the dirt and sweat with the best of them, as it both mourns and celebrates a way of life that's all but disappeared.

A sublime coming-of-age film, 'Mud' would be the offspring if 'Stand By Me' and 'Cape Fear' reproduced.

Mud is a movie of striking performances and memorable images and of people who seem to belong in rather than being imposed upon their environment.

A brilliant metaphor for how a child deals with divorce.

This might be Mud. But it deserves to stick.

This is a film that gives McConaughey the chance to be an actor rather than a star, and, not for the first time, he grabs the opportunity.

Gone is the rom-com character and emphasis on a toothy smile and six-pack abs. Matthew McConaughey is showing off some acting chops.

Mud is, perhaps, a little longer than it needed to be, but few sensitive viewers will begrudge Nichols his indulgence. This director is the real thing.

Writer-director Nichols continues to get inside the heads of his characters with this involving but overlong dramatic thriller.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mud_2012/

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Obama walking a familiar path on IRS allegations

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Internal Revenue Service controversy dogging President Barack Obama is hardly the first time a White House and the tax agency have been accused of political meddling and bias. Nor is it the first time that political and social advocacy groups have searched for and exploited loopholes and fine points in the federal tax code.

Over the past week, Republicans have been trying to link Obama to what the IRS has acknowledged was improper extra scrutiny of conservative political groups seeking tax-exempt status. That's despite the fact that little ? if anything ? has surfaced to suggest White House officials had advance knowledge of the IRS actions.

The line between IRS misconduct and the Oval Office appears to less fuzzy in IRS political incidents in previous administrations.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt's frequent use of the IRS as a weapon of political retribution is well-documented. He reportedly had the IRS scrutinize tax returns of his harshest critics, including Sen. Huey Long of Louisiana and Hoover Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon.

And President Richard Nixon famously subjected those on his "enemies list" to tax audits and was even caught on Watergate tapes boasting of it to aides in the Oval Office.

When Treasury Secretary George Schultz questioned Nixon's directive to dig into financial dealings of businessman Henry Kimmelman, a major backer of Nixon's 1972 opponent, Sen. George McGovern, Nixon complained to aides: "What's he trying to do, say that we can't play politics with the IRS?"

President Dwight Eisenhower used federal tax collectors to go after members of the Communist Party. President John F. Kennedy set up an IRS program to "explore the political activities" of conservative nonprofit organizations. President Jimmy Carter's IRS director, Jerome Kurtz, ended the tax-exempt status of private Christian schools out of compliance with federal policy against racial discrimination.

During Bill Clinton's presidency, the IRS audited the conservative Heritage Foundation and the National Rifle Association. And during President George W. Bush's tenure, the agency audited the NAACP for remarks its leaders made during the 2004 election urging Bush's defeat. The IRS alleged it amounted to improper political activity. The civil-rights organization argued it was the victim of political bias. The case dragged on for two years.

"It is true that, in the past, presidents going back as far as at least Franklin Roosevelt used ? or attempted to use ? the IRS to intimidate or go after their political opponents. So it's a bipartisan thing," said economist Bruce Bartlett, a tax-policy official in the administrations of Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

"But this one seems to have been driven more from the bottom up rather than the top down, promoted by lower-level IRS officials," Bartlett said.

In the latest flare up over political interference with the tax system, the IRS acknowledged that organizations applying for tax-exempt status during the 2012 election season were singled out for extra scrutiny if they had "tea party" or "patriot" in their titles. In some cases, groups were asked for names of donors. The agency apologized and insisted the practice was not politically motivated.

But it touched off anger on Capitol Hill, coming at the same time as controversies over the Justice Department's seizure of phone records of The Associated Press and lingering questions over the administration's handling of September's deadly terrorist attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya ? inquiries that in combination threatened the president's credibility and, thus, his second-term agenda.

"They finally messed with an agency everybody fully understands," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., among Republicans complaining the loudest about the IRS transgressions and seeking to tie them to the president.

Several days after IRS acknowledged its improper actions, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that his agency would investigate whether laws were broken as a Justice Department inspector general's report blamed "ineffective management" at the IRS.

And, trying to control the fallout, Obama forced the resignation of Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller. He then replaced Miller with Daniel Werfel, the controller of the Office of Management and Budget.

"Americans are right to be angry about it and I'm angry about it," the president said of the IRS targeting. "The IRS has to operate with absolute integrity."

The IRS must weed out the social-welfare and educational organizations that qualify as fully tax exempt ? designated in the federal tax code as 501(c)(4) groups? from ones that are primarily political and generally not tax-exempt.

The difference is that the tax-exempt groups cannot advocate on behalf of individual candidates or parties, even though many groups come close to crossing the line.

The workload became even more intensive for the IRS as the number of groups registering for tax-exempt status roughly doubled in the aftermath of a series of campaign finance rulings ahead of the 2012 elections.

Those decisions further obscured the already fuzzy line between political organizations and social welfare organizations and effectively spelled the end to many Watergate-era and later laws restricting political contributions. The rulings also coincided with a rise in political activism ? most of it occurring on the right.

The Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision in particular helped move the debate over distinguishing between political and social welfare groups "into the realm of regulation and bureaucrats protecting themselves and tax lawyers paid to find loopholes," said presidential historian Stephen Hess.

The dispute, along with the controversy over government seizure of AP phone logs and Benghazi, may not torpedo Obama's presidency "but reflects the political level of skill of this administration, which has not been as high as many of us thought it would be based on his skill in winning the election," said Hess.

"There's a difference between campaigning and governance," he added.

___

Follow Tom Raum on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tomraum

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-walking-familiar-path-irs-allegations-164401274.html

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Life-Tracking App Expereal Is Your Personal Weapon Against Cognitive Biases

Emotions play tricks on our memories, making our recollections of events much happier or heart-wrenching than they actually were. Smartphone app Expereal seeks to cut through those cognitive traps by allowing you to rate your day on a 10-point scale and organizing that data into easy-to-read charts.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ksmBV2Vpt0k/

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Tom Mesereau on Wade Robson: Money-Grubbing, Publicity-Seeking Liar!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/tom-mesereau-on-wade-robson-money-grubbing-publicity-seeking-lia/

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Clam fossils divulge secrets of ecologic stability

May 15, 2013 ? Clam fossils from the middle Devonian era -- some 380 million years ago -- now yield a better paleontological picture of the capacity of ecosystems to remain stable in the face of environmental change, according to research published today (May 15) in the online journal PLOS ONE.

Trained to examine species abundance -- the head counts of specimens -- paleontologists test the stability of Earth's past ecosystems. The research shows that factors such as predation and organism body size from epochs-gone-by can now be considered in such detective work.

Back 380 million years ago, New York was under the Devonian sea. Today, the fossils found in the rocks of this region have become well known for documenting long-term stability in species composition -- that is, the same species have been found to persist with little change over a 5 million year period. But research has found that species abundance in this ancient ecosystem went up and down, generating debate among paleontologists whether the fauna, as a whole, was also stable in terms of its ecology.

A team of Cornell, Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) -- an affiliate of Cornell -- and University of Cincinnati researchers revisited this debate by examining the ecological stability of the Devonian clam fauna.

"To understand how these species fared in the Devonian, you have to look at how they interacted with other species. There is more to ecology than just the abundance and distribution of species," said Gregory Dietl, Cornell adjunct professor, earth and atmospheric sciences, and a paleontologist at PRI.

The research, "Abundance Is Not Enough: The Need for Multiple Lines of Evidence in Testing for Ecological Stability in the Fossil Record," was written by Judith Nagel-Myers, paleontologist, PRI; John Handley, PRI; Carlton Brett, University of Cincinnati professor of geology; and Dietl.

The scientists took a new approach to testing ecological stability: In addition to counting numbers of clams, they examined repair scars on fossil clams that were left by the unsuccessful attacks from shell-crushing predators, and the body size of the clam assemblage as it yields biological information on the structure of food webs.

"Surprisingly, predation pressure and the body size structure of the clams remained stable, even as abundance varied," said Nagel-Myers. Possible mechanisms that explain the clam assemblage's stability are related to the dynamics of food webs -- the same mechanisms operating in food webs today. In one mechanism, predators switched between feeding on different clam species as their abundance varied.

The ancient Devonian ecosystem was more complex than previously thought, as it cautions scientists against basing conclusions on a single factor. Said Dietl: "Our results thus raise serious doubt as to whether ecological stability can be tested meaningfully, solely based upon the abundance of taxa, which has been the standard metric used to test for ecological stability in paleoecology."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/h9DvRjAsaXI/130515174029.htm

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PFT: Cards GM says Mathieu best playmaker in draft

Getty Images

Former NFL defensive end turned boxer Ray Edwards believes his new sport makes him less exposed to physical harm.

Yes, Edwards believes boxing is safer than football.

?Football is the only sport that is 100-percent injury prone,? Edwards tells Martin Rogers of Yahoo! Sports.? ?[In football], you don?t know what is coming, where you are going to get hit, how you are going to get hit.? You play for a long time, chances are you are going to tear your MCL or ACL. You can break your leg, snap your femur, break your arm, break your neck. . . .

?In boxing you know where the hits are coming from ? it is the guy stood in front of you.? In boxing you might break your hand or break your nose and if you get knocked out you can get a concussion.? But also, the referee is right there and you are more protected.? In football, you never know.? The game moves at such a pace that you might never see it coming.? You can get hit when you are completely defenseless.?

Edwards makes a point that isn?t as implausible as it seems.? In boxing, the participant has greater control over his circumstances.? He?ll absorb only the damage he can?t prevent, and he has no concerns about being hit deliberately or accidentally when he?s neither looking nor prepared.

Still, the point of boxing is to inflict enough injury upon the opponent?s brain to render him incapable of continuing.

?There is some faulty thinking there,? Dr. Anthony Alessi, a veteran ringside doctor in Connecticut, told Rogers.? ?In football, accidents and injuries are a byproduct of the game, but the main objective is to get the ball over the line and score points.

?In boxing, the object of the sport is to neurologically impair your opponent, to injure their brain in some way to stop them from performing.? It sounds graphic, but that is effectively what you are looking for ? a knockout.?

Of course, no injury will be inflicted if the other boxer simply pretends to sustain a knockout, diving to the ground when Edwards places a punch in the vicinity of the fighter?s jaw.

If the NFL were to call Edwards, he?d drop boxing faster than a guy taking a dive, and Edwards would return to football despite the risks.? After all, with those risks comes a reward far greater than anything he?ll earn by beating on a smattering of cream puffs and tomato cans at county fairs and tractor pulls.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/15/cardinals-gm-mathieu-could-be-the-best-playmaker-in-the-draft/related/

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Obama's Scandal Pivot: Dare Congress to Actually Pass Laws

The main thrust of all of President Obama's press conferences for the last two years has been to dare Congress to pass laws, and that held true on Thursday, when he answered questions at the White House about the administration's scandal trio by repeatedly saying he was looking forward to "fixing a problem" by working with Congress to pass laws he's wanted all along. On Benghazi? Obama said he wanted to increase intelligence to alert diplomatic posts of possible threats and make sure "our military can respond lightning quick in times of crisis." But, he warned, "We can't do this alone ? we're gonna need Congress as a partner." On the IRS? Obama said he was "looking forward to working with Congress to fully investigate what happened... and also look at some of the laws that create a bunch of ambiguity in which the IRS might not have enough guidance." On the Justice Department's obtaining Associated Press phone records? Obama said of a reporter shield law that it might be time to "revisit that legislation."

RELATED: Obama's Second Term Isn't Dead Yet

Obama asked that Congress "support and fully fund our budget request" for diplomatic security and increase the number of Marines guarding embassies. "That's how we learn the lessons of Benghazi," Obama said, after saying for months ? most recently on Monday ? that the Republican obsession with Benghazi was just about scoring political points.?And as The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler has explained, both Democratic and Republican congresses have given the State Department less money for security than it requested. The gap was only "a bit higher" in the recent Republican congresses.

RELATED: Obama Talks Turkey About the IRS, Syria, Benghazi, the AP Leaks

In the face of Republican opposition, Obama has increasingly used executive order to get things done ? on?guns,?immigration,?government data, and more. He's been pretty open about the futility of working with the GOP.?In a March?press conference about the failure to stop the sequester, Obama said, "I mean, Jessica,?I am not a dictator. I'm the President." He?dismissed the idea that "I should somehow do a Jedi mind meld with these folks and convince them to do what's right." His many press conferences about gun control dared Congress to pass background check legislation that 90 percent of Americans supported. Earlier this month, Obama explained how he was trying to get House Republicans to vote for his agenda: "We're going to try to do everything we can to create a permission structure for them to be able to do what's going to be best for the country."?"Permission structure" seems to be?a favorite term of Obama aides?? press secretary Jay Carney said it was "in common usage" around the White House. Maybe Obama's team thinks it's finally figured out the right permission structure to get House Republicans to work with them ? by letting the GOP say they're responding to a trio of Nixon-level scandals. As Obama himself said on Thursday about the Nixon comparisons:?"You can go ahead and read the history, and draw your own conclusions."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obamas-scandal-pivot-dare-congress-actually-pass-laws-183925604.html

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Pres. Aquino Signs Enhanced Basic Education Act ...

MANILA, Philippines?President Benigno Aquino on Wednesday morning signed into law the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, mandating kindergarten and adding two years to secondary education to place the country?s curriculum on par with international standards.

The President said Republic Act 10533, widely known as the K to 12 Act, would ?lay the foundations for a better future for every Filipino child.?

?Our people?s unwavering support has allowed us to make this vision a reality: to establish a system of education that truly imbues our youth with the skills they need to pursue their dreams,? Aquino told lawmakers, Cabinet officials, diplomats and students in Malaca?ang.

?By signing this bill into law, we are not just adding two years of additional learning for our students; we are making certain that the coming generations are empowered to strengthen the very fabric of our society, as well as our economy,? he added.

The enhanced basic education program covers at least one year of kindergarten, six years of elementary education and six years of secondary education in both public and private schools.

Secondary education includes four years of junior high school and two years of senior high school education ? the additional Grades 11 and 12. (Reported by TJ Burgonio,Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 15th, 2013)

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S. No. 3286

H. No. 6643

Republic of the Philippines

Congress of the Philippines

Metro Manila

Fifteenth Congress

Third Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-third day of July, two thousand twelve.

[REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10533]

AN ACT ENHANCING THE PHILIPPINE BASIC EDUCATION SYSTEM BY STRENGTHENING ITS CURRICULUM AND INCREASING THE NUMBER OF YEARS FOR BASIC EDUCATION, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. ? This Act shall be known as the ?Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013?.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. ? The State shall establish, maintain and support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people, the country and society-at-large.

Likewise, it is hereby declared the policy of the State that every graduate of basic education shall be an empowered individual who has learned, through a program that is rooted on sound educational principles and geared towards excellence, the foundations for learning throughout life, the competence to engage in work and be productive, the ability to coexist in fruitful harmony with local and global communities, the capability to engage in autonomous, creative, and critical thinking, and the capacity and willingness to transform others and one?s self.

For this purpose, the State shall create a functional basic education system that will develop productive and responsible citizens equipped with the essential competencies, skills and values for both life-long learning and employment. In order to achieve this, the State shall:

(a) Give every student an opportunity to receive quality education that is globally competitive based on a pedagogically sound curriculum that is at par with international standards;

(b) Broaden the goals of high school education for college preparation, vocational and technical career opportunities as well as creative arts, sports and entrepreneurial employment in a rapidly changing and increasingly globalized environment; and

(c) Make education learner-oriented and responsive to the needs, cognitive and cultural capacity, the circumstances and diversity of learners, schools and communities through the appropriate languages of teaching and learning, including mother tongue as a learning resource.

SEC. 3. Basic Education. ? Basic education is intended to meet basic learning needs which provides the foundation on which subsequent learning can be based. It encompasses kindergarten, elementary and secondary education as well as alternative learning systems for out-of-school learners and those with special needs.

SEC. 4. Enhanced Basic Education Program. ? The enhanced basic education program encompasses at least one (1) year of kindergarten education, six (6) years of elementary education, and six (6) years of secondary education, in that sequence. Secondary education includes four (4) years of junior high school and two (2) years of senior high school education.

Kindergarten education shall mean one (1) year of preparatory education for children at least five (5) years old as a prerequisite for Grade I.

Elementary education refers to the second stage of compulsory basic education which is composed of six (6) years. The entrant age to this level is typically six (6) years old.

Secondary education refers to the third stage of compulsory basic education. It consists of four (4) years of junior high school education and two (2) years of senior high school education. The entrant age to the junior and senior high school levels are typically twelve (12) and sixteen (16) years old, respectively.

Basic education shall be delivered in languages understood by the learners as the language plays a strategic role in shaping the formative years of learners.

For kindergarten and the first three (3) years of elementary education, instruction, teaching materials and assessment shall be in the regional or native language of the learners. The Department of Education (DepED) shall formulate a mother language transition program from Grade 4 to Grade 6 so that Filipino and English shall be gradually introduced as languages of instruction until such time when these two (2) languages can become the primary languages of instruction at the secondary level.

For purposes of this Act, mother language or first Language (LI) refers to language or languages first learned by a child, which he/she identifies with, is identified as a native language user of by others, which he/she knows best, or uses most. This includes Filipino sign language used by individuals with pertinent disabilities. The regional or native language refers to the traditional speech variety or variety of Filipino sign language existing in a region, area or place.

SEC. 5. Curriculum Development. ? The DepED shall formulate the design and details of the enhanced basic education curriculum. It shall work with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to craft harmonized basic and tertiary curricula for the global competitiveness of Filipino graduates. To ensure college readiness and to avoid remedial and duplication of basic education subjects, the DepED shall coordinate with the CHED and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

To achieve an effective enhanced basic education curriculum, the DepED shall undertake consultations with other national government agencies and other stakeholders including, but not limited to, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), the private and public schools associations, the national student organizations, the national teacher organizations, the parents-teachers associations and the chambers of commerce on matters affecting the concerned stakeholders.

The DepED shall adhere to the following standards and principles in developing the enhanced basic education curriculum:

(a) The curriculum shall be learner-centered, inclusive and developmentally appropriate;

(b) The curriculum shall be relevant, responsive and research-based;

(c) The curriculum shall be culture-sensitive;

(d) The curriculum shall be contextualized and global;

(e) The curriculum shall use pedagogical approaches that are constructivist, inquiry-based, reflective, collaborative and integrative;

(f) The curriculum shall adhere to the principles and framework of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) which starts from where the learners are and from what they already knew proceeding from the known to the unknown; instructional materials and capable teachers to implement the MTB-MLE curriculum shall be available;

(g) The curriculum shall use the spiral progression approach to ensure mastery of knowledge and skills after each level; and

(h) The curriculum shall be flexible enough to enable and allow schools to localize, indigenize and enhance the same based on their respective educational and social contexts. The production and development of locally produced teaching materials shall be encouraged and approval of these materials shall devolve to the regional and division education units.

SEC. 6. Curriculum Consultative Committee. ? There shall be created a curriculum consultative committee chaired by the DepED Secretary or his/her duly authorized representative and with members composed of, but not limited to, a representative each from the CHED, the TESDA, the DOLE, the PRC, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and a representative from the business chambers such as the Information Technology ? Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) industry association. The consultative committee shall oversee the review and evaluation on the implementation of the basic education curriculum and may recommend to the DepED the formulation of necessary refinements in the curriculum.

SEC. 7. Teacher Education and Training. ? To ensure that the enhanced basic education program meets the demand for quality teachers and school leaders, the DepED and the CHED, in collaboration with relevant partners in government, academe, industry, and nongovernmental organizations, shall conduct teacher education and training programs, as specified:

(a) In-service Training on Content and Pedagogy ? Current DepED teachers shall be retrained to meet the content and performance standards of the new K to 12 curriculum.

The DepED shall ensure that private education institutions shall be given the opportunity to avail of such training.

(b) Training of New Teachers. ? New graduates of the current Teacher Education curriculum shall undergo additional training, upon hiring, to upgrade their skills to the content standards of the new curriculum. Furthermore, the CHED, in coordination with the DepED and relevant stakeholders, shall ensure that the Teacher Education curriculum offered in these Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs) will meet necessary quality standards for new teachers. Duly recognized organizations acting as TEIs, in coordination with the DepED, the CHED, and other relevant stakeholders, shall ensure that the curriculum of these organizations meet the necessary quality standards for trained teachers.

(c) Training of School Leadership. ? Superintendents, principals, subject area coordinators and other instructional school leaders shall likewise undergo workshops and training to enhance their skills on their role as academic, administrative and community leaders.

Henceforth, such professional development programs as those stated above shall be initiated and conducted regularly throughout the school year to ensure constant upgrading of teacher skills.

SEC. 8. Hiring of Graduates of Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering and Other Specialists in Subjects With a Shortage of Qualified Applicants, Technical-Vocational Courses and Higher Education Institution Faculty. ? Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 26, 27 and 28 of Republic Act No. 7836, otherwise known as the ?Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act of 1994?, the DepED and private education institutions shall hire, as may be relevant to the particular subject:

(a) Graduates of science, mathematics, statistics, engineering, music and other degree courses with shortages in qualified Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) applicants to teach in their specialized subjects in the elementary and secondary education. Qualified LET applicants shall also include graduates admitted by foundations duly recognized for their expertise in the education sector and who satisfactorily complete the requirements set by these organizations: Provided, That they pass the LET within five (5) years after their date of hiring: Provided, further, That if such graduates are willing to teach on part-time basis, the provisions of LET shall no longer be required;

(b) Graduates of technical-vocational courses to teach in their specialized subjects in the secondary education: Provided, That these graduates possess the necessary certification issued by the TESDA: Provided, further, That they undergo appropriate in-service training to be administered by the DepED or higher education institutions (HEIs) at the expense of the DepED;

(c) Faculty of HEIs be allowed to teach in their general education or subject specialties in the secondary education: Provided, That the faculty must be a holder of a relevant Bachelor?s degree, and must have satisfactorily served as a full-time HEI faculty;

(d) The DepED and private education institutions may hire practitioners, with expertise in the specialized learning areas offered by the Basic Education Curriculum, to teach in the secondary level; Provided, That they teach on part-time basis only. For this purpose, the DepED, in coordination with the appropriate government agencies, shall determine the necessary qualification standards in hiring these experts.

SEC. 9. Career Guidance and Counselling Advocacy. ? To properly guide the students in choosing the career tracks that they intend to pursue, the DepED, in coordination with the DOLE, the TESDA and the CHED, shall regularly conduct career advocacy activities for secondary level students. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 27 of Republic Act No. 9258, otherwise known as the ?Guidance and Counselling Act of 2004?, career and employment guidance counsellors, who are not registered and licensed guidance counsellors, shall be allowed to conduct career advocacy activities to secondary level students of the school where they are currently employed; Provided, That they undergo a training program to be developed or accredited by the DepED.

SEC. 10. Expansion of E-GASTPE Beneficiaries. ? The benefits accorded by Republic Act No. 8545, or the ?Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act?, shall be extended to qualified students enrolled under the enhanced basic education.

The DepED shall engage the services of private education institutions and non-DepED schools offering senior high school through the programs under Republic Act No. 8545, and other financial arrangements formulated by the DepED and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) based on the principles of public-private partnership.

SEC. 11. Appropriations. ? The Secretary of Education shall include in the Department?s program the operationalization of the enhanced basic education program, the initial funding of which shall be charged against the current appropriations of the DepED. Thereafter, the amount necessary for the continued implementation of the enhanced basic education program shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 12. Transitory Provisions. ? The DepED, the CHED and the TESDA shall formulate the appropriate strategies and mechanisms needed to ensure smooth transition from the existing ten (10) years basic education cycle to the enhanced basic education (K to 12) cycle. The strategies may cover changes in physical infrastructure, manpower, organizational and structural concerns, bridging models linking grade 10 competencies and the entry requirements of new tertiary curricula, and partnerships between the government and other entities. Modeling for senior high school may be implemented in selected schools to simulate the transition process and provide concrete data for the transition plan.

To manage the initial implementation of the enhanced basic education program and mitigate the expected multi-year low enrolment turnout for HEIs and Technical Vocational Institutions (TVIs) starting School Year 2016-2017, the DepED shall engage in partnerships with HEIs and TVIs for the utilization of the latter?s human and physical resources. Moreover, the DepED, the CHED, the TESDA, the TVIs and the HEIs shall coordinate closely with one another to implement strategies that ensure the academic, physical, financial, and human resource capabilities of HEIs and TVIs to provide educational and training services for graduates of the enhanced basic education program to ensure that they are not adversely affected. The faculty of HEIs and TVIs allowed to teach students of secondary education under Section 8 hereof, shall be given priority in hiring for the duration of the transition period. For this purpose, the transition period shall be provided for in the implementing rules and regulations (IRK).

SEC. 13. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Enhanced Basic Educational Program (K to 12 Program). ? There is hereby created a Joint Oversight Committee to oversee, monitor and evaluate the implementation of this Act.

The Oversight Committee shall be composed of five (5) members each from the Senate and from the House of Representatives, including Chairs of the Committees on Education, Arts and Culture, and Finance of both Houses. The membership of the Committee for every House shall have at least two (2) opposition or minority members.

SEC. 14. Mandatory Evaluation and Review. ? By the end of School Year 2014-2015, the DepED shall conduct a mandatory review and submit a midterm report to Congress as to the status of implementation of the K to 12 program in terms of closing the following current shortages: (a) teachers; (b) classrooms; (c) textbooks; (d) seats; (e) toilets; and (f) other shortages that should be addressed.

The DepED shall include among others, in this midterm report, the following key metrics of access to and quality of basic education: (a) participation rate; (b) retention rate; (c) National Achievement Test results; (d) completion rate; (e) teachers? welfare and training profiles; (f) adequacy of funding requirements; and (g) other learning facilities including, but not limited to, computer and science laboratories, libraries and library hubs, and sports, music and arts.

SEC. 15. Commitment to International Benchmarks. ? The DepED shall endeavor to increase the per capita spending on education towards the immediate attainment of international benchmarks.

SEC. 16. Implementing Rules and Regulations. ? Within ninety (90) days after the effectivity of this Act, the DepED Secretary, the CHED Chairperson and the TESDA Director-General shall promulgate the rules and regulations needed for the implementation of this Act.

SEC. 17. Separability Clause. ? If any provision of this Act is held invalid or unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other provisions hereof.

SEC. 18. Repealing Clause. ? Pertinent provisions of Batas Pambansa Blg. 232 or the ?Education Act of 1982?, Republic Act No. 9155 or the ?Governance of Basic Education.

Act of 2001?, Republic Act No. 9258, Republic Act No. 7836, and all other laws, decrees, executive orders and rules and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 19. Effectivity Clause. ? This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,

(Sgd.) FELICIANO BELMONTE JR. Speaker of the House of Representatives

(Sgd.) JUAN PONCE ENRILE President of the Senate

This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 3286 and House Bill No. 6643 was finally passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on January 30, 2013.

(Sgd.) MARILYN BARUA-YAP Secretary General House of Representatives

(Sgd.) EDWIN B. BELEN Acting Senate Secretary

Approved: MAY 15 2013

(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

President of the Philippines

Source: http://www.thelearningplace.ph/?p=2676

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